Khatia Buniatishvili looks like a Hollywood star when she sweeps onto the stage in stunning, glittering, form-fitting, floor-length gowns. Her mother designs and sews her concert dresses, while her sister Gvantsa, also a pianist, manages her career. This strong sense of family is undoubtedly a legacy of Buniatishvili’s childhood in 1990s Georgia. She discovered the piano at the age of three and, by the time she was nine, was already reading Dostoevsky and Goethe — her thirst for knowledge knows no bounds.

One thing became clear to Khatia Buniatishvili early on: she wanted to be on the big stage. And she has long since arrived there, always fully present and completely immersed in the music. With her eyes closed and her head tilted back, she sits at the piano, a dreamy smile passing across her face as a whispered pianissimo flows from the keys. Just as powerfully, her cascade of black curls flies back when she hurls out fortissimo chords with striking force. For Khatia Buniatishvili, body language and music are one — pure intensity. She plays the piano, she says, as if it were the last time in her life.

Photo: Gavin Evans