Konstantin Scherbakov (Switzerland) ← Back to list
Konstantin Scherbakov established his international reputation by playing the late romantic virtuoso repertoire and made his name through realization of a number of large projects, both in studio and on concert stage. A very special repertoire choice in combination with the prolific virtuosity and deep insight has formed the artist’s profile and fascinated the audiences worldwide.
As "one of the most capable, daring and interesting musicians of these days" (Peter Cossé) and in cooperation with labels “Naxos” and “Marco Polo” Scherbakov has completed some of today’s most unique and significant recording projects. Among them – complete piano works by Leopold Godowsky, Respighi and Shostakovich, complete piano concertos by Tchaikovsky, Respighi, Arensky, Medtner and Scriabin and most recently - the Complete Beethoven’s Sonatas. Whether in less known repertoire, such as Lyapunov, Godowsky and Medtner or in works by Beethoven, Schubert, Scarlatti and Chopin, his new, often unconventional but always profound readings have set new standards and often caused sensation. Many of these projects have found their way onto the concert stage. Celebrated as "Rachmaninoff of today" (Lucerne Festival), the triumphant winner of the 1st Rachmaninoff Piano Competition in Moscow launched his international career with a memorable performance of the Complete Rachmaninoff’s piano solo works at the XXth Music Festival in Asolo, Italy, manifestly approved by Sviatoslav Richter. The performance of the complete Preludes and Fugues by Shostakovich at different venues, notably at the 2005 Salzburg Festival was enthusiastically met by both public and press ("One cannot play Shostakovich any better!" Die Presse, Vienna). Lately, Scherbakov has received international acclaim for his performances of Liszt's transcriptions of all Beethoven’s Symphonies.
Konstantin Scherbakov has given solo performances in 35 countries in Europe, Asia and Middle East, in the USA, New Zealand, South Africa and South America. He has played in some of the prestigious concert halls such as Philharmonic of Cologne, Wigmore Hall London, Herkulessaal, Philharmonic and Prinzregententheater Munich, Tonhalle Zurich, Liederhalle Stuttgart, Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatoire, Rudolfinum Prague, Beethovenhalle Bonn, new Congress-Hall Luzern, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Auditorio Nacional Madrid, National Hall Taipei, Musikhalle Hamburg, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Konzerthaus Berlin, Atheneum Bucharest, Casals Hall Tokyo, Victoria Hall Singapore, Gewandhaus Leipzig, Arts Centre Seoul, Konzerthaus Vienna and Warsaw Philharmonic Hall among others. Konstantin Scherbakov has been guest to important international music festivals such as Salzburg, Frankfurt, Bregenz, Bodensee, Lucerne, Klavier-Festival Ruhr, Bad Kissingen, Schubertiade Feldkirch and Schwarzenberg, Singapore Piano Festival, Piano Rarities Husum, Beethoven Festival Krakau and Warsaw, Lebanon Music Festival, “Primavera concertistica” Lugano, Evian, Colmar, Liszt Festivals in Raiding and Weimar, Piano Festival Lucerne, and among others – to numerous festivals in Italy, France, New Zealand, USA, Russia, and Switzerland. Boasting a phenomenal concerto repertoire of nearly 60 concertos, Konstantin Scherbakov performed as soloist with more than 70 orchestras, among others with the Russian State Philharmonic, Moscow State Symphony, Moscow Philharmonic, St. Petersburg Symphony, Stuttgart and Duisburg Philharmonic, Tonhalle Orchestra, Philharmonics of the Nations, Munich Symphony, George Enescu Philharmonic Bucharest, Weimarer Staatskapelle, Sofia Philharmonic, Bach Collegium Munich, Montreal Symphony, New Zealand Symphony, Singapore Symphony, Orchestre d’Ile de France, Ukrainian and Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestras, Ulster Orchestra, Wiener Kammerorchester and with conductors Christian Thielemann, Yuri Simonov, Rudolf Barshai, Nello Santi, Kirill Petrenko, Christian Mandeal, Aldo Ceccato und Andrei Boreiko, among others.
For almost three decades Konstantin Scherbakov has been one of the protagonists of the “Naxos” label. His constantly growing discography on "Naxos", "Marco Polo" but also EMI Classics and "Two Pianists" and Steinway labels comprises well over 50 CDs featuring over 300 titles. Many recordings received prizes and awards such as Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik and the Cannes Classical Award. The pianist was one of the first artists signed by EMI Classics for their Debut-Series. In 1995 he became a "BBC International Artist".
Born in Barnaul, Russia Konstantin Scherbakov made his debut with the philharmonic orchestra of his native town at the age of 11, performing Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 1. Soon after, he moved to Moscow to continue his musical education at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatoire with the legendary professor Lev Naumov. The triumphant winner of the 1st Rachmaninoff Competition in 1983, Konstantin Scherbakov performed with all the leading orchestras of the former Soviet Union, and played recitals in more than 100 cities in all republics of his native country. After winning an array of prizes at prestigious international competitions (Montreal, Bolzano, Rome, Zurich) he continued his artistic career in Europe.
Since 1998 Konstantin Scherbakov has been Professor at the Zurich University of Arts; many of his students received prizes at international piano competitions, most notably Yulianna Avdeeva, the winner of the XVI. Chopin Competition in Warsaw. Konstantin Scherbakov is a jury member of many international competitions, such as ARD Munich, Busoni (Bolzano), Liszt (Weimar), Rio de Janeiro, Youth Tchaikovsky (Seoul), Havana etc.