Alexander Kobrin – United States
The distinguished pianist Alexander Kobrin— heralded as the “Van Cliburn of today” by the BBC Russia—has placed himself at the forefront of today’s performing musicians. Mr. Kobrin has been an active guest soloist with leading orchestras throughout his career, including the New York Philharmonic, Tokyo Philharmonic, Russian National Orchestra, Belgrade Philharmonic, English Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra Verdi, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Moscow Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Dallas Symphony, Deutsche Symphony,Swedish Radio Symphony, Birmingham Symphony, Warsaw Philharmonic, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. He has collaborated with such conductors as Mikhail Pletnev, Mikhail Jurovsky, Sir Mark Elder, Vassiliy Sinaisky, James Conlon, Claus Peter Flor, Alexander Lazarev, Vassiliy Petrenko amongst others.
He has appeared in recital at major halls worldwide, including Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall in New York, the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., Albert Hall and Wigmore Hall in London, the Louvre Auditorium, la Salle Gaveau and Salle Cortot in Paris, Munich’s Herkulesaal and Berlin’s Filarmonia Hall in Germany, the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatoire, Sheung Wan Civic Centre in Hong Kong, and the Sala Verdi in Milan, amongst others. Notable past engagements have included recitals under the aegis of the Cliburn Series, Washington Performing Arts Society, Chautauqua Institution Music Festival, La Roque d’Antheron, Ravinia Festival, Beethoven Easter Festival, Busoni Festival, Klavier-Festival Ruhr, Festival Musique dans le Grésivaudan, and International Keyboard Institute & Festival, as well as annual concert tours in Japan, China, and Taiwan.
In addition to his international performing career, Mr. Kobrin has also been an active figure in music education for many years. From 2003 to 2010 he served on the faculty of the Russian State Gnessin’s Academy of Music. In 2010 Alexander Kobrin was named the L. Rexford Distinguished Chair in Piano at the Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University, and from 2013 until 2017 was a member of the Artist Faculty of New York University’s Steinhardt School. In July 2017, Mr. Kobrin joined the faculty of the renowned Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. His masterclass schedule has included engagements with the International Piano Series and the Conservatories of Japan and China, as well as jury participation for international piano competitions including the Busoni,Hamamatsu, Seoul, Neuhaus International Piano Competitions and others. Mr. Kobrin is currently a member of Van Cliburn International Piano Competition pre-screening jury.
Alexander Kobrin has released recordings on the Harmonia Mundi, Quartz, and Centaur labels, covering a wide swath of the piano literature. Latest releases include a Russian album as well as Chopin Complete Piano Sonatas.
Born in Moscow in 1980, Mr. Kobrin was enrolled in the world-famous Gnessin Special School of Music at the age of five, after which he attended the prestigious Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory. His teachers have included renowned professors Tatiana Zelikman and Lev Naumov. Mr. Kobrin is the winner of numerous international piano competitions—besides the Van Cliburn, he has garnered top prizes from the Busoni, Hamamatsu, and Glasgow International Piano Competitions.