Kirill Gerstein » Press

The final showdown: Kirill vs. “Rach 2″

admin — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 21:48:36 +0000

The third and final week of “RachFest” is filling me with excitement for the upcoming performances of Rachmaninoff’s second concerto. I’m also feeling a hint of nostalgia as this project comes to a close. It has been wonderful and challenging to be immersed uninterruptedly in Rachmaninoff’s concertos. Performing all of them with the musicians of the Houston Symphony, becoming familiar with many of the audience members, feeling the continuity of the series and staying in Houston for three weeks has been a memorable and touching experience.

- Houston Symphony Blog, January 18, 2012

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One down, three to go! On deck: Rach 1 & 4

admin — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 17:22:27 +0000

Our “RachFest” continues this week with a pairing of Rachmaninoff’s 1st and 4th piano concertos. These two wonderful pieces are sometimes undeservedly overshadowed by their more famous cousins. I am glad to have the chance to present them to the Houston audience, and playing them together in one program makes a lot of sense.

- Houston Symphony Blog, January 11, 2012

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A fearless hand ballet: Gerstein attacks a naughty RachFest with a perfectionist’s cool for Symphony

admin — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 22:27:13 +0000

If Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto could talk, it would say take me, love me, hug me, hold me, adore me.

And that’s just the PG version. I suspect what’s lurking between the lines would be more sultry, even naughty, not verbiage I’d be willing to put down on a critique of such a classic. But if you could picture a passionate romantic romp that was set in motion with a shot of vodka, a piece of rye and a spoon full of caviar, this soundtrack would not be in the background, it would be paramount to the escapade.

- CultureMap Houston, January 6, 2012

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Houston Symphony promotes its version of a prizefight

admin — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 22:08:09 +0000

The people at the Houston Symphony have come up with a pretty clever campaign for its upcoming RachFest: The advertising deliberately resembles a promotion for a boxing match.

For three weeks in January, Jones Hall will play host to “the biggest, baddest showdown of the century”: composer Sergei Rachmaninoff “vs.” pianist Kirill Gerstein.

The analogy sort of makes sense. The famous Russian composer wrote four big-fisted piano concertos that are each daunting for any pianist. The 32-year-old Gerstein is bravely stepping into the ring to play all four of them.

- Houston Chronicle, January 3, 2012

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Getting ready to Rach: Kirill Gerstein on Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3

admin — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 20:21:13 +0000

I am excited to start our joint Rachmaninoff adventure with the Houston Symphony this week. In my opinion, Rachmaninoff’s concertos are some of the most gratifying pieces written for the piano. Playing and hearing the four concertos in three consecutive weeks offers a special opportunity to hear the essence of Rachmaninoff’s voice while observing the changes and growth of his style.

- Houston Symphony Blog, January 4, 2012

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Yuja Wang and Kirill Gerstein Lead a New Piano Generation

admin — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 15:19:57 +0000

Russia has given us Kirill Gerstein, born in 1979, the latest recipient of the distinguished Gilmore Artist Award, whose extraordinary recording of the Liszt Sonata, Schumann’s mercurial “Humoreske” and a fanciful piece by Oliver Knussen on Myrios Classics was one of the best recordings of 2010. In June Mr. Gerstein made his New York Philharmonic debut at a Summertime Classics concert with a boldly interpreted and brilliant account of Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto. But don’t let his probing musicianship distract you. He is another of those younger technicians who have figured out everything about piano playing.

The New York Times, August 12, 2011

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A Fresh Take Adds a Jolt to a Standard

admin — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 16:32:30 +0000

The Russian-born pianist Kirill Gerstein, in his Philharmonic debut, played a brilliant, perceptive and stunningly fresh account of Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto. At 31 Mr. Gerstein is emerging as one of the most respected pianists of his generation. In 2010 he became the sixth winner of the distinguished Gilmore Artist Award.

I was with him from the first moments of the first movement. When the orchestra broke into the surging main theme, Mr. Gerstein played the series of thick, rising chords not just as an accompaniment, but as another musical element.

Throughout the first movement you never felt, as you often do in other performances, that the pianist was simply displaying how fast he could dispatch a cascade of double octaves or a burst of dizzying passagework. Every element of the piano part was organic and musical. He teased out the Schumanesque richness and contrapuntal details of the cadenza so intriguingly that you forgot how technically daunting it is.

The New York Times, June 29, 2011

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Kirill on the Gramophone Podcast

admin — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 20:45:44 +0000

Kirill talks to Gramophone‘s James Jolly about recordings made by Rachmaninoff and the influence they’ve had on his approach to performance and interpretation.

Listen to the full interview here

Singular Double Achievements

admin — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 19:33:01 +0000

Trotting on stage, without a pause or glance outward, Kirill Gerstein plunged into Brahms “Paganini” Variations–both books!–, went through these most taxing etudes, lifted his hands and looked to the listeners as if to say, “Okay, what trick do you want next?”

While everything seems simple to him, his care was evident in his scrupulous voices, even in the most complex sounds. One never forgot the Paganini caprice in the Brahms, or the skipping lyric melodies in the Knussen.

…in Liszt’s B Minor Sonata, Mr. Gerstein showed again how absolutely singular he is. The piece was thunderous enough, and on the surface Mr. Gerstein could pound Russian style with little effort. But this was a Liszt which drew one in not through the great Lisztian chords, But because Mr. Gerstein played phrases with lucidity, care, and, in the “heavenly” sections, with the most radiant luminosity.

ConcertoNet.com, June 26, 2011

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Kirill Gerstein at Le Poisson Rouge

admin — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 19:25:54 +0000

Poise and confidence filled Le Poisson Rouge on Sunday night as pianist Kirill Gerstein performed pieces by Brahms, Knussen and Liszt.

“It’s first class Brahms as always,” said an amiable Gerstein of the first piece, Brahms’ Paganini variations. The piece, a maze of technique and expression somewhat uncharacteristic of Brahms (although characteristic of Paganini), was well-suited to the café setting. The slower variations introduced the audience to the rare level of Gerstein’s expression, a hint of what was to follow in the Liszt.

But Liszt’s Sonata in B minor, a giant in the piano repertoire, stole the show. Gerstein has performed this sonata numerous times and it appears on his latest album on the Myrios Classics label.

In the course of the night, Gerstein filled the shoes of both café pianist and virtuoso performer. His versatility is unquestionable.

Examiner.com, June 28, 2011

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