Nelson Goerner

Nelson Goerner is internationally celebrated for performances of exceptional poetry, dramatic intensity and expressive depth. Guided by an unwavering commitment to the composer's voice, his interpretations reveal remarkable clarity, imagination and emotional truth.

The 2026/27 season opens with Nelson Goerner's debut at the Blossom Music Festival with The Cleveland Orchestra, before embarking on Asian recital tour including appearances in Tokyo and Shanghai. Throughout the season he performs with the Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse, Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana with Principal Guest Conductor Krzysztof Urbański, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Deutsche Radio Philharmonie, and Colombian Youth Philharmonic under Andrés Orozco-Estrada. On the chamber side, he has solo recitals in Lyon, Wigmore in London, Tonhalle in Zürich, Victoria Hall in Geneva, and Sala Verdi in Milan throughout the season.

In previous seasons, Goerner appeared with many of the world's leading orchestras including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Hamburg Symphony Orchestra, and Orchestre de la Suisse Romande among others. Some of the distinguished conductors he has collaborated with include Alain Altinoglu, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Pierre Bleuse, Elim Chan, Sir Mark Elder, Ivan Fischer, Neeme Järvi, Paavo Järvi, Fabio Luisi, Jonathan Nott, Vasily Petrenko, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, and Kazuki Yamada.

A keen chamber musician, Goerner has appeared at many of the world’s most esteemed festivals including the Salzburg Festival, Verbier Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad, Edinburgh International Festival, and the BBC Proms. He regularly collaborates with distinguished artists including Martha Argerich, Sol Gabetta, Gary Hoffman, Alexei Ogrintchouk and Tedi Papavrami. As a recitalist, he performs at major venues and festivals worldwide, including the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées and Philharmonie de Paris, La Roque d’Anthéron, Piano aux Jacobins and The Phillips Collection in Washington D.C.

Goerner is the founder and Artistic Director of the Festival de Musique La Chaux-de-Fonds, launched in July 2026 with guests including Martha Argerich, Renaud Capuçon, and Festival Strings Lucerne. Following its inaugural edition, the festival returns for its second season in summer 2027.

Goerner records predominantly for Alpha Classics, where his acclaimed discography encompasses works by Ravel, Liszt, Albéniz, Chopin, Beethoven, and Brahms. His recordings have received numerous international distinctions, including Gramophone Editor's Choice, BBC Music Magazine Recording of the Month and France Musique's Album of the Year. He also enjoys a longstanding association with the Chopin Institute in Warsaw, with whom he has released several albums of unusual repertoire on the Institute’s own record label, earning multiple Diapason d’Or awards.

Born in San Pedro, Argentina, Goerner studied with Jorge Garrubba, Juan Carlos Arabian and Carmen Scalcione before winning First Prize at the Franz Liszt Competition in Buenos Aires in 1986. He subsequently studied with Maria Tipo at the Geneva Conservatoire and, in 1990, won First Prize at the Geneva International Music Competition.

Nelson Goerner lives in Switzerland with his family and is a proud supporter of the humanitarian organisation Ammala.