With a piano, there are always the concerns of where to put it, its surrounding environment, and the instrument's expressive capabilities as a piano. I hope that when this piano is released to the world and especially to my home city of Moscow, more people will be lucky enough to take the opportunity to experience the piano. Since my father was a piano teacher, I began to learn the piano at the age of five. And before I knew it, it had become a part of my life. I really began to take it seriously when I was about seventeen.
It's no exaggeration to say that becoming a pianist was a true gift from god, but I chose to play for much more than just this gift. Playing the piano well is not like a game; it is not something that offers you quick results. Even so, I believe that any rewards gained become an invaluable part of your life. This is not so much performing on stage but sitting at your piano by yourself at home. Even now, I think that such moments are when I am happiest.
In June 2005, Alexander Kobrin was awarded the prestigious Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Gold Medal at the Twelfth Van Cliburn International Piano...
Read MoreIn June 2005, Alexander Kobrin was awarded the prestigious Nancy Lee and Perry R. Bass Gold Medal at the Twelfth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Immediately following this announcement, Kobrin began his first tour to the United States including recitals at Bass Hall for the Cliburn Series, the Washington Performing Arts Society, and further debuts at La Roque d’Antheron, Ravinia Festival, Beethoven Easter Festival, Hannover Prize Winners Series, Turner Sims and at the renowned Klavier-Festival Ruhr. This season, Kobrin returns to the United States for a following fifty-date tour.
Last season, Kobrin made his debut with the New York Philharmonic at both Avery Fisher Hall and for the inaugural concert of the Bethel Woods Arts Centre. He was also invited to open the 06/07 season concerts with both Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.
Present and forthcoming engagements include debuts with the Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin, Louvre, Wigmore Hall, Esplanade Concert Hall Singapore, Sheung Wan Civic Centre Hong Kong, and recital tours in Italy including Palermo, Verona, Trieste, and Savona. Other appearances worldwide include Aspen Music Festival, Daytona Beach, Nashville Symphony, and his seasonal tour to Japan, the International Chopin Piano Festival in Duszniki Zdroj (opening the Festival), Orchestre de Bretagne, Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma, and an eleven-date tour of the United Kingdom with the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Paval Kogan. In addition, he made his Boston debut in March 2007 giving a recital as part of the prestigious Celebrity Series of Boston.
Born in Moscow in 1980, Alexander Kobrin began piano studies with Professor Tatiana Zelikman at the Gnessin Special Music School when he five. In 2003 he graduated from the Moscow Consevatory, where he studied under the late Professor L. Naumov.
In 1999 he was the winner of the Busoni International Piano Competition in Bolzano, Italy and was awarded the special prize in memory of A. Benedetti Michelangeli. Shortly following, Kobrin was second-prize winner of the 2003 Hamamatsu Competition (with no first prize awarded), which led to tours extensively throughout Europe, Asia, and South America.
Alexander Kobrin has collaborated with leading conductors such as Claus Peter Flor, Michael Christie, Alexander Lazarev, Vasily Petrenko, and James Conlon, and has worked with orchestras including the Orchestra Verdi di Milano, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Moscow Virtuosi, Moscow State Symphony Orchestra, the Virtuosi of Salzburg Chamber Orchestra, the Osaka and Tokyo Symphony Orchestras, Rio Philharmonic Orchestra, Phoenix Symphony, Seattle Sinfonietta, and the English Chamber Orchestra.
In addition to the Cliburn Competition disc for harmonia mundi which was released in October 2005, Kobrin has recorded two volumes of Essential Chopin for international labels.
Alexander Kobrin also teaches at the Moscow State Gnessins Academy of Music.
