Featuring pianists ANTON GERZENBERG - KRISTINA MILLER – IGOR GRUPPMAN - DMITRY ABLOGIN- ILYA ITIN 

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DMITRY ABLOGIN

Dmitry Ablogin is regarded as one of the most brilliant and creative keyboard artists of his generation.

He studied piano under the guidance of Vladimir Tropp at the Gnessin Academy in Moscow and graduated with distinction in 2012. His marked interest in historical pianos led him to Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts, where he studied fortepiano and historically informed performance with Jesper Bøje Christensen.

Dmitry has won prizes at numerous piano competitions: the 1st International Chopin Competition on Period Instruments (Warsaw, 2018), the International Competition “Musica Antiqua” for Pianoforte (Bruges, 2019), the German Piano Open (Hanover, 2016) to name a few. In October 2021, Dmitry won the 10th International German Pianist Award and made his début at the Alte Oper Frankfurt.

Dmitry performed at such concert halls as the Berlin Philharmonie, Cologne Philharmonie, Laeishalle Hamburg, Konzerthaus Freiburg, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Wiener Konzerthaus, Salle Cortot in Paris, Edinburgh Queen's Hall and Glasgow City Halls.

He appeared as a soloist together with the Freiburger Barockorchester, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, Nürnberger Symphoniker and many others.

Dmitry regularly performs at the “Chopin and his Europe” Festival in Warsaw and the Miami International Piano Festival (USA). He has also given concerts in Germany, Austria, Denmark, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, Finland, Russia and Switzerland.  

As a chamber music partner, he works together with artists such as the Eliot String Quartet, the Henschel Quartet, Alena Baeva, Anastasia Kobekina and soprano Kateryna Kasper.

Dmitry has made CD recordings for prominent labels such as Naxos, Genuin, Organum Classics. In 2022, he released three albums, including his first solo recording featuring two versions of the Diabelli Variations by Beethoven – on a modern piano (Fazioli grand) and a period piano (Streicher Fortepiano 1825). This CD has been presented on BR Klassik and in the VAN Magazin as the Album of the week.

Two previous recordings, chamber music by César Franck with the Eliot Quartet and songs by Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn with soprano Kateryna Kasper were nominated for prestigious awards such as "Opus Klassik", "Preis der Deutsche Schallplattenkritik" and "International Classical Music Awards".

His most recent album has been released in October 2023 by the Chopin Institute. He recorded a unique selection of Chopin's late works on a Pleyel Fortepiano No. 14810 which once belonged to Chopin and was his very last instrument.

Dmitry is currently based in Germany. In October 2024, Dmitry Ablogin was appointed Professor of Fortepiano at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln.

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IGOR GRUPPMAN

Igor Gruppman is one of those special artists whose career successfully spans a number of artistic fields. Critically acclaimed for his depth of interpretation and sensitive musicianship, Igor Gruppman enjoys an exciting and multi-faceted career as conductor, violin soloist, and orchestra leader.

As the Leader of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and a frequent guest Leader of orchestras such as the London Symphony, London’s Royal Philharmonic, and St. Martin in the Fields, Mr. Gruppman has collaborated with and was influenced by some of the most esteemed conductors of his generation including Solti, Gergiev, Rostropovich, Colin Davis, Rattle, Haitink and Yannick Nézet Séguin.

As the Leader of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and a frequent guest Leader of orchestras such as the London Symphony, London’s Royal Philharmonic, and St. Martin in the Fields, Mr. Gruppman has collaborated with and was influenced by some of the most esteemed conductors of his generation including Solti, Gergiev, Rostropovich, Colin Davis, Rattle, Haitink and Yannick Nézet Séguin.

