Russian-Israeli pianist Elena Gurevich came into the focus of the music world's attention with her unique idea of combining classic works for piano with contemporary movie scores. Her approach was to show the contrast as well as the analogies between these two different genres.

Born and raised in Kaliningrad, Russia, as a conductor's daughter, Elena Gurevich studied classical piano in St. Petersburg, Jerusalem and Karlsruhe. She has already captured several prizes during her studies at the Rubin-Music Academy Jerusalem, Israel, for example the First Prize of the National Piano Competition from the Rubin Academy of Music in Jerusalem. She was a finalist at "Kol Hamusica," a piano contest from the Israeli Broadcasting Agency. She was also awarded with a scholarship from American-Israeli Culture Foundation "Keren Sharet" and the German Academic Exchange Program (Deutscher Akademische Auslandsdienst).

Elena Gurevich has performed throughout Europe including the Prinzregententheater and Gasteig in Munich, the Festspielhaus in Baden-Baden and the Facioli Concert Hall in Sacile, Italy. In addition to solo recitals, she is sought after as concert pianist and accompanist with accomplished Orchestras as the Badische Staatskapelle and the Munich Symphonics under the artistic direction of Carlos Dominquos Nieto. In 2006 she presented Sergej Rachmaninoff's Concert for Piano in F-sharp Minor with the Kaliningrad Symphonic Orchestra under the direction of Arkadij Feldmann.

Her giftedness and her international reputation made her a regular solo pianist at renowned festivals like e.g. the Festival van Vlaanderen in Bruges, Belgium, the Händel Festival in Karlsruhe and the Festival Israel in Jerusalem. In 2012 she was Artist in Residence at the Pfingst Festival in Schloss Ettersberg Weimar.

The German newspaper "The Süddeutsche Zeitung" praised Elena for her "brilliant and yet sensitive play" as well as her outstanding talent "for telling musical narratives that capture the audience's attention".

Her first solo album with piano works of Bach, Schubert, Rachmaninoff and Scriabin was released in 2013 (Bayer Records). She also has recorded an album with works of Byrd, Scarlatti and C. Ph. E. Bach on original historical instruments.

Elena Gurevich lives in Munich and is currently teaching piano at the Munich Academy for Music and Theatre (Hochschule für Musik und Theater München).

Elena Gurevich is Steinway Artist.

Review

"Elena Gurevich's play rips into everybody's heart"

- Passauer Neue Presse

"Brilliant and yet sensitive play… telling musical narratives that capture the audience's attention"

- The Süddeutsche Zeitung