Italian Journey: A Pilgrimage
What happens when a German composer writes in the Italian style, and an Italian composer in German? And what connects this with the 9 circles of hell? Listen to the juxtaposition of J.S. Bach’s Italian Concerto and F. Busoni’s Chaconne, Venetian Gondola Songs and Franz Liszt’s musical settings of Petrarch and Dante Alighieri. Click here to view the program. Seating is limited.
Watch Jamina Gerl perform “Sonata Op. 111 in C Minor” by Beethoven:
Jamina Gerl
Concerts in Germany and abroad have always earned the young German pianist excellent reviews from professional critics. For instance, the press in New York declared her orchestral debut performance of Rachmaninoff’s Third Piano Concerto “a triumph for all concerned,” christening Gerl “a lioness of the keyboard.”
In addition to her versatile concert programs, she is often praised for her poetically inspired piano playing, remarkable virtuosity and richly shaded, differentiated expression. Concerts and numerous competition triumphs resulted in her appearing in such prestigious venues as Carnegie Hall and the Steinway Hall in New York, the Beethoven–Haus Kammermusiksaal, the Illsley Ball Nordstrom Recital Hall, Mannes College Concert Hall, Tonhalle Düsseldorf and Munetsugu Hall Nagoya.
Born in Beethoven’s native city of Bonn, Jamina Gerl’s musical gifts were recognized early. She was accepted as a full student at the Cologne Hochschule für Musik und Tanz at the age of only 15 years. There she successfully completed the Diplom degree in instrumental performance under Professor Roswitha Gediga and became a student of Russian-born conductor and pianist Eduard Zilberkant, continuing her academic studies with a full scholarship at the University of Alaska in the United States. She earned a Master’s degree in Music in piano performance and was an assistant at the Catholic University of America until the end of 2012, where she studied in the class of Nikita Fitenko (Doctor of Musical Arts). Gerl received further inspiration in master classes with renowned artists such as Paul Badura-Skoda, Bernd Goetzke, Menahem Pressler, Jerome Rose, Peter Frankl and Rose Marie Zartner.
Often praised by critics for her artistic depth, technical superiority and remarkable sense of tonal color, Gerl’s concerts have led her to European countries as well as to Japan, China and the United States where she has performed with orchestras such as the New York Concerti Sinfonietta Orchestra (Paul Hostetter), the Arctic Chamber Orchestra, the Fairbanks Youth Orchestra (George Rydlinsky) and the Fairbanks Symphony Orchestra (Eduard Zilberkant). Over the years she has been awarded scholarships from the Gisela & Erich Andreas Foundation Berlin, the Paul and Maria Kremer Foundation, the Rieke Alten Foundation in Berlin and the WILL Foundation.
Most recently, Gerl was awarded first prize at the 2014 International Keyboard Institute & Festival, the first prize and the best performance award at the 2014 American Protégé Concerto Competition as well as the first prize at the 2013 International Shining Stars Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto Competition in New York. Learn more on her website: www.jaminagerl.com.
