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PIANO DUO RECITAL BY LILYA ZILBERSTEIN & ANTON GERZENBERG
SATURDAY 15 MARCH 2025
8:00PM
VICTORIA CONCERT HALL
“Zilberstein’s world-class pianism positively glitters."
(ClassicsToday.com)
“Gerzenberg was in a league of his own.” (Musical America)
Prepare to be captivated by the sensational piano duo of Lilya Zilberstein and Anton Gerzenberg as they unite in Singapore! Zilberstein has legendary status in the business, enjoying a storied career since her 1987 win at the Busoni Competition. Gerzenberg followed his mother’s footsteps and took First Prize at the Concours Géza Anda in Zurich 34 years later in 2021, which launched his remarkable career.
Both past solo recitalists in Altenburg Arts’ series, this mother-and-son duo bring their unparalleled artistry to a thrilling programme of two-piano masterworks. From Brahms’ enchanting Waltzes and powerful Sonata in F Minor to Shostakovich’s playful Concertino and Rachmaninov’s breathtaking Symphonic Dances, this promises to be a night of musical brilliance not to be missed!
PROGRAMME
BRAHMS – Five Waltzes, from 16 Waltzes, Op. 39 (arr. for two pianos by the composer)
BRAHMS – Sonata for Two Pianos in F Minor, Op. 34b
SHOSTAKOVICH – Concertino for Two Pianos, Op. 94
RACHMANINOV – Symphonic Dances for Two Pianos, Op. 45
(Programme subject to change at the artists' discretion)
THE ARTISTS
LILYA ZILBERSTEIN, piano
Lilya Zilberstein got her first taste of international success in 1987 when she won the Busoni Competition in Bolzano. Her victory was a sensation – it took five years until the first prize was even awarded again. By 1988, the Moscow-born pianist was able to perform at big tours abroad in the West. Travelling for her concerts took her to almost all of the European countries, Mexico, Japan, Korea, Canada and Brazil.
Zilberstein started playing the piano at five years old. After twelve years of lessons with Ada Traub at the Gnessin Special Music School in Moscow, she continued studying at the Gnessin Institute under Alexander Satz until she graduated in 1988. In 1985, she won first prize in the Competition of the Russian Federation, and was also one of the prize-winners at the All Union’s Competition in Riga. She emigrated to Germany in 1990. In 1991, Lilya Zilberstein debuted with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra under Claudio Abbado, which formed the basis of a long-term cooperation. She performed concerts with many famous international orchestras, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra in Moscow, the London Symphony and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestra della Scala in Milan, the Staatskapelle Dresden, and many others. Alongside Claudio Abbado, she has worked with conductors such as John Axelrod, Paavo Berglund, Semyon Bychkov, Gustavo Dudamel, Christoph Eschenbach, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Alun Francis, Leopold Hager, Dmitrij Kitajenko, James Levine, Vassily Sinaisky, Michael Tilson Thomas, Jean-Pascal Tortelier, Marcello Viotti and Antoni Wit. In August 1998, she was awarded the ”Accademia Musicale Chigiana” prize in Siena. This accolade has been awarded to, among others, Gidon Kremer, Anne-Sophie Mutter and Krystian Zimerman.
Zilberstein has recorded eight CDs for Deutsche Grammophon, including recital programmes, the Grieg Piano Concerto (Järvi, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra) and the Second and Third Piano Concertos by Rachmaninoff (Abbado, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra). She also contributed to the first complete CD recording of the Frédéric Chopin oeuvre, which was released by Deutsche Grammophon in 1999. Recently, several more CDs have been released, including a recording of the Brahms sonata for two pianos with Martha Argerich, released by EMI, and Clementi, Mussorgsky and Rachmaninoff, released by Hänssler Classic.
The pianist is a regular guest in the major concert halls and at the most important festivals all over Europe, the USA, Canada, Asia, South America and the Middle East. A few years ago, she played several world tours as the chamber music partner of Maxim Vengerov. With her duo partner Martha Argerich she celebrated her 25th anniversary on the stage in 2024.
Highlights of recent and the coming seasons include concerto performances with the KBS Symphony Orchestra under Pietari Inkinen, with the Orchestra of the Arena di Verona under Eckehard Stier, at the Festival de Mayo in Guadalajara, with the Sinfónica de Minería in Mexico City under Carlos Prieto, and with Orquestra Filarmônica de Minas Gerais under Fabio Mechetti. In Summer 2023, she played Mozart‘s A Major Concerto with the Orchestra del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino under Daniele Gatti at the Concerto per l’Italia in Siena, which was televised and broadcast worldwide by the RAI.
