Kevin Class

KEVIN CLASS
Pianist

Pianist KEVIN CLASS was born in Belgium, and began studying the violin at the age of three. At age sever, Class moved to the piano and composition with Romeo Fracalanza. Mr. Class' principl piano teachers have also included Gwen Beamish, Dickran Atamian, Jeffrey Gilliam, Ralph Votapek and Gyorgy Sebok. He has received additional instruction from Menahem Pressler, Karl-Heinz Kammerling, Tamas Vasary, Eugene Istomin, Jan-Marisse Huizing and Murray Perahia. In July 1998, the government of Flanders named Class a Fellow of the Flemish Community of Belgium, and awarded him a fellowship to study with Daniel Blumenthal at the Royal Conservatory in Brussels.
"A pianist of remarkable abilities, he will shake the world." This prophetic statement, by European Artist Review, testifies to Class' success as a soloist throughout North America and Europe. Performances in such venues as New York's Carnegie Hall and Amsterdam's Concertgebouw have won him a devoted following and enthusiastic critical acclaim. Laurels such as "mr. Class produced a lyric beauty rare in performances of Liszt." (The Observer, Sarnia, Ontario); and "A powerful presence on the stