Contact
Xenia Groh-Huxh@karstenwitt.com+49 30 214 594 -224
Estefanía Montes Menéndezes@karstenwitt.com+49 30 214 594 -228
General Management
Anton Gerzenberg's debut CD, Ravel Reflections, was launched on 5 December on the Prospero label.
Anton Gerzenberg is the first awardee of the new Martha Argerich Steinway Prize.
Dieter Ammann, Après le silence (2004/2005) for piano trio
Anton Gerzenberg, piano
National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra
David Robertson, conductor
Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-sharp minor "Moonlight"
Karol Szymanowski, Maski
Mily Balakirev, Islamey (Fantasia oriental)
Sergej Rachmaninow, Lilacs, Op. 21/5
Peter Tschaikowsky, Lullaby, Op. 16/1
Sergej Rachmaninow, Daisies, Op. 38/3
ÉRMA ensemble, ensemble
Yorgos Ziavras, conductor
Maurice Ravel, Gaspard de la Nuit
Ludwig van Beethoven, Piano Sonata E-flat major, Op. 27, No. 1
Johannes Brahms, Acht Klavierstücke, Op. 76
Johannes Brahms, Variationen über ein Thema von Paganini op. 35
Edvard Grieg, Sonata for violin and piano No. 3, Op. 45
Johannes Brahms, Sonata for violin and piano No. 2 in A major op. 100
César Franck, Sonata for violin and piano in A major
Julian Kainrath, violin
“Suddenly a pianist appeared on the stage stepping back from the music so that the textual score could be discerned in its finest detail. ... He revealed an immense musicality that persuaded in every nuance.“Carsten Dürer, Piano News
Anton Gerzenberg, born in 1996 in Hamburg, is an outstanding artist of the younger piano generation. After winning first prize at the Geza Anda Concours in Zurich in 2021 and being presented as a “Great Talent” at the Wiener Konzerthaus from 2022 to 2024, he established himself with a remarkably versatile repertoire. His virtuosic, subtly nuanced playing captivates both audiences and critics. In June 2024 he received the Martha Argerich Steinway Prize.
The 2025/26 season opened with a duo recital with Martha Argerich at the Summer Music Days in Hitzacker (described by NDR Kultur as “a concert from another star”) and with several programs at the prestigious Accademia Chigiana in Siena. Up next is a solo recital at the Wiener Konzerthaus, spanning Debussy, Stravinsky, Szymanowski and Boulez. Gerzenberg, who remains particularly attached to the Konzerthaus since his days as a “Great Talent,” places a special emphasis this season on literary–musical programs including a focus on Thomas Mann. Another highlight is his debut with the Hamburger Symphoniker. In 2024/25 he performed at the Konzerthaus Berlin, Musikverein Wien, Grazer Musikverein, Nikolaisaal Potsdam, the Ruhr Klavierfestival and Le Piano Symphonique Luzern. In spring 2025 he toured Asia with Lilya Zilberstein (Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, China).
Gerzenberg has already performed in major venues such as Tonhalle Zürich, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Franz-Liszt Academy Budapest and National Concert Hall of Taiwan, and at festivals like Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Heidelberger Frühling, and Martha Argerich Festivals in Lugano and Hamburg. He has appeared with the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Wiener Symphoniker, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Orchestre de chambre de Paris, Luzerner Sinfonieorchester, Musikkollegium Winterthur, Graz Philharmoniker and Tiroler Symphonieorchester. Artistic partners include Martha Argerich, Ilya Gringolts, Julia Hagen and Dora Schwarzberg; conductors include Paavo Järvi, Stefan Blunier, Jonathan Stockhammer, Holly Hyun Choe and Nil Venditti.
His strong commitment to contemporary music stems from studying with Pierre-Laurent Aimard. Notably, his tour of György Ligeti’s complete Etudes cycle, paired with Debussy and Ravel, drew considerable attention. In 2019 he co-founded the ÉRMA Ensemble, dedicated to contemporary music. He previously studied in Hamburg with Julia Suslin and Julija Botchkovskaia and in Vienna with Jan Jiracek von Arnim. Additional influences came from figures such as Robert Levin, Alfred Brendel and Bella Davidovich.
In his musical DNA lies a unique family tradition: his mother is the internationally renowned pianist Lilya Zilberstein, his father a trumpeter, his brother a pianist and lyricist. This heritage is reflected in his confident versatility across solo and chamber music, from early music by Sweelinck to advanced contemporary works by composers such as Lachenmann or Boulez. His interpretations are characterized by tonal differentiation, intellectual depth and a willingness to take risks.
