Artistic Director of the Competition
The Ricard Viñes International Piano Competition is under the artistic direction of Néstor Bayona. His role is to ensure a high-quality organisation, select a top-level jury, and create a competition that inspires young talents while strengthening Lleida’s connection to classical music excellence.
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR OF THE COMPETITION
The Artistic Director of the Ricard Viñes International Piano Competition is the renowned pianist and conductor Néstor Bayona, a figure within the international music scene. With a career combining conducting prestigious orchestras and extensive experience as a pianist, Néstor Bayona brings a fresh vision and a direct connection to the contemporary music scene, ensuring the competition's relevance and constant updating.
The Artistic Director will be responsible for selecting and appointing the four members of the jury, choosing internationally recognised professionals in the world of piano and classical music. This selection ensures that the competition maintains the highest artistic standards and offers an enriching experience for both participants and the audience.
NÉSTOR BAYONA
Néstor Bayona is a Spanish conductor based in Berlin and Barcelona. In 2023, he was appointed as Resident Conductor at the National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra (NOSPR), after serving as the orchestra’s assistant conductor in the 2019/20 and 2020/21 seasons.
With a career spanning over a decade, Néstor Bayona is gaining recognition from international orchestras and opera houses. In the 2023/24 season, he conducted Pagliacci at the Hungarian Opera in Cluj-Napoca, assisted Marin Alsop in the production of Die schwarze Maske by Krzysztof Penderecki at NOSPR and Lawrence Foster in the Opera Pelléas et Mélisande at the Enescu Festival. He returned to conduct at the Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona and made his debut with the Orquesta Sinfónica de RTVE in Madrid. Next season, during 2024/25, he will be making his conducting debut at the Teatro de la Zarzuela in Madrid, Teatr Wielki in Warsaw and the Teatro Campoamor in Oviedo.
In the 2022/23 season, Néstor had a full season of engagements in England, France, Japan, Poland, Romania and Spain, kicking off the season with NOSPR’s tour to Japan as assistant conductor to Marin Alsop. He made his debut with the Orquestra Simfònica del Vallès, Orquesta de la Comunidad de Madrid and Orquesta Sinfónica del Principado de Asturias, and conducted concerts with NOSPR and the Filarmonică de Stat Transilvania în Cluj.
In 2021, he was recognised as Associate Member of the Royal Northern College of Music, a new award for up-and-coming alumni of the college. The 2021/22 season also saw him performing at the Enescu Festival with Alban Berg’s Lulu together with Lawrence Foster. In addition, he conducted subscription concerts with NOSPR and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Marseille.
Other former guest invitations include conducting debuts at the Festival International de Piano de la Roque d’Anthéron with the soloist David Kadouch, and at the Grand Théâtre in Aix-en-Provence with David Fray. He has conducted the Bochumer Symphoniker, the Orquesta de Extremadura, the Orquesta de Castilla y León and made his debut at the Berliner Philharmonie with the Deutsche Skandinavische Jugend-Philharmonie.
Previously, Néstor Bayona was assistant at the Opéra de Marseille in the 2018/19 and 2021/22 seasons, as well as in productions at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, the Komische Oper in Berlin, the Frankfurter Oper and Pentatone for the recording of Fanciulla del West. He has worked with the conductors Lionel Bringuier, Peter Eötvös, Domingo Hindoyan, Henrik Nánási, Neeme Järvi, Susanna Mälkki, Ingo Metzmacher and Pinchas Steinberg.
After studying piano at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester with Helen Krizos, Néstor Bayona was awarded the Gold Medal for his achievements as a pianist and completed a Master in Piano at the Haute École de Musique de Genève where he studied piano with Nelson Goerner. There he pursued a Master in Conducting with Laurent Gay, before moving to Berlin to do a Postgraduate Diploma in Conducting with Steven Sloane and Harry Curtis at the Universität der Künste. He was nominated as emerging conductor of the Ulysses Network and received the Ciutat de Lleida International Award 2015 for his cultural contribution to his hometown Lleida.
His artistic vision and international experience bring a unique value to the Ricard Viñes International Piano Competition.