Nicolaï Della Guerra

Nicolaï Della Guerra is a pianist, improviser, composer and conductor. He develops his own language of modality and minimalism, drawing inspiration from Eastern European folklore and popular music.

 

Born in Germany in 1990 to a Bulgarian mother and Italian father, he grew up in France before moving to Belgium.

 

He was brought up in the world of theatre sculpture, and painting and began learning music at an early age.

After performing on Lyon's punk and underground music scenes for few years, he went on to study classical piano, harmony, counterpoint, jazz and music history at the Lyon Conservatoire, following at the same time the teachings of great classical masters across Europe before graduating from the Brussels Conservatoire in piano, conducting, composition and music theory. During these years, he developed his musical language, travelled around Europe, explores different ways of making music, play on the underground scene, tasted the days and the night, and met many musicians with whom he collaborated.

He co-founded the Leto collective in 2019.

 

Nicolaï has been Invited as pianist and composer to various festivals and concerts since 2012. He also collaborated on numerous trans-artistic project, including the piano vibes Della Guerra-Garcera duo, who have given some forty concerts in Belgium and France; on architectural project presented in Italy at the Venice Biennale, the Macro Museum in Rome and the Milano Design Festival; and on theatre field, creating a piano-poetry project with which he toured France and Algeria, and a play about Schubert which was presented in France and Belgium.

 

In 2016, he presented his first work "Fejodor- Les contes de Lumen" at the Salle Cortot in Paris, France for which he won the first prize at the Musiq'3 festival in Brussels that he will then create a full project and record in 2022 with the collaboration of ten musicians.

He wrote his first opera, "La Dogaressa et les Litchouks", in 2021.

In 2023, he composed “Ochre Steppes” which was performed live for the first time in Brussel.

In 2024 he produced his first solo piano E.P., due for release in May 2024.