MASTER CLASS | PIANO MASTER CLASS WITH SERGEI DREZNIN

One of the brightest representatives of the rich and glorious Russian piano school, New York-based Austro-Russian pianist and composer Sergei Dreznin will give an open master class for interested students.

Mr. Dreznin graduated from Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory as a composer and the Russian Academy of Music as a pianist where he studied with Professor Boris Berlin (1906-1995), one of Moscow’s most revered if controversial music figures. From Boris Berlin, Mr. Dreznin received extensive knowledge of the secrets of Russian piano sound, phrasing and coloring that he now passes on to his students. Mr. Dreznin’s masterclasses electrify participants, celebrating the joy of music and often coming close to a theatrical performance. His demonstration on the piano and his colorful verbal comments stimulate the students’ imagination to then unleash hidden inner forces of which they were previously unaware. It enables a student to capture the dramatic essence of a musical piece using a multiplicity of technical tools.

Sergei Dreznin spent 7 years studying with Prof. Berlin – first as a student, then as a post-grad and his assistant. At Gnessins’ Music Pedagogical Institute Boris Berlin spent over 50 years teaching and developed his System, or Method Playing. Berlin never wrote a single line describing this method. He was often invited to demonstrate it at large teachers’ gatherings or conferences. But it was in lessons with students that the method was relayed. Every student entering Berlin’s class had to learn it. The initial stage took about 3 months; after 2 years, students were given much freedom to interpret and apply it as they felt fit.

Sergei Dreznin will introduce Berlin’s Method during the first 30 – 40 minutes of his master class; the rest of the time will be dedicated to working on concrete pieces demonstrating the principles of Boris Berlin’s teachings – naturally, in their further development by Mr. Dreznin.

Free admission. No registration needed for not-performing participants. If you’d like to perform a piece, please send your bio and audio/video clips to Sergei Dreznin at sdreznin@aol.com.

>>Here is Sergei Dreznin’s demonstration of the key principles of Boris Berlin Method heard in Les Funerailles by Franz Liszt. 

Watch an excerpt from the master class (Balakirev, Islamey) given at the Russian Academy for Music in March 2018 >>here. 

ABOUT

Sergei Dreznin was trained in Russia’s finest music schools and won prizes and critical recognition in Russia, Europe and the United States. He often includes improvisation to the themes suggested by the audience in his piano recitals, thus reviving XIX century tradition. The New York Times praised Mr. Dreznin’s “virtuosity… grace, pliancy and confidence” and “seemingly limitless reserves of volume.” After giving some 200 concerts a year when he lived in Russia, he moved to Vienna and played classical and contemporary piano works across Europe.

Image Credit: Lina Prokofiev

VENUE
Steinway Hall
1133 6th Ave, New York, NY 10036