Tähe-Lee Liiv Biography

Born in Estonia in 2003, pianist Tähe-Lee Liiv has established herself as one of the most compelling musicians of her generation. She has appeared in solo recitals, chamber music concerts, and as a concerto soloist throughout Europe, Israel, and the United States, performing in Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Latvia, Sweden, Switzerland, and the USA.

Her career began with victories in two of Estonia's most prestigious classical music competitions. As the youngest participant in both, Liiv won First Prize at the 2019 Estonian Pianists' Competition and became the Absolute Winner of the 2020 Estonian television competition Classical Stars.

In the 2024–2025 season, Liiv was selected by Sir András Schiff to participate in his prestigious Building Bridges concert series, giving recitals in major European concert halls including Flagey in Brussels and the Konzerthaus Berlin.

"Tähe-Lee Liiv is well on her way to becoming one of Estonia's leading young international soloists. She is a pianist of real depth and individuality.”
— Paavo Järvi

She has appeared at numerous international festivals, among them the Lockenhaus Festival (Austria), the Sibelius Festival and Mänttä Music Festival (Finland), Musikdorf Ernen and the Menuhin Festival Piano Academy (Switzerland), and festivals in Valdarno and Palermo (Italy).

As a concerto soloist, Liiv has collaborated with the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, the Estonian Festival Orchestra, the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, Kremerata Baltica, the New York Camerata Orchestra, and the Jerusalem Camerata Orchestra, among others. Her concerto repertoire spans works by Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Chopin, Schumann, Grieg, Tchaikovsky, and Rachmaninoff, alongside less frequently performed works including Chopin's Rondo à la Krakowiak, Mendelssohn's Double Concerto for Piano, Violin and Orchestra, Fazıl Say's Silk Road, and Ester Mägi's Piano Concerto and Variations for Piano, Clarinet and Orchestra. She has worked with conductors including Paavo Järvi, Olari Elts, Sergei Stadler, and Simone Menezes, and she has shared the stage with artists such as Gidon Kremer, Hans Christian Aavik, and Marcel Johannes Kits.

Liiv studied in the Youth Departments of both the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre and the Sibelius Academy. She also studied at the Accademia Perosi in Biella and is an RCM Scholar. Her teachers have included Marrit Gerretz-Traksmann, Ivari Ilja, Hui-Ying Liu-Tawaststjerna, Dmitri Alexeev, and Konstantin Bogino. Since 2022, she has continued her artistic development under the guidance of Sir András Schiff at the Barenboim–Said Akademie in Berlin.

Her debut album, released in 2023 by Estonian Record Productions, presented the complete piano works of Arvo Pärt and received international critical acclaim. Gramophone magazine wrote: "Liiv's impressive interpretations demonstrate a clear and nuanced understanding of what Arvo Pärt's music is about, in both its spiritual and material forms."
In September 2026, Liiv releases her second album on Da Vinci Classics, devoted to Finnish pianom music. The recording features Jean Sibelius's Ten Pieces, Op. 24, alongside études by Einojuhani Rautavaara and Magnus Lindberg.

Alongside the central piano repertoire, Liiv is particularly committed to the music of the Nordic and Baltic countries, seeking to bring this rich musical tradition to wider international audiences through her performances and recordings.