Guest Artist Bio
Kirill Gerstein
Russian-American pianist Kirill Gerstein is quickly proving to be one of today’s most promising and intriguing young artists. Already recognized for his deeply musical interpretations and masterful technique, he was the First Prize winner at the 2001 Arthur Rubinstein Piano Competition in Tel Aviv and was chosen to receive a 2002 Gilmore Young Artist Award, an honor given to young pianists who have demonstrated significant potential to develop outstanding performing careers as concert artists.
Gerstein was born in 1979 in Voronezh, Russia where he attended one of the country’s special music schools for gifted children. He won his first competition, the International Bach Competition in Gorzuw, Poland, at the age of 11. It was while participating at a jazz festival in Poland that a faculty member of the Berklee College of Music in Boston noticed his precocious affinity for playing jazz piano. In 1993, Gerstein attended the college’s summer program and the following fall was invited to attend the college on a full scholarship. He accepted the offer and in May 1994, at the age of 14, became the youngest college student in the school’s history.
During his years at Berklee, he continued to practice the classical piano repertoire and also attended the Boston University summer program at Tanglewood in 1995 and 1996. He moved to New York City to attend the Manhattan School of Music where he studied with Solomon Mikowsky and earned both his Bachelor and Master of Music degrees by the age of 20. Gerstein continued his studies in Madrid with the famed piano pedagogue Dmitri Bashkirov and currently coaches with Ference Rados in Budapest.
Gerstein made his major orchestral debut in September 2000 with the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra. Recent and upcoming appearances in Europe include performances with the Deutsche Symphony Orchestra Berlin, Munich Philharmonic, Frankfurt Radio, Dresden Staatskappelle and a tour with London’s Royal Philharmopnic under the baton of Charles Dutoit in Germany. He has appeared in recital in Paris, Hamburg, Bonn, Zurich, Prague, Warsaw and throughout Spain.
During the 2005-2006 season, Gerstein was chosen by Carnegie Hall to participate in the Rising Star project of the European Concert Hall Organization (ECHO) and performed recitals in the major concert halls of Vienna, Amsterdam, Paris, Cologne, Athens, Stockholm, and Birmingham, UK as well as at Carnegie Hall.
In the North America, Gerstein has appeared at the Ravinia Festival with the Chicago Symphony, and with the Indianapolis and Utah symphonies; and in recital in Boston, Cincinnati, Detroit, Vancouver, Kansas City and at the Kennedy Center. Highlights of Gerstein’s 2007-2008 season include re-engagements with the San Francisco, Detroit, Houston, Baltimore and Oregon symphonies and first appearances with the Dallas and Vancouver symphonies.
Gerstein’s debut recording was a recital disc featuring the works of Bach, Beethoven, Scriabin and George Gershwin arrangements by Earl Wild for the Oehms Classic label. He became an American citizen in September 2003 and resides outside of Boston.