Kiev Portella (1974) a pianist born in Maó, Menorca, is building a solid reputation as a concert pianist in Spain, Italy, Germany and England.
Kiev Portella graduated in piano and chamber music with top marks. During his degree he achieved three extraordinary awards for piano and for his end-of-degree work in chamber music. Some of his teachers have been Emili Muriscot in the Balearic Islands, Ramon Coll in Barcelona and Josep Colom in Madrid.
He performed for the first time as a soloist at the age of 18 with the Balearic Symphony Orchestra at the Auditorium of Palma de Mallorca in front of over 1700 people. Since then he has been invited to perform with them again as well as with many other orchestras.
At age 26 he recorded his first album Llevant in Basel (Switzerland) thanks to Rotary Club and Basellandschaftliche Kantonalbank. He demonstrated great musical maturity in playing music by Brahms, Ravel and Debussy. In 2005 he became a concert pianist at the Escola i Conservatori de Música de la Diputació in Tarragona where he accompanies the string instruments and some of the brass and woodwind instruments. He is head of the concert pianist department since 2007.
© Sonia Troncoso
During his career he has performed with many orchestras, including Gonçal Comelles Chamber Orchestra, Solistes de Mallorca Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Illa de Menorca (OCIM), RoviraiVirgiliUniversity (URV) Orchestra, the Mahón Music Conservatory Orchestra, Camera Musicae Orchestra, PhilharmonicGroup of the Ateneo de Maó and Cum Iubilo Orchestra from Camp de Tarragona. He has shared the stage with conductors such as Philippe Bender, Salvador Brotons, TomàsGrau, Xavier Puig and Barry Sargent, among others.
A number of concert halls have witnessed the art of this pianist: the Palau de la Música in Barcelona, the Symphonic Hall in the Auditorium of Barcelona, the Chopin Festival in Valldemosa, the Ciutadella International Music Festival, the Williamson Art Gallery in Liverpool, the Palma de Mallorca Auditorium, the Chettam's School of Music Auditorium in Manchester, the Teatre Principal in Palma de Mallorca, SGAE in Barcelona, Juan March Foundation in Madrid, Bluecoat in Liverpool, Teatre Principal in Valls, Teatre Principal in Maó, MetropolTheater in Tarragona.
Last year, in 2019, Kiev Portella performed Piano Concert by Shostakovich with Banda Municipal de Barcelona conducted by Salvador Brotons at L'Auditori de Barcelona with tickets sold out both days of the concert.
As for chamber music, Kiev Portella has played with different formations such as the Liverpool String Quartet in England and in Catalonia from 2009 to 2014, and the Quintet Gradivain the OBC chamber music series in Barcelona (May 2017).
Kiev Portella has formed the Rec4 trio together with Sarah Bells (violin) and Jean Baptiste Texier (cello). They first presented their music with great success in April 2018 in the Auditori de Barcelona within the OBC chamber music series. They performed in the Oriol Martorell room that was filled to capacity. They also performed on 2 September 2018 in Germany (Cologne) to a full house, the audience giving them a very warm reception. The trio received excellent reviews from the local press for their performance. Kiev Portella has also performed several chamber concerts with other
ensembles: clarinet-piano duet with Roser Carceller, cello-piano, two pianos and percussion, among others.
Kiev Portella has won a number of prizes in music competitions: First Prize at the VI International Piano Competition in Ibiza, First Prize at the Sample Music Prize for Balearic Government Soloists and Second Prize at the II Piano Rotary Club Contest of Palma de Mallorca. He has also been a judge for several international piano and composition competitions, including the "PrimitivoLazaro" International Piano Competition in Huelva and the International Competition of Composition Frederic Mompou in Barcelona.
Kiev Portella has played on national television and radio stations such National Radio of Spain (RNE) "Radio 2", "CatalunyaMúsica", RNE "Radio 4", "COM Radio", "Antena 3", “Radio Onda Cero”, COPE.
He has been invited to give a number of master classes around Spain alongside musicians such as Dimitri Ashkenazy, LluísClaret, RamziYassa and Ramon Coll.
He is a founding member of the "Frederic Mompou" Foundation in Barcelona.
Between 2008 and 2013 he premiered worldwide the works by composers M. Fárias (Chile) and Wei Zhigong (Shanghai), winners of the International Composition Competition of Frederic Mompou. Composers such as PeregríPortolés and Abraham Tena have dedicated some of their works to him.
Kiev Portella is not a conventional pianist: his musical sensitivity moves him to communicate his passion to the audience, to delight people with his music. He uses his music to make the world a better place.
Since 2007, he combines classical music concerts with new age music and soundtracks. He is committed to a high standard of music, which conveys passion, music that everybody can relate to.