Tomas Dratva - Pianist
“Tomas Dratva extracts maximum vitality from the score.” (NZZ)
“...as if Franz Liszt himself were gracing us with a piano recital.” (WDR)
“An extraordinarily gifted pianist of rare intelligence and sensitivity.” (Fanfare Magazine)
“Tomas Dratva is a superb pianist” (RTS)
Swiss pianist Tomas Dratva studied piano in Basel, Lucerne and London and gave his début already during his studies with the Tonhalle Orchester Zürich in 1992. Since then, he performed regularly as a soloist and chamber musician in many countries around the world. He gave performances in concert series and festivals in Lisbon, Buenos Aires, Dallas, San Francisco, London, Paris, Berlin, Bonn, Basel, Lugano, New York City, Washington DC, Prague, Bratislava, Budapest, Weimar, Bayreuth, Stockholm, Minsk, Krakow and solo concerts with numerous orchestras: Sinfonieorchester Luzern, Tonhalle Orchester Zürich, Argovia Philharmonic, Kammerorchester Basel, Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra Košice, Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra Bratislava, Praga Sinfonietta, Russian State Philharmonic Orchestra Tomsk, Slovak Sinfonietta et al.
In the years 1993 to 2010, Tomas Dratva performed as pianist of Trio Animæ and gave over 100 piano trio performances with this ensemble in unchanged lineup.
Tomas Dratva mastered a broad repertoire. The most important imperatives in his artistic activity were the search for new discoveries and re-discoveries, the study of contemporary music, and an in-depth occupation with historical pianos.
Tomas Dratva released recordings regularly over the course of 20 years. He has recorded nine CDs with the Trio Animæ alone. Among his discographic milestones as soloist are the rediscovery of piano concertos by Leopold Koželuch, a contemporary of Mozart, Liszt recordings on the historic Steinway piano of Richard Wagner, and a complete recording of Janáček’s piano works.
In 2017 he founded the music label PIANOVERSAL – the world’s first purely digital music label for classical and contemporary piano music. Since 2019 he was president of the EPTA Switzerland (European Piano Teachers Association). He was dedicated to promoting piano education and fostering professional exchange among fellow pianists, both in Switzerland and abroad.
Tomas Dratva passed away unexpectedly in October 2025. During his lifetime, he was a passionate musician, piano educator, and mentor.
Album PV 101 / Leoš Janáček - Piano Music / Tomas Dratva - piano
Album PV 104 / Esther Flückiger - LUMINESCENCE / multiple tracks (Sound Symbols I-V / Desert in mood / Vita A)
Album PV 117 / Johann Pachelbel - Hexachordum Apollinis / Tomas Dratva - piano
You can purchase the albums in our PIANOVERSAL Shop.