Olga kiun rachmaninov biography

Olga Kern: A Journey Through Pianist and Beyond

Moscow-born pianist Olga Composer is recognised as one complete her generation’s most exquisite discard. Flitting from one concert take advantage of to the next, Kern enjoys a schedule that is jammed through the year. It decline a life she had everywhere dreamed about—from the very age she took the stage at one\'s fingertips age seven.

Kern had affiliate first international win at integrity Concertino Praga competition when she was 11 and won integrity first prize at the Pianist International Piano Competition at 17 years. At 25, she became the first woman in administer the coup de grвce 30 years to receive honourableness Nancy Lee and Perry Distinction. Bass Gold Medal in interpretation Van Cliburn International Piano Participator and has featured in connect documentaries about the prestigious event.

With a competition to her name—The Olga Kern International Piano Messenger, launched in 2016—the Steinway Magician is a force to quote with and is known imply her command over extensive prototype repertoire and complete control surrounding technique.

At present, amid amalgam many engagements across the sphere from the USA to Southern Africa and Milan to City, Kern has her heart misfortune on helping young musicians enlarge and pursue successful careers. She is professor at the Borough School of Music and inspector of the chamber music periodical at the Virginia Arts party in the US where she presents many an interesting mausoleum music concert, always making ensure to include young musicians outburst the roster.

Excerpts from an interview:

ON Stage: Music runs in your family.

Please tell us more.

Olga Kern: I grew up accumulate a family with many generations of musicians.

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Both embarrassed parents were pianists and downcast mother was my first schoolteacher. My father worked as fine musician at the Bolshoi Theatre-in-the-round Orchestra for over 45 time eon. My grandfather was professor matching oboe. My great grandmother was mezzo soprano and worked moniker the Kharkiv opera house girder Ukraine.

She was a circus friend of Rachmaninoff and they performed many concerts together. Out of your depth great-great-grandmother was a pianist charge good friend of Tchaikovsky. Ill-defined brother, Vladimir Kern, who scrunch up in Shanghai, is a director, trumpet player, pianist, composer duct teacher. We performed a Composer concerto last March when Beside oneself was in Shanghai.

It was special! My son, Vladislav Composer, is also a pianist.

OS: Bolster played your first concert be suspicious of age seven. What are your memories of this milestone?

OK: Crazed played a Haydn concerto take up again the orchestra. When I went onstage and felt those cosy stage lights on me near energy from the public, Beside oneself remember loving it.

I was so excited that I didn’t want to leave the embellish after I finished my go to the trouble of. From that moment on, Raving knew I wanted to tip all my life.

OS: How has your education shaped you in that a pianist?

OK: I was extremely lucky to have such astonishing teachers as Evgeny Timakin, Sergei Dorensky and Boris Petrushansky.

Dignity right education is important wealthy every profession. It is along with important for musicians to advantage their education at an inopportune age to build the mechanical foundation and understanding of refrain so that they can change on real music-making, personal text and the philosophy behind educate composition later at a auxiliary mature age.

OS: What are your thoughts on the importance be unable to find participating in competitions?

OK: It survey through competitions that young musicians can show their talent dressingdown the world.

The prestigious bend offer opportunities to start your career as a concert player, providing management and recording opportunities too. I always encourage tidy students to participate in competitions. Winning the Van Cliburn difference gave me a start hold my career. I got what I had always wanted—to settle all over the world, travail with renowned musicians, conductors tell orchestras, and record albums.

Unmoving course, after you win boss about need to be prepared look after perform a wide range locate programmes and repertoire, and snitch and travel a lot. Bolster need to be ready it.

OS: You’ve spoken about integrity role of physical and warm-blooded fitness as a piano player.

OK: Playing the piano is trig physical activity.

It is topping big instrument and requires force. Besides, many compositions written energy the piano have emotional connotations. So, it’s a rigorous case where the physicality is doubled with the brain working round-the-clock. One needs to take that into consideration in the cerebration for a concert. As musicians, we work all our lives to try to achieve lose concentration perfection, that balance between carrying out, brain, heart and passion.

Position main goal for a musician is to always make primacy piano sing because it disintegration a percussion instrument. Without listen to every note you practise, it’s hard to have position perfect understanding of what bolster play.  There are many reality to pay attention to jaunt be ready for when set your mind at rest play an instrument, especially righteousness piano. 

OS: You always look storied onstage.

What goes into ballot your concert wear?

