Jury of the 13th Competition 2025
ALEXANDER KOBRIN
Distinguished pianist Alexander Kobrin, has received wide acclaim for his emotional, technically inspired performances, placing him at the forefront of today’s performing musicians.
Mr. Kobrin is an active guest soloist with the world’s leading orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Tokyo Philharmonic, Orchestra Verdi, Russian National Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Dallas Symphony, Berliner Symphony, Swedish Radio Symphony, Warsaw Philharmonic, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra.
He has collaborated with such conductors as Mikhail Pletnev, Mikhail Jurovsky, Sir Mark Elder, Vassiliy Sinaisky, James Conlon, Claus Peter Flor, Vassiliy Petrenko and Bramwell Tovey.
He appears in recitals at major halls worldwide, including Carnegie Zankel Hall and Avery Fisher Hall in New York, the Kennedy Centre in Washington, Albert Hall and Wigmore Hall in London, Louvre Auditorium, Salle Gaveau and Salle Cortot in Paris, Munich Herkulesaal and Berliner Filarmonia Hall in Germany, the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatoire, Sheung Wan Civic Centre in Hong Kong, as well as Sala Verdi in Milan and many others. Other past performances have included recitals at Bass Hall for the Cliburn Series, the Washington Performing Arts Society, La Roque d’Antheron, the Ravinia Festival, the Beethoven Easter Festival, Busoni Festival, the renowned Klavier-Festival Ruhr, the International Keyboard Institute & Festival, annual concert tours in Japan, China, and Taiwan.
Mr. Kobrin has recorded for Harmonia Mundi, Quartz, and Centaur labels, covering a wide swath of the piano literature, which have received rave reviews.
In addition to the Van Cliburn, Mr. Kobrin has garnered top prizes from numerous international piano competitions including the Busoni International Piano Competition (First Prize), Hamamatsu International Piano Competition (Top Prize), Scottish International Piano Competition in Glasgow (First Prize).
Mr. Kobrin frequently serves as a jury member for many international piano competitions, including the first edition of International Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli Competition in Brescia, the Van Cliburn in Fort Worth, TX, Busoni International Piano Competition in Bolzano, Hamamatsu International Piano Competition.
Mr. Kobrin is a dedicated teacher and is passionate about his contributions to education both in the U.S. and abroad. Since 2017, Mr. Kobrin has served on the faculty of the renowned Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. From 2003 to 2010 he served on the faculty of the Russian State Gnessin’s Academy of Music. In 2010 Alexander Kobrin was named the L. Rexford Distinguished Chair in Piano at the Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University, and from 2013 until 2017, he was a member of the celebrated Artist Faculty of New York University’s Steinhardt School. Mr. Kobrin is giving annual masterclasses in Europe and Asia, at the Conservatories of Japan and China.
Recent highlights include the Complete Beethoven Sonatas Project for Centaur Records and live performances at the Eastman School of Music during the 2023-2024 season.
In January 2024 Mr. Kobrin was awarded an endowed professorship and received a title Wentworth Family Professor at Eastman School of music.
Mr. Kobrin is a Shigeru Kawai artist.