Pianist Olga Kern

With vivid stage presence and dazzling technique, pianist Olga Kern is widely recognized as one of the great artists of her generation. The Washington Post writes “her electricity is palpable… tak[ing] on fresh voltage that is unmistakably hers.” Since winning a historic Gold Medal at the Van Cliburn International Piano—and becoming the only woman in the last fifty years to do so—Kern has continued to enthrall audiences across the globe, performing with major orchestras including the St. Louis Symphony, Pacific Symphony, Detroit Symphony, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, and National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine.

Described by the Seattle Times as “a decisive, powerful player … with exquisite nuance and shadings,” Kern brings both drama and lyricism to the Ravinia’s Bennett Gordon Hall. Mustering microcosms of drama and comedy, Kern skillfully traverses through the many masked faces of Schumann’s Carnaval and Rachmaninoff’s breathless miniatures to songful Scriabin études and Beethoven variations—all before sparking off jazz-infused brilliance in Gershwin for an unforgettable finale.