2025/26 season
This biography is to be reproduced without any changes, omissions, or additions, unless expressly authorised by the artist management
Ravel & Inspirations
Franz Schubert – 12 Valses nobles, D.969Frédéric Chopin – Waltz in A-flat major, Op. 42Maurice Ravel – Valses nobles et sentimentalesLeopold Godowsky – Symphonic Metamorphoses on Themes from J. Strauss’ “Die Fledermaus”----------M.Ravel: Jeux d‘eauxF.Liszt: Les jeux d'eaux à la Villa d'EsteMaurice Ravel – Gaspard de la nuitMily Balakirev – Islamey (Oriental Fantasy)
Brahms & Liszt
Johannes Brahms – 3 Intermezzi, Op. 117Johannes Brahms – Variations on a Theme by Paganini, Op. 35 (Books I & II)
Franz Liszt – Six Consolations, S.172Franz Liszt – Sonata in B minor
Suggestion Diabolique
C. Tausig: Das Geisterschiff, Op. 1cG. Ligeti: “Der Zauberlehrling“ / Etude No. 10S. Prokofiev: Toccata in D minor, Op. 11G. Ligeti: „L‘escalier du diable“ / Etude No. 13S. Prokofiev: Suggestion diabolique, Op. 4 / 4G. Ligeti: “Vertige“ / Etude No. 9F. Liszt: Mephisto Waltz Nro. 1, S. 514---Interval---S. Rachmaninoff: “Le petit chaperon rouge“ / Etude Tableau A minor, Op. 39 / 6G. Ligeti: “En suspens“ / Etude No. 11S. Rachmaninoff: Etude Tableau in E-flat minor, Op. 33 / 3G. Ligeti: “Automne à Varsovie“ / Etude No. 6S. Rachmaninoff: Piano Sonata No. 2 in B minor, Op. 36 (First Version)
Hungarian Melodies
Franz Liszt – Hungarian Rhapsody No. 15 “Rákóczi March”György Kurtág – All’ongherese – Homage to Gösta Neuwirth (from Játékok VII)Béla Bartók – Two Elegies, Op. 8bGyörgy Ligeti – Etudes, Book I (Nos. 1–6)
Béla Bartók – Allegro barbaroGyörgy Kurtág – Egyptian couple on the way to the unknown / DoubleFranz Schubert / Franz Liszt – Hungarian Melodies after François Schubert, S. 425
“Anton Gerzenberg’s foremost aim here is atmosphere. He decisively rejects the ascetic denial of pleasure favored by some of his colleagues, immersing himself fully in the waltzes and conveying their dramaturgy with an impressive arsenal of colors and dynamic nuances.”
Remy Franck, Pizzicato 12/12/2025
“Right from the start, Anton Gerzenberg performed Arnold Schoenberg’s Suite, Op. 25, with grandeur. Sonically, the pianist blended crystalline treble with a more supple bass: a transparent harshness, softly cushioned. A fantastic opening to this recital. (…) One of several indications of what a special artist is clearly maturing here: a well-considered, ingeniously crafted, extremely demanding program. Add to that a technical tour de force and a profound, unpretentious stage presence entirely focused on the works.”
Marion Eigl, Die Presse, 25/09/2025
“Hats off: Gerzenberg doesn’t just deliver a virtuoso performance here; he also has a delicate touch (and a light foot on the pedal) for creating dazzling soundscapes.”
Christoph Irrgeher, Der Standard, 24/09/2025
“That evening, we were reminded that the piano is also a string instrument, that the notes can be caressed, and that even in the most powerful fortissimo, the focus can remain intact, with transparency and clarity never lost. Each composition has its own dramatic structure, its own arc of tension: Argerich and Gerzenberg take us by the hand, revealing the stories behind the works.”
Raliza Nikolov, NDR Kultur, 01/08/2025
“The 28-year-old impresses with his relaxed, inspired playing. In perfect harmony with the Graz Philharmonic Orchestra, he performed Mendelssohn’s early masterpiece with lively emotion.”
Beate Frakele, Kleine Zeitung, 27/11/2024
“With a balanced, early-Romantic freshness, the Hamburg-born pianist - a master of his craft - truly captures the rhythm of Mendelssohn’s G minor Concerto. Yet Gerzenberg’s focus on structure is always palpable. As a result, his lyrical passages sometimes sound more like trains of thought than expressions of emotion.”
Kronen Zeitung Steiermark, 27/11/2024
"Piano soloist Anton Gerzenberg gracefully navigates through this grand work with elegant touch. The richness of colors he draws from the piano is radiant."
Markus Schramek, Tiroler Tageszeitung, 21/04/2024
"His technical control is brilliant. So is his emphasis. "I wanted to be a volcanologist one day," he says later. Nothing came of it. But he channels the lava flow of Brahms' tones excellently."
Hans-Günter Fischer, Mannheimer Morgen, 10/04/24
"Prokofiev's extremely virtuosic and almost acrobatic way of writing for the piano requires a player with a steel finger and sometimes even iron fists.Gerzenberg, who played with unobtrusive ease, was perfectly up to the task and managed to bring some personal touches to a much-played concerto. Particularly admirable was the agility with which Gerzenberg moved from pearly bright fingerwork to steely strong chords and octaves."
Hannu Hirvelä, Tilaajille, 10/11/2023
"...with power and brilliant technique. It allows Gerzenberg many colours and valeurs of expression to let Ligeti's infinite notes buzz, hammer, flow, sparkle - or even swing and flatter. A rousing and enriching concert experience far from the "talent" category, which one would like to see more often in "regular" concerts in such form and quality."
Stefan Musil, Die Presse, 06/06/2023
"...extravagant virtuosity ... Here [Liszt's "Années de Pélerinage: Suisse] the piano sound suddenly breaks into a hundred colours ... Despite appropriate thunder, the piece sounds thoroughly differentiated."
Peter Uehling, Berliner Zeitung, 16/05/2023
"Gerzenberg was in a league of his own. He seemed in total control, armed with uncommon self-assuredness for a pianist of his age. [...] He looks every bit a potential leading light of his generation.“
James Imam, Musical America Worldwide, 16/06/21
"This rich concert experience, profound musicality and brilliant piano technique have benefited his multifaceted interpretations of Liszt as much as his interpretations of Brahms, Ravel and Bartók in recital."
Julia Spinola, Neue Zürcher Zeitung (NZZ), 06/06/21
"Suddenly there was a pianist on the stage who appeared as a background to the music and acted in such a way as to recognise the text of the notes in its subtlety. [...] He showed immense musicality, convincing in every nuance."
Carsten Dürer, Piano News 05/21
Ravel Reflections (Album Trailer)
Ravel Scarbo
Prospero, 2025, PROSP0130