Conducting from the piano

All rehearsals and concerts of “Conducting from the Piano” could be watched live on the Géza Anda Youtube Channel. Watch a summary of the most interesting moments here.

A new and special format inspired by Géza Anda’s artistry: to lead an orchestra from the piano.

Mikhail Pletnev served as artistic supervisor of our project. One of the world’s leading artists, he is also one of the greatest performers in the field of conducting from the piano.

Get to know the four participants and the orchestra which they lead:

Tianxu An
Anton Gerzenberg
Dinara Klinton
Anna Tsybuleva

Luzerner Sinfonieorchester

All about the public rehearsals in Lucerne and the piano concertos the candidates worked on.

You could listen to our four pianists in two concerts and vote for the pianist with the most convincing performance:

7th September 2022
Orchesterhaus des Luzerner Sinfonieorchesters, Kriens/Lucerne

8th September 2022
Tonhalle Zürich, Kleiner Saal

Everyone who was present retains wonderful memories of Mikhail Pletnev’s masterclass in Kriens and Zurich.

Tianxu An, from Baoding, near Beijing, is a sought-after young artist, both at home in China and around the world. In June 2019, Tianxu drew international attention when he won the Fourth Prize and a “Special Prize for Courage and Restraint” at the XVI International Tchaikovsky Competition — the highest award for a Chinese pianist at that contest in 17 years. A month later, he made his debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Mann Center.

Recent concert highlights include performances with the Mariinsky, China Philharmonic, NCPA (National Centre for the Performing Arts), and Macau Orchestras, as well as a 2021 major recital tour across China. His first CD was recorded in August 2021, a recital album featuring works by Tchaikovsky, Rachmaninoff, and Prokofiev. He previously won top awards at the Greenfield Student, “Helen Cup” Shanghai International Piano, and Wiesbaden International Piano Competitions.

Born into a non-musical family, Tianxu began his piano studies because his parents believed it a good way to develop intelligence. His love for and commitment to music grew throughout his time at the Middle School affiliated with the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. He moved to Philadelphia in 2015 to attend the Curtis Institute of Music under the tutelage of Meng-Chieh Liu and Robert McDonald, and also studies privately with Dang Thai Son. 2022 marks Tianxu’s graduation from Curtis and move to Juilliard to pursue his master’s degree. In his own words, he devotes his career to music because of the fact that “music is a powerful language which establishes a deeply emotional bond among people.”