Russian Pianist Kirill Gerstein to Make McCarter Debut on March 27

Russian pianist Kirill Gerstein, whose playing has been called “brilliant, perceptive and stunningly fresh” by The New York Times, comes to Princeton’s McCarter Theatre Center for the first time on Tuesday at 8 p.m.

Gerstein, the 2010 winner of the coveted Gilmore Artist Award, will play works by Bach, Mozart, Weber, Schumann, Schubert and Oliver Knussen.

Kirill Gerstein will open his program with Bach’s English Suite No. 6 in D minor, BWV#811. Next on the program is Gigue, Bolero and Variations by Mozart, arranged by Ferruccio Busoni. Taken from a collection called An die Jugend, the pieces were first performed by the arranger in 1909. Knussen’s Ophelia’s Last Dance (2010) is followed by Weber’s Invitation to the Dance which closes out the first half of the program. Dedicated to the composer’s wife Caroline and written in 1819, Invitation was the first concert waltz ever composed.

After an intermission, Gerstein will return with Carnaval, a collection of 21 short pieces written in 1834–1835 by Schumann. The program will conclude with Soirées de Vienne, a collection of nine pieces written by Schubert and arranged and expanded by Liszt around 1850.

Kirill Gerstein was born in 1979 in Voronezh, Russia. His mother was a music teacher and his father a mathematician; together they had a large collection of jazz records, which young Kirill spent hours listening to. He began serious piano study at age 10, and spent several summers at jazz workshops in Poland as a child. At age 14, encouraged by vibraphonist Gary Burton, Gerstein began jazz studies at Boston’s Berklee College of Music. Within a few years he turned his attention to classical music and transferred to the Manhattan School of Music, where he studied with Solomon Mikowsky and earned undergraduate and graduate degrees.

Gersteie won the 2001 Arthur Rubinstein Piano Competition, the 2002 Gilmore Young Artist Award and Carnegie Hall’s “Rising Star” award for the 2005–2006 season. His winning streak culminated with the 2010 Gilmore Artist Award, a prize given to an exceptional pianist who, regardless of age, fame, or nationality, possesses broad and profound musicianship and charisma. Gerstein is the first Gilmore Artist Award winner who also won the Gilmore Young Artist Award.

Gerstein has played with major symphony orchestras and conductors throughout Europe and the Americas, as well as at major festivals including Tanglewood, Blossom, Salzburg and Lucerne.

In addition to an active performance and recording schedule, Gerstein is professor of piano at the Musikhochschule in Stuttgart. His official website iswww.kirillgerstein.com.

Tickets for Kirill Gerstein start at $20, and are available by calling (609) 258-2787, online at www.mccarter.org; or in person at 91 University Place. $15 student tickets are available with valid ID.