Alexander Toradze was internationally recognized as a masterful keyboard virtuoso in the grand Romantic tradition. He enriched the great Russian pianistic heritage with his unorthodox interpretive conceptions, deeply poetic lyricism, and visceral excitement. Mr. Toradze continuously appeared with world leading orchestras such as Berlin Philharmonic, Kirov Orchestra, La Scala Philharmonic, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Bayerische Rundfunk Orchester, St.Petersburg Philharmonic, Orchestre National de France, City of Birmingham Symphony, London's Symphony, Philharmonic and Philharmonia Orchestras, NHK in Japan, Czech, Hungarian, Israel, Rotterdam, Warsaw Philharmonics, the radio orchestras in Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden, Finland and Italy. In the US and Canada, Mr. Toradze regularly performed with New York Philharmonic, The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Minnesota, Houston, Montreal, Toronto, Pittsburgh, Baltimore, and Washington D. C. Summer festival appearances included Salsburg, the White Nights, London Proms, Edinburgh, Ravena, Ruhr, Rotterdam, Mikkeli, Finland, Hollywood Bowl, Saratoga and Ravinia, among others. The members of the multi-national Toradze Piano Studio at IUSB have been active participants in many of these occasions. The studio has developed into a worldwide touring ensemble that has gathered critical acclaim on an international level. In the recent season the Studio appeared in Salzburg, New York, Rome, Florence, Venice, Ravenna, Lisbon, Ruhr Festival, among others. Mr. Toradze has recorded all five Prokofiev Concerti for the Philips Classics label with the Kirov Orchestra, Valery Gergiev conducting. The recording is acclaimed by critics as definitive. From this set Prokofiev's Piano Concert No. 3 was named by International Piano Quarterly as "historically the best on record" from among over seventy recordings. Other recordings, for Angel/EMI, include Mossorgsky's Pictures From Exhibition, Prokofiev's Seventh Piano Sonata, Stravinsky's Three Scenes from Petrushka, Ravel's Miroirs and Gaspard De La Nuit. Also released in 1998 was Scriabin's Prometheus Poem of Fire, recorded with the Kirov Orchestra and Maestro Gergiev. Born in Tbilisi, Georgia, Alexander Toradze graduated in 1978 from the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow. In 1983, while on tour with the Bolshoi Symphony Orchestra of Moscow, he requested asylum at the American Embassy in Madrid and made his home in the United States, joining the IUSB faculty in 1991.