Daniel Ciobanu first attracted international acclaim in 2017 at the Arthur Rubinstein Competition in Tel Aviv where he won both the Silver Medal and Audience Prize. He subsequently appeared at Carnegie Hall, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Gewandhaus Leipzig, Konzerthaus Berlin, St John’s Smith Square in London, Enescu Festival in Bucharest, and toured in Japan, China, Taiwan, South Africa and Brazil.
Ciobanu’s distinctive musical personality and technical command has led to performances with renowned orchestras such as Gewandhausorchester Leipzig where he has performed under the baton of Omer Meir Wellber. Highlights of his 22/23 season include debuts with the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Volksoper Wien, and Tiroler Symphony Orchestra, as well as a return with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, whom he made his debut with last season under the baton of Carlos Miguel Prieto. Daniel will return to the Concertgebouw for a solo recital as well recitals in Baden, Brucknerhaus Linz, Beethoven Easter Festival and Festival Radio France Occitanie Montpellier.
Other recent highlights include concerts with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra; Konzerthausorchester Berlin; Orquesta Sinfónica de Castilla y León; Enescu Festival in Bucharest with the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra; Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen; Polish Baltic Philharmonic; Israel Camerata; Royal Scottish National Orchestra; George Enescu Philharmonic, Romanian National Radio Orchestra and at the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival. In April 2022, Ciobanu stepped in with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra for four major dates in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem with Omer Meir Wellber. In August 2021 Ciobanu made his Lucerne Festival recital debut and he was invited for his Vienna Konzerthaus debut, playing Beethoven violin and piano sonatas with Julian Rachlin.
Ciobanu also made his Royal Festival Hall debut in 2010, and since then he has given solo recitals in venues such as Munich Gasteig, Salzburg Mozarteum, De Bijloke in Gent, Auditorium de Radio France, Salle Cortot, Fazioli Hall in Sacile, Teatro Massimo Palermo, Bucharest Atheneum, Duszniki Chopin Festival, Teatro Municipal in Rio de Janeiro, Bronfman Auditorium in Tel Aviv and the Taipei National Concert Hall.
Ciobanu’s artistry extends beyond his performances and he is the first ever Artist in Residence at the George Enescu Philharmonic in Bucharest, beginning in the 20/21 season. His opening season of residency included concerts under Cristian Macelaru and Gabriel Bebeselea.
Furthermore, Daniel is a visionary and has created a fresh and innovative international platform for young artists, founding the Neamt Music Festival in his hometown of Piatra Neamt, Romania, in 2017. The festival, which takes place every year in the Carpathian Mountains, features not only classical programming but also embraces other sympathetic art forms, including jazz, video-mapping, painting, and dance.
In September 2020 he released his first CD, a solo disc of works by Prokofiev, Debussy, Liszt and Enescu, which was released on the Accentus label.
In 2015 he received the 1st Grand Prix, Public Prize and Orchestra Prize at the Morocco Philharmonic International Piano Competition - becoming the first pianist in the history of the competition to have won all the Special Prizes along with being unanimously voted by the jury for the Top Prize. He has also won 1st Prize and Special Prize for the best “Classical Sonata” at the UNISA International Piano Competition in Pretoria (South Africa), and 1st Prize at the BNDES International Piano Competition in Rio de Janeiro.
Ciobanu started learning the piano at the age of nine in Piatra Neamt, Romania, initially with Magdolna Cosma and Delia Balan, and later with Mihaela Spiridon and Iulian Arcadi Trofin. He went on to win scholarships to study in Scotland with Graeme McNaught and subsequently with Aaron Shorr and Petras Geniusas, graduating from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. He completed his studies at the École Normale de Musique “Alfred Cortot” in Paris with Marian Rybicki and in the Universität der Künste in Berlin with Pascal Devoyon and Markus Groh.