Mr. Gruppman conducts orchestras on four continents. He made his debut with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra in the 2006/07 season, conducting a special Easter performance of The Last Seven Words by Haydn and Gubaidulina in the Rotterdam Cathedral. This program was repeated during the Easter Festival in Moscow where Mr. Gruppman shared the podium with Maestro Gergiev. Most recently Mr. Gruppman conducted the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra in two critically acclaimed Mendelssohn programs and an all-Mozart program at De Doelen Great Hall in Rotterdam where in addition to conducting the RPHO, Mr. Gruppman gave the Netherlands premiere of Mozart’s recently reconstructed Concerto for Violin and in Piano (Op. 315F) with pianist Ronald Brautigam. In 2015/16 Mr. Gruppman combined performing chamber music with the great Emanuel Ax in the first half of the concert and conducting Beethoven Symphony No. 1 in the second. This formula proved to be extremely successful.

Igor Gruppman made his conducting debut with the Mariinsky Orchestra during the 2008 Easter Festival in St. Petersburg replacing at the last moment ailing Valery Gergiev and has appeared regularly with the orchestra ever since. In January of 2010, Mr. Gruppman was honored as the Artist-of-the-Month by the Mariinsky Theater.

In the United States in addition to guest appearances, Mr. Gruppman holds the post of Principal Conductor of the Orchestra at Temple Square in Salt Lake City. These concerts are now regularly broadcast on cable television in the U.S. and abroad. In recent seasons some of the world’s great artists have appeared with this orchestra, including Renee Fleming, Bryn Terfel and Ida Haendel.

In Asia Igor Gruppman has appeared numerous times as conductor and soloist with the Seoul Philharmonic.

As soloist, Mr. Gruppman is critically acclaimed for his “rich and beautiful tone, elegant phrasing, drive, passion and virtuosity.” (Strad Magazine) He continues the proud tradition of his teachers, Leonid Kogan and Jascha Heifetz. Mr. Gruppman received glowing reviews for his performances of the Double Concerto by Brahms under the baton of Valery Gergiev and the Second Violin Concerto by Prokofiev under the baton of Yannick Nézet Séguin, both with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra.

Mr. Gruppman’s violin solo recordings have met with enthusiastic reception by the international press: Berlioz’ Reverie and Caprice (Naxos); Respighi’s Poema Autunnale (Koch); Miklos Rosza’s Sinfonia Concertante and the Violin Concerto(Koch), which marks the first release of the concerto since the recording by Heifetz for whom this piece was written. Arnold’s Concerto for Two Violins and Orchestra with the San Diego Chamber Orchestra had won it’s producer Michael Fine a Grammy Award. Most recently the long-awaited reconstructed original string version of the Brahms’ F Minor Quintet recorded with the members of the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields was released on the Biddulph label.

Mr. Gruppman is a passionate educator.

2021 marks the launch of the First Chair Academy, an innovative series of International orchestral workshops specifically designed to select and train future Concertmasters and orchestral leaders.

Mr. Gruppman is a graduate of the Moscow Conservatory where he studied with Leonid Kogan and Mstislav Rostropovich, followed by studies with Jascha Heifetz in Los Angeles, and now is on the faculty of the Rotterdam Conservatory. Igor and Vesna Gruppman co-founded the Gruppman International Violin Institute in 2002 to select, train and develop the careers of exceptionally gifted violinists around the world, using the latest videoconferencing technology.

Mr. Gruppman plays the 1731 “Julles Garcin” Stradivarius violin generously provided by the Erasmus Foundation.

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ANTON GERZENBERG

Since winning first prize at the Concours Géza Anda in Zurich in 2021 and being named “Great Talent” at the Vienna Konzerthaus in 2022-24, pianist Anton Gerzenberg, born in 1996, has made a name for himself in the music world: with a wide-ranging repertoire from Sweelinck to Lachenmann, he captivates audiences with his virtuoso and sensitive playing in sophisticated programs. In June 2024 he was awarded the Martha Argerich Steinway Prize.In addition to continuing his collaboration at the Wiener Konzerthaus, Anton Gerzenberg will be invited to the Konzerthaus Berlin, the Musikverein Vienna, the Grazer Musikverein, the Nikolaisaal Potsdam, Le Piano Symphonique Lucerne and the Ruhr Piano Festival in the 2024/25 season. In spring 2025, an extensive Asian tour will take him to Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and China together with Lilya Zilberstein.Anton Gerzenberg has already performed in numerous important concert halls around the world, such as the Tonhalle Zurich, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, the Franz Liszt Academy Budapest and the National Concert Hall of Taiwan, as well as at festivals such as the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the Heidelberger Frühling and the Martha Argerich Festivals in Lugano and Hamburg. He has performed with the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, the Orchestre de chambre de Paris, the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, the Musikkollegium Winterthur and the Tyrolean Symphony Orchestra, among others. His musical partners include Martha Argerich, Ilya Gringolts, Julia Hagen and Dora Schwarzberg as well as conductors such as Paavo Järvi, Stefan Blunier, Jonathan Stockhammer, Holly Hyun Choe and Nil Vendetti.His interest in new music was particularly encouraged by his studies with the French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard and led him to collaborate with important composers of our time. In 2019, he founded the ÉRMA Ensemble, which specializes in contemporary music, together with other young soloists. His studies had previously led him to Julia Suslin and Julija Botchkovskaia in Hamburg and Jan Jiracek von Armin in Vienna; he also received important inspiration from Robert Levin, Alfred Brendel and Bella Davidovich.

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ILYA ITIN

Audiences throughout the world revere Ilya Itin’s unique artistry. Playing to sold out houses in Japan and in the US, he is known for his extraordinary range, power, quality of sound and command of the piano. His Princeton recital was singled out by the Philadelphia Inquirer as a “top ten musical moment of the year”, and a New York Times critic described him as: “…a brilliantly insightful pianist who offered a superb recital.” Since capturing the Gold Medal, BBC Audience Award, and Contemporary Music Prize at the 1996 Leeds International Piano Competition, Ilya Itin has performed throughout the world bringing his powerful musical imagination and mastery to wide ranging repertoire. “I’d go to hear him play the phonebook,” remarked BBC TV critic Ian Burnside.

“Ilya Itin is a major pianist with an ease about him that makes you want to listen to him for hours….” Philadelphia Inquirer

Ilya Itin has performed with many of the world’s great conductors, including Sir Simon Rattle, Neemi Jarvi, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Yakov Kreizberg, Vassily Sinaisky, Valery Polyansky, and Mikhail Pletnev performing as soloist with orchestras, including the Cleveland Orchestra, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, the Tokyo Symphony, the National Symphony, the London Philharmonic, the China National Symphony, the Symphony Orchestra of India; the Mexico City Philharmonic; and the Rochester Philharmonic.

Much lauded for his chamber music collaborations with colleagues and friends in the US, Europe and Asia, he recently performed Beethoven Archduke Trio in New York with the Jupiter Chamber Players followed by a recital of the complete Brahms Sonatas in Tokyo with violinist, Fuminori Maro Shinozaki.  He has made numerous recordings of chamber music, including Beethoven’s “Spring” Sonata, Brahms Viola Sonata, Martinu Double Violin Sonata, and Piazzola Spring/Autumn in Buenos Aires, with Igor Gruppmann, violin and Vesna Gruppmann, viola/violin. Mr. Itin has also recorded a full recital with legendary violinist Ida Handel at the Miami International Piano Festival.

 Ilya Itin’s recording of the complete Debussy Preludes on vinyl and high definition audio won critical acclaim: “I [won’t] hear a greater performance of Debussy in my life.” ZB Living the Classical Life. Itin’s DVD of the “Russian Marathon” concerts at the Miami International Piano Festival recorded live, in one day all 24 Preludes of Rachmaninov, and Prokofiev’s 7th and 8th Sonatas was a seminal achievement. Other recordings include Beethoven’s 2nd Piano Concerto with the Jerusalem Camerata on the JDR label, and Prokofiev’s 6th Sonata with Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition on VAI.

Mr. Itin is also a much sought after teacher giving regular master classes throughout Japan, in Princeton, Miami, and New York. His students include winners of top prizes in international competitions, and highest awards at the most competitive conservatories of the US and Japan.

Born in Yekaterinburg, Russia, his piano studies began at the Sverdlovsk School for the Gifted with Natalia Litvinova. He went on to graduate from the Moscow Conservatory with the highest honors in 1990 working with legendary teacher Lev Naumov. Mr. Itin won his first major piano competition while at the Conservatory, taking second place in the 1990 Russian National Rachmaninov Competition. Soon after, he won top honors in the William Kapell Competition, followed by First Prize, and the Special Chopin Prize at the Casadesus Competition (Cleveland Competition), and the Best Performance of a Work of Mozart, Best Prokofiev Performance, and Third Prize at the Gina Bachauer Competition.

Ilya Itin is on the teaching faculties of the Musashino Academy in Tokyo, the Academy of the Miami International Piano Festival and the Golandsky Institute at Princeton University. He has also taught in the piano departments of the Juilliard School prep and college divisions, Peabody Conservatory, and the Graduate Program at CUNY. Ilya Itin resides in Tokyo, Japan, and New York City where he maintains a private teaching studio. 

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KRISTINA MILLER

Kristina Miller, Russian-German pianist, was born in 1986 in Moscow into a musical family. Her outstanding talent gave her the first opportunity to perform W.A.Mozart Concerto Nr. 23 with orchestra at the early age of eight.

Six years later, Prof. A.E. Rubina invited her to study in a special music school for talented children in St.Petersburg, Russia. Having already won the first prize in the Berlin International Piano competition(1999) and second prize in the St.Petersburg International piano competition(2000), the Russian Ministry of Culture marked her exceptional achievements as a pianist by awarding her its prize for artistic development. Since the age of twelve, Kristina Miller played concerts in Europe, the United States, Australia and South America and was invited every year to appear as a soloist with orchestras, such as the Recreation Grosses Orchester Graz, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra of Americas, Israel Camerata Jerusalem, Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, Orquestra Sinfonica do Teatro Nacional Claudio Santoro, Neue Philharmonie München, the Capella State Symphony Orchestra St.Petersburg, the Rostow Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orquestra Sinfonica da USP, Berliner Camerata, the Uljanowsk Symphony Orchestra and others. She worked with Conductors including Ravil Martinov, Carlos Miguel Prieto, Sergey Krylov, Vladislav Chernushenko, Uri Segal, Roberto Tibiricá, Osvaldo Ferreira, Fuad Ibrahimov, Helder Trefzger, Claudio Cohen, Hobart Earle, Andreas Stoehr, Marcelo Ramos and others.

After graduating at the special music school in 2004 she became a student at the St.Petersburg State Conservatory. During this time Kristina Miller had an opportunity to perform in concert halls such as the Philarmonic Hall, the Capella Hall and the big A. Glasunov Hall of Conservatory in St.Petersburg.

In 2006 she won the Steinway Piano Award of the Munich Steinway House and entered the Munich Music University to continue her studies with the well-known pianist Prof. Gerhard Oppitz.

As a chamber musician, Kristina Miller collaborated with artists including Daniel Müller-Schott, Sergey Krylov, David Aaron Carpenter, Jan Volger, Pierre Amoyal, Danjulo Ishizaka and others.

Besides making various recordings for the Bavarian Radio, her first CD was released in 2008 for the Naxos Label, which Kristina recorded with Nicolas Koeckert. It received great reviews and was repeatedly played at the Bavarian Radio and BBC Radio stations.

In 2012 Kristina Miller finished her Studies at the Munich University of Music with Prof. Gerhard Oppitz, where she received her Master of Music degree with Distinction.

In 2015 she received her second Master Degree at the Conservatory Wien University with Prof.Dr. Johannes Kropfitsch.

In 2017-2023 Kristina had her debuts in Berliner Philharmonie, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Laeiszhalle Hamburg, Sala Sao Paulo, Stefaniensaal Graz, Victoria Hall Geneve, Big Philharmonic Hall Vilnius, Herkulessaal München, Kurhaus Wiesbaden, The Krzysztof Pendereki European Center of Music and others.

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