Kirill Gerstein (born 23 October 1979) is a Russian-American pianist. He is the sixth recipient of the Gilmore Artist Award. An American citizen since 2003, Gerstein divides his time between the United States and Germany and is currently a professor of piano at the Musikhochschule Stuttgart.
After decades of playing together, the members of the Hagen Quartet are at the apex of their interpretative careers. Tonal and rhythmic coordination is totally effortless. The “baton passing”, from one instrument to the next, is impossibly smooth. The four members of the ensemble truly play like a single organism. At the same time, they still share with their listeners a tremendous pleasure of exploring together all the corners of the repertoire. Together with Kirill Gerstein, they are a genius couple.
The Hagen Quartet performs on instruments made by Antonio Stradivari, known as the "Paganini" Quartet, generously on loan from the Nippon Music Foundation. Kirill Gerstein plays a Steinway & Sons D-274 Piano, Serial Number 573968