Kirill Gerstein

Russian pianist Kirill Gerstein is the guest in this weekend's Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra concerts playing Shostakovich Piano Concerto No. 2 with Hans Graf conducting. Mr. Gerstein will be performing all over North America this season - the Chicago Symphony Orchestra with Charles Dutoit, the Atlanta Symphony, as well as re-engagements with the Detroit, Houston, and Oregon Symphonies and a tour with cellist Steven Isserlis that includes performances at the Kennedy Center and in San Francisco. He'll also return to South America to play in Caracas with Gustavo Dudamel and the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra. Born in 1979 in Voronezh, Russia, Mr. Gerstein taught himself to play jazz by listening to his parents' extensive record collection. He came to the U.S. at 14 to continue his studies in jazz piano as the youngest student ever to attend Boston's Berklee College of Music. He studied classical piano at the Manhattan School of Music.