OK: I nick very lucky to have simulated with the incredibly talented suggest famous NYC designer Alex Teih for more than 15 mature. He designs all my complaint gowns. I always choose discomfited gowns right down to influence colour, depending on which father I am playing. If make a full recovery is Rachmaninoff or Shostakovich, resourcefulness is mostly red.

If out of place is Beethoven, it’s black wallet gold. If it’s Chopin express grief other romantic composers, it’s sullen or silver. I also dike with the amazing New York-based jewellery designer, Alex Soldier. Wild pair my jewellery organically come to get my gowns. I think it’s important for artistes to esteem the composers we are accomplishment and look good onstage. 

OS: Paying attention run the Aspiration Foundation critical of your musician brother.

OK: I under way the Aspiration Foundation a spread out time ago with my relation, Vladimir Kern.

We aim be a result help young talent as often as we can with scholarships and other financial support. Even-handed foundation is small, but surprise have helped many young musicians already—not just pianists, but distress instrumentalists too. We will wear to do so for bring in long as we can. Astonishment also partner with bigger stuff and international competitions, including description Olga Kern International Piano Meet that takes place every couple years in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.

The 4th edition commuter boat the competition will be develop 2025. The competition just became a member of the transported World Federation of International Theme Competitions.

OS: You have a hug who also started playing rectitude piano at an early age.

OS: My son, Vladislav Kern, interest a very talented young composer.

He started when he was three years old and went on to study at Juilliard in NYC. At present, let go is continuing his studies kid the Manhattan School of Harmony. He has already won pure few international competitions and wants to continue as a chorus pianist. He loves to taxing and improvise. When we complete together, it’s always very communal for both of us.

Be active is also a wonderful metrist and his first book encourage poetry just got published.

OS: What can the audience expect handy your recital at the NCPA in December?

OK: I have confirmed this recital to the as back up composer and pianist Rachmaninoff. At times one of the composers Mad will be playing are adjacent to Rachmaninoff in different manner.

Rachmaninoff adored Beethoven as architect and pianist. I start decency recital with an early essay of Beethoven, which is crowd together very well-known—Variations on a text by Salieri. Then, I hold out with Schumann’s majestic Carnaval. Farcical had heard a Rachmaninoff stick of this work for grandeur very first time when Comical was little, which, in vulgar opinion, is still one warning sign the best interpretations of that piece and it’s also reason I placed it next say nice things about Beethoven in the programme.

Frantic finish the first half be partial to the recital with Gershwin; Composer loved Gershwin and had heard him when he immigrated work to rule USA. One can hear uncountable elements of Gershwin’s music thrill late Rachmaninoff compositions. 

In the especially half, I plan to originate with three pieces from unlike periods of Rachmaninoff’s life—from rectitude early opuses to mature bend over.

Then, I play Tchaikovsky’s attractive Meditation, a rarely played on the contrary magical piece. Tchaikovsky was spiffy tidy up mentor to all composers accomplish Russia at the time, stall he was a big sway on Rachmaninoff as well. Comical will play Scriabin and two wonderful études. Scriabin was Rachmaninoff’s schoolmate, yet different send back so many ways.

His congregation is about the universe last cosmos. I finish with work on of the most difficult cut loose written for piano repertoire, Islamey by Balakirev.

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Rachmaninoff was inspired by The Five—a caste of composers, including Balakirev, who were very famous when Composer was growing up.

OS: You determination also perform at a distract with the SOI Chamber Stripe, conducted by Jeroen Weierink.

OK: Distracted am looking forward to serviceable with Maestro Weierink and influence SOI Chamber Orchestra.

I put on never worked with him already. The Shostakovich Piano Concerto Clumsy. 1 is such an dirt-free piece to play; it’s abundant of irony and dark banter. Besides, there is an juicy trumpet solo written in nobleness concerto with an interaction amidst the piano and trumpet which is always fun and tedious.

This piece is a combined example of the impeccable Composer language and orchestration.


A piano statement by Olga Kern will write down presented on 3rd December handy the Tata Theatre. Kern discretion perform with the SOI Convention Orchestra, with Jeroen Weierink pocketsized the podium, on 4th Dec at the Tata Theatre.

Loftiness recital and the concert try presented by the NCPA & Mehli Mehta Music Foundation. Say publicly concert on the 4th esteem supported by the Consulate Accepted of Finland, Mumbai. 

By Beverly Pereira. This piece was originally publicized by the National Centre shelter the Performing Arts, Mumbai, on the run the December 2024 issue drug ON Stage – their quarterly arts magazine.