Biography

OLGA KERN
Pianist

Now recognized as one of her generation’s great pianists, Olga Kern’s career began one decade ago with her award winning gold-medal performance at the Eleventh Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in 2001. Her second catapulting triumph came in New York City on May 4, 2004, with a highly acclaimed New York City recital debut at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall. In an unprecedented turn of events, Olga gave a second recital eight days later in Isaac Stern Auditorium at the invitation of Carnegie Hall.

Ms. Kern was born into a family of musicians with direct links to Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff and began studying piano at the age of five. Winner of the first Rachmaninoff International Piano Competition when she was seventeen, she is a laureate of eleven international competitions and has toured throughout her native Russia, Europe, and the United States, as well as in Japan, South Africa, and South Korea. The recipient of an honorary scholarship from the President of Russia in 1996, she is a member of Russia’s International Academy of Arts. She began her formal training with acclaimed teacher Evgeny Timakin at the Moscow Central School and continued with Professor Sergei Dorensky at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, where she was also a postgraduate student. She also studied with Professor Boris Petrushansky at the acclaimed Accademia Pianistica Incontri col Maestro in Imola, Italy.

Ms. Kern’s performance career has brought her to the many of the world’s most important venues, including the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, Symphony Hall in Osaka, Salzburger Festspielhaus, La Scala in Milan, Tonhalle in Zurich, and the Châtelet in Paris; she has appeared as soloist with the Kirov Orchestra, the Bolshoi Theater, the Moscow Philharmonic, St. Petersburg Symphony, Russian National, China Symphony, Belgrade Philharmonic, La Scala Philharmonic, Torino Symphony, and Cape Town Symphony Orchestras. She has also collaborated with the most prominent conductors in the world today, including Valery Gergiev, Leonard Slatkin, Manfred Honeck, Vladimir Spivakov, Yuri Termirkanov, Pinchas Zukerman, and James Conlon.

In addition to performing, Ms. Kern devotes her time to the support and education of developing musicians. In 2012, the artist and her brother, Vladimir Kern co-founded the ?Aspiration? foundation whose objective is to provide financial and artistic assistance to musicians throughout the world.

With her vivid stage presence, passionately confident musicianship and extraordinary technique, the striking young Russian pianist continues to captivate fans and critics alike. In the 2012-2013 season Olga

will perform with the Symphonies of Nashville, Pittsburgh, Detroit and San Diego and will present recital programs in St. Louis, Dallas, and Scottsdale, Arizona and at Lincoln Center in New York City as a part of the Cherry Orchard Festival. In 2013, in a celebration of Rachmaninoff’s 140th year, Olga Kern will perform all four Piano Concerti and the Rachmaninoff Rhapsody on a Theme by Paganini in collaboration with Leonard Slatkin and the Orchestre National De Lyon. Ms. Kern has also performed this special program in South Africa, in Warsaw and in Arizona. Other upcoming European appearances include performances with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, orchestras in Germany and Poland and recitals in Italy.

In the 2011-2012 season Olga performed with the Baltimore, Houston, Saint Louis, Colorado and Phoenix Symphonies, the Sacramento Philharmonic and the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa. In February of 2012 Olga made an extensive recital tour of North America with violinist Vladimir Spivakov, their first chamber music collaboration outside of Europe. Summer 2011 appearances included her debut at Aspen Music Festival, a return to the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl and recitals with La Jolla Music Society and Bear Valley Music Festival

Her 2010-2011 season included opening week with the Colorado Symphony and closing week with the Detroit Symphony, as well as subscription weeks with Nashville, St. Louis and Pittsburgh Symphonies. She also presented recitals at Longwood Gardens, Sanibel and Winter Park Music Festivals, Drake University and at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto. At Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall she performed Chopin’s Piano Concerto No.1 for the composer’s 200th Anniversary Celebration. In April 2011, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and The Van Cliburn Foundation undertook a special co- presentation of Olga Kern in celebration of her tremendous success of the last ten years.

Other past seasons in North America have seen Olga perform with the symphonies of Nashville, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Detroit, New Jersey, and Vancouver. She has presented recital programs in the most esteemed concert halls and alongside artists such as soprano Kathleen Battle at Carnegie Hall and soprano Renee Fleming at Kennedy Center. Olga has toured North America with National Philharmonic of Russia and the world renowned Moscow Virtuosi, both led by conductor Vladimir Spivakov.

Ms. Kern has an extensive world wide reputation. Recent European appearances have included a tour of Austria and Switzerland with the Warsaw Philharmonic and Maestro Antoni Wit, a tour of Germany with the Czech Philharmonic and Maestro Zdenek Maçal, performances with the orchestras Acadamy of La Scala in Bad Kissingen and Copenhagen and Lyon, and recitals in Milan, Hamburg and Luxembourg. She

made her London debut with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in 2006 followed by her Proms debut in 2008. Ms. Kern has performed recently with the Orquestra de S?o Paulo the Seoul Philharmonic and in Mexico, Peru, Columbia, Egypt, Morocco, Turkey, and Israel. In June of 2002, Olga Kern made an extensive tour of South Africa where she returned to tour again in February of 2005 with her brother, Vladimir Kern, conducting. Ms. Kern was the Artistic Director of the Cape Town Festival in South Africa from 2005 until 2010 and returns there annually.

Ms. Kern’s festival appearances include the Interlochen Festival, Bravo! Vail Festival, and the Festival Casals in Puerto Rico in 2007. She has been a recent guest artist at several international music festivals, including the Klavier Ruhr and Kissinger Sommer festivals in Germany, the Radio-France Montpellier and Casadesus festivals in France, the Ohrid Festival in Macedonia, and the Busoni Festival in Italy.

Ms. Kern’s discography includes Harmonia Mundi recordings of Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and Christopher Seaman (2003), a Rachmaninoff recording of Corelli Variations and other transcriptions (2004), a recital disk with works by Rachmaninoff and Balakirev (2005), Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 1 with the Warsaw Philharmonic and Antoni Wit (2006), Brahms Variations (2007) and a 2010 release of Chopin Piano Sonatas No. 2 and 3 (2010). She was also featured in the award-winning documentary about the 2001 Cliburn Competition, Playing on the Edge. Most recently, SONY released a recording of Ms. Kern performing the Rachmaninoff Sonata for Violoncello and Piano with cellist Sol Gabetta.