Vadim Neselovskyi

Vadim Neselovskyi is a Ukrainian-born composer and pianist whose music transcends conventional genre. Drawing on a lifetime of experiences as a composer, improviser, and performer, he has developed a deeply personal musical language that unites diverse influences into a singular artistic voice. His compositions and performances have been presented throughout Europe, the Americas, Asia, and the Middle East.

Growing up in Odesa, Ukraine, Neselovskyi discovered early that his artistic calling was not to belong to a single musical tradition but to become, in his own words, “a creator of music.” That vision has shaped a career spanning solo piano, chamber music, symphonic works, and collaborations with leading artists across the musical spectrum.

The Los Angeles Times has praised his “extraordinary playing,” while The Guardian (UK) described him as “the most promising of the young improvisers.” His music has been performed by artists including Gary Burton, Julian Lage, Randy Brecker, Antonio Sánchez, Richard Galliano, Anja Lechner, and Daniel Gauthier. His orchestral works have been conducted by Ukraine’s renowned conductor Oksana Lyniv and performed by ensembles including the Graz Philharmonic, Spokane Symphony, and INSO Lviv Symphony Orchestra. Among his recent orchestral works is Winter in Odesa for alto saxophone and orchestra, premiered by Asya Fateyeva and Ensemble Reflektor at Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie as part of the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival and later broadcast by ARTE Concert. His collaboration with John Zorn has included performances at New York’s legendary Village Vanguard and the release of PERSEVERANTIA on Tzadik Records, with Zorn serving as executive producer.

Neselovskyi’s acclaimed solo piano suite ODESA (2022), inspired by the history, architecture, and spirit of his hometown, has become one of his signature works. It was selected by The New York Times as one of its recommended classical albums and named one of the Boston Globe’s Best Albums of 2022. Presented in more than 150 performances worldwide, the project has also helped raise more than $200,000 for humanitarian relief efforts in Ukraine.

His most recent major work, PERSEVERANTIA: Ukrainian Suite for piano and string trio, was released on Tzadik Records in 2026 with John Zorn as executive producer. Inspired by Ukraine’s resilience in the face of war, the seventy-two-minute composition has received international critical acclaim. It has been featured on NPR’s Morning Edition, Canadian CBC Radio, Bayerischer Rundfunk, NDR, and Austria’s Ö1, in addition to reviews in leading international publications including Gramophone, ARD Kultur, Jazzthetik, A Closer Listen, and Textura. Performed throughout Europe and the United States, PERSEVERANTIA further affirms Neselovskyi’s distinctive artistic voice and his growing reputation as one of today’s most original composer-performers.

Beyond the concert stage, Neselovskyi has received numerous honors, including a MacDowell Fellowship, the Korean Music Award, and the BNP Paribas Special Prize at the Martial Solal International Jazz Piano Competition. Since 2011, he has served as Professor at Berklee College of Music. He has also taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Maastricht Conservatory, and the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg, and has presented masterclasses and workshops throughout Europe, the Americas, India, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, and Japan.