One of the most promising portuguese pianists of his generation, João Xavier has captivated audiences across Portugal, Spain, Belgium, Italy and Russia. He has appeared in renowned venues such as the Sala Suggia at Casa da Musica, in Porto, the Gulbenkian Foundation Hall in Lisbon, Teatros del Canal, in Madrid, the Great Hall of the Brussels Royal Conservatory, Centro Botín, in Santander, and the Small, Rachmaninov and Great Halls of the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory.
A prizewinner of numerous competitions, João has received distinctions such as the 1st Prize at the Estoril Festival Competition in Lisbon (2021), the 1st Prize at “Premio Jovens Musicos” (2011), and the 1st prize at the Povoa de Varzim, Florinda Santos and Santa Cecília Piano Competitions. In 2014, he was awarded the 3rd Prize at the Jaen International Piano Competition, in Spain.
Born in Lousada, Portugal, Joao Xavier began his musical studies at the Vale do Sousa Conservatory, graduating in 2011 under professor Luísa Ferreira. He went on to study with Pedro Burmester at the Escola Superior de Musica e Artes do Espectaculo (ESMAE) in Porto, having also worked with Tania Achot-Haroutounian and Eliso Virsaladze, at the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole in Florence. In 2020, he graduated with distinction from the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory, where he studied under professor Eliso Virsaladze.
He has performed concerts with orchestra, recitals and chamber music concerts in many festivals, such as the Music Festival in Povoa de Varzim, “Dias da Musica” at the Centro Cultural de Belem, Lisbon, and more recently the Music Festival Cistermusica, in Alcobaca, Portugal, and the music festival Midis-Minimes, in Brussels.
João has collaborated as a soloist with conductors including Pedro Neves, Gunther Neuhold, Nikolay Lalov, Anatoly Levin, Martin Andre, Stefan Blunier and Vasily Sinaisky.
He received his master's degree at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel, where he studied under Aleksandar Madžar.