As a chamber musician she toured with Martha Argerich (in Germany, Austria and Switzerland), Tabea Zimmermann (at the Accademia Chigiana and Elbphilharmonie Hamburg), and performed in trio formation with Ilya Gringolts and Antonio Meneses. After a highly acclaimed Heidelberger Frühling debut in a duo concert with her son Anton Gerzenberg, they will go on an extensive Asia tour in Spring 2025, including duo and chamber music recitals in Singapore, Hong Kong, Taipei and Shanghai and a performance of the Bartók Double Concerto with Taipei Symphony Orchestra under Otto Tausk.
At the George Enescu Festival 2024 in Bucharest she played a recital and chaired the Jury of the Piano Competition. Her latest recital tours took her to Mexico, Canada, Australia, Norway, Italy, France, Austria and Germany.
Lilya Zilberstein is jury member of important international piano competitions, among them The Cliburn in Fort Worth, Busoni Competition in Bolzano, Enescu Competition and the Concours Reine Elisabeth in Brussels. She devotes a substantial part of her time to the education of young musicians. She gives masterclasses at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena (since 2011) and during her concert travels in universities and conservatories all over the world. From 2009 till 2013, she was Guest Professor at the University of Music and Theatre Hamburg. Since 2014, she is Professor at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, succeeding Paul Badura-Skoda and Oleg Maisenberg.
ANTON GERZENBERG, piano
Since winning the First Prize at the Concours Géza Anda in Zurich in 2021, pianist Anton Gerzenberg, born in 1996, has made a name for himself in the music world: with a broad repertoire spanning from Sweelinck to Lachenmann, he captivates audiences with his virtuoso yet sensitive playing in sophisticated programmes.
In the second year of his residency as “Great Talent” at the Wiener Konzerthaus, Gerzenberg can be heard there again in 2023/24 as a soloist as well as with chamber music and interdisciplinary performances. Having recently conducted the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra from the piano, Anton Gerzenberg kicked off the new season with a play-conduct project with the Orchestre de chambre de Paris, leading Beethoven’s piano concerto No. 1. Further orchestra debuts as a soloist include the Oulu Symphony Orchestra, the Tyrolean Symphony Orchestra, and the Arthur Rubinstein Philharmonic, among others. This season also sees his first solo appearances at the Heidelberger Frühling, at BASF Ludwigshafen, at Musikverein Vienna and Seoul Arts Center. Following his successful recital tour with the complete Ligeti Etudes for the celebration of Ligeti’s 100th birthday in Germany and Austria, he will present works by Marco Stroppa, Unsuk Chin, Chaya Czernowin and Luigi Nono in a solo recital at the 2023 Wien Modern festival. He will also appear in concerts in Vienna, Munich and Elmau together with Martha Argerich, Lilya Zilberstein, and his brother Daniel Gerzenberg.
Anton Gerzenberg has performed on numerous important stages worldwide such as the Tonhalle Zurich, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, the KKL Lucerne, the Konzerthaus Berlin, the Victoria Concert Hall in Singapore and the National Concert Hall of Taiwan, as well as at festivals such as the Klavierfestival Ruhr, the Accademia Chigiana, the Rheingau Musikfestival, the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, and the Martha Argerich Festivals in Lugano and Hamburg. He has worked with leading orchestras including the Tonhalle Orchestra Zürich, the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, the Wiener Symphoniker and the Musikkollegium Winterthur among others. Frequent musical partners include Martha Argerich, Ilya Gringolts, Julia Hagen, and Dora Schwarzberg, as well as conductors such as Paavo Järvi, Stefan Blunier, Jonathan Stockhammer and Nil Vendetti.
Gerzenberg’s interest in new music was particularly supported by his studies with French pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard and has led him to work with numerous important composers of our time, among them Helmut Lachenmann, Unsuk Chin and Marco Stroppa. In 2019, he was one of the co-founders of the ÉRMA Ensemble, an ensemble specialized in contemporary music. His studies led him also to Julia Suslin and Julija Botchkovskaia in Hamburg as well as Jan Jiracek von Arnim in Vienna; important mentors were Robert Levin, Alfred Brendel, and Bella Davidovich.
