Kirill Gerstein plays Liszt, Schumann and Knussen Kirill Gerstein

• Robert Schumann (1810 - 1856): Humoreske, Op. 20:
• 1 Schumann: Humoreske, Op. 20: I. Einfach 05:19
• 2 Schumann: Humoreske, Op. 20: II. Hastig 04:27
• 3 Schumann: Humoreske, Op. 20: III. Einfach und zart 04:26
• 4 Schumann: Humoreske, Op. 20: IV. Innig 05:45
• 5 Schumann: Humoreske, Op. 20: V. Zum Beschluß 05:38
• Oliver Knussen (1952 - 2018): Ophelia's Last Dance:
• 6 Knussen: Ophelia's Last Dance 10:16
• Franz Liszt (1811 - 1886): Sonata in B Minor, S. 178:
• 7 Liszt: Sonata in B Minor, S. 178: Lento assai - Allegro energico 12:24
• 8 Liszt: Sonata in B Minor, S. 178: Andante sostenuto 06:47
• 9 Liszt: Sonata in B Minor, S. 178: Allegro energico 01:43
• 10 Liszt: Sonata in B Minor, S. 178: Finale 08:37
• Total Runtime 01:05:22

Info for Kirill Gerstein plays Liszt, Schumann and Knussen

Kirill Gerstein, recipient of the prestigious 2010 Gilmore Artist Award, is one of today‘s most intriguing young musicians. For his solo debut album on myrios classics, he has recorded a spellbinding performance of Liszt‘s Sonata in B minor and Schumann‘s Humoreske. Gerstein plays a crystalline, vibrant rendering of these key works with an even balance of furiousness and finesse. The disc also includes the world premiere recording of Oliver Knussen‘s enchanting composition „Ophelia‘s Last Dance“ from 2010.

"many pianists would be glad to claim Gerstein's superb control, cultivation and taste, which make themselves felt in Liszt's B minor Sonata. Gerstein's ability to sustain quiet music at slow tempi creates an appropriately rapt aura throughout the Andante sostenuto...Moreover, [he] justifies his rhetorical phrase broadenings with plenty of dynamism and full-bodied tonal projection." (Gramophone Magazine)

"Gerstein’s fluid playing suits this tender piece (Knussen), with the rondo-like return of the main theme sensitively handled." (International Record Review)

"[Gerstein] pairs Schumann’s mercurial masterpiece “Humoresque” with Liszt’s visionary Sonata in B minor, each played with exquisite technique, refined musicianship and engrossing imagination." (New York Times)

Kirill Gerstein, piano

Kirill Gerstein
Gerstein’s heritage combines the traditions of Russian, American and Central European music-making with an insatiable curiosity. These qualities and the relationships that he has developed with orchestras, conductors, instrumentalists, singers and composers, have led him to explore a huge spectrum of repertoire both new and old. From Bach to Adès, Gerstein's playing is distinguished by a ferocious technique and discerning intelligence, matched with an energetic, imaginative musical presence that places him at the top of his profession.

Born in the former Soviet Union, Gerstein is an American citizen based in Berlin. His career is similarly international, with solo and concerto engagements taking him from Europe to the United States, East Asia and Australia. In the coming season, Gerstein’s flair for curation will be on display as he becomes both Artist-in-Residence at London’s Wigmore Hall and with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (BRSO). At the Wigmore, he presents a three-part concert series entitled ‘Busoni and His World’, and with the BRSO, a series of concerts at home and on tour with Alan Gilbert, Daniel Harding, Antonello Manacorda and Erina Yashima. This past season, Gerstein and Gilbert performed together in a concert for Ukraine with the Deutsches-Symphonie Orchester Berlin, and on tour with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. In March, Gerstein also took part in the Ukraine benefit gala held at the Vienna Musikverein where, a few days earlier, he play-led the Vienna Philharmonic in Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 17.

Elsewhere during 2022-23 season, international highlights include Rachmaninov’s Second Piano Concerto with both the London Philharmonic and Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, and St Louis Symphony and Hannu Lintu; Schumann’s Piano Concerto with both The Cleveland Orchestra and Edward Gardner, and on tour with the City of Birmingham Symphony and Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla; Adès with the New York Philharmonic and Ruth Reinhardt; Berg with the Dresden Philharmonic and Marek Janowski; and Rachmaninov’s Third Piano Concerto with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony and Alan Gilbert. In recital, Gerstein will present, together with Christian Tetzlaff, a new work for violin and piano written for them by Thomas Adès and commissioned by Kronberg Academy and the Wigmore Hall; music by Brahms, Hindemith, Clarke and Shostakovich with his close colleague Tabea Zimmermann on tour in Europe; Brahms and Ligeti Horn Trios with Alan Gilbert and Stefan Dohr; and a solo recital as part of the Concertgebouw’s Great Pianists Series playing works by Stravinsky, Schubert and Liszt.

Booklet for Kirill Gerstein plays Liszt, Schumann and Knussen