Piano recital
Liszt vs. Brahms with Kirill Gerstein

Piano as home
The pianist Kirill Gerstein 

Since his debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker in 2016, pianist Kirill Gerstein has been a frequent and welcome guest—both with the orchestra and as a soloist. Gerstein, who showed early talent, first came to the piano through jazz, and today his repertoire spans from Baroque to modernism. He is also recognized as a strong advocate of contemporary works. A portrait.

Biography

Kirill Gerstein

Kirill Gerstein’s hallmark is his transparent, weightless playing, even in the most powerful passages. Observers remark that with his playing, everything seems relaxed and natural, yet every note appears perfectly placed. At the same time, the Russian-born pianist always thinks in terms of chamber music, whether performing as a soloist with an orchestra, as part of an ensemble, or in solo recitals. His career began in 2000 with his concert debut with the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich. In 2001, he won the International Arthur Rubinstein Competition in Tel Aviv, and the following year he was awarded the Gilmore Young Artist Award. Successful debuts with the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Munich and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestras, and in 2016 with the Berliner Philharmoniker followed. Kirill Gerstein grew up immersed in two musical worlds. Initially, he was especially interested in jazz, and studied jazz piano for two years as the youngest scholarship student at Berklee College of Music in Boston. Ultimately, however, he chose classical music, continuing his studies with Solomon Mikowsky in New York and Dmitri Bashkirov in Madrid. Gerstein sees his engagement with jazz as an important part of his artistic development: “I learned that music is more than just the black dots on the paper. My experience with improvisation and timing in jazz influences how I play classical music.”