About
Sergey Tanin started piano lessons when he was 5 years old, and—though his parents were not musicians and never pushed him to practice—his commitment to the instrument grew quickly. By age 9, he had decided to be a pianist. Growing up in Yakutia in far Eastern Russia, a long way from major cities and the concerts they might offer, he drew inspiration from recordings by great artists, such as Argerich, Pletnev, Michelangeli, and Rubinstein. He was “taken by the power of music.”
He first gained international recognition in 2018 at the Géza Anda Competition in Switzerland (third prize and audience award), which he followed in 2020 by winning the Kissinger KlavierOlymp in Germany. After graduating in 2019 from the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, where he studied with Irina Plotnikova, he moved to Switzerland to attend the Basel Musik Academie under the tutelage of Claudio Martinez-Mehner. He holds the Swiss Government Excellence Scholarship, and, in 2020, the Swiss Television (SRF) released a documentary about him, entitled The Pianist Who Came in from the Cold.
As a soloist, he has performed with leading symphony orchestras, including the Tonhalle-Orchestra Zürich, Musikkollegium Winterthur, National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, Bremen Philharmonic, Mariinsky Symphony Orchestra, Prague Philharmonic, and Vogtland Philharmony. He has performed in recital in Czechia, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, Finland, France, Switzerland, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine. His debut CD, released in 2021 on the Prospero Classical label, was nominated for an International Classical Music Award.
His most vivid concert memory came in May 2020, during lockdown, when he was asked to perform a livestreamed concert at the famous Hotel Storchen Zurich. They lifted a Steinway by crane to the rooftop, where Sergey played with a view of the mountains, lakes, and people below. “I was so happy at that moment,” he said, “especially when I heard the applause from the streets.”
Competition Repertoire
Preliminary Round
- CPE BACH Sonata in F-sharp Minor, H. 37
- HOUGH Fanfare Toccata
- LISZT “Sposalizio” from Années de pèlerinage
- LISZT “Les jeux d’eaux à la Villa d’Este” from Années de pèlerinage
- MESSIAEN “Regard de l’Esprit de joie” from Vingt Regards sur l’enfant-Jésus
Quarterfinal Round
- MOZART Fantasia in C Minor, K. 396
- BRAHMS Sonata No. 1 in C Major, op. 1
Semifinal Round - Recital
- SCHUBERT Sonata in C Minor, D. 958
- SCHUBERT–LISZT “Sei mir gegrüsst”
- PROKOFIEV Ten Pieces, op. 12
Semifinal Round - Mozart Concerto
- MOZART Piano Concerto No. 20 in D Minor, K. 466
Final Round - Concerto 1
- BEETHOVEN Piano Concerto No. 4 in G Major, op. 58
Final Round - Concerto 2
- PROKOFIEV Piano Concerto No. 3 in C Major, op. 26
Meet Sergey
Performance Videos
Preliminary Round
HOUGH Fanfare Toccata
LISZT “Sposalizio” from Années de pèlerinage
LISZT “Les jeux d’eaux à la Villa d’Este” from Années de pèlerinage
MESSIAEN “Regard de l’Esprit de joie” from Vingt Regards sur l’enfant-Jésus
Relive the 2022 Competition
Own the 30 live recordings of each competitor’s Preliminary Round performance of Sir Stephen Hough’s Fanfare Toccata.