Piano soloist Sergey Kuznetsov to play at Western April 12

The Western Washington University Department of Music will host concert pianist Sergey Kuznetsov for the William Sanford Scholarship Recital at 8 p.m. on Saturday, April 12 in Western’s Performing Arts Center Concert Hall.

Proceeds from the recital underwrite scholarships for piano students. The Department of Music is also offering a master class with Kuznetsov on April 11 at noon in the Concert Hall; the master class is free and open to the public.

Born in 1978 to a musicians' family, Kuznetsov received his first lesson at the age of four and studied music at Moscow Gnessin School of Music. He enrolled in the prestigious and highly selective Moscow Conservatory, graduating with distinction. In 1999, Kuznetsov received the First Prize at the A.M.A Calabria International Competition (Italy). He went on to win the Second Prize at the 9th Concours Geza Anda in Zurich, playing in the final round the Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 3 accompanied by the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra. This performance also brought him the Audience Prize and an engagement to perform at Lucerne Festival.

Kuznetsov has performed in more than 20 countries, where he has worked with such musicians as the Shostakovich String Quartet, Ysaye String Quartet, Cavani String Quartet, Moscow Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra, Stuttgart Philharmonic, Moscow Philharmonic, Ural Symphony, Berlin and Munich Symphony Orchestras. At present, two solo CDs by Kuznetsov have been issued with works by Brahms, Liszt, Schumann and Scriabin and a duo CD under Pan Classics label (Switzerland) with Ryoko Yano (violin). Since 2006, Kuznetsov has taught at the Moscow Conservatory.

Tickets to the piano performance cost $9-16, and are available at tickets.wwu.edu or by calling (360) 650-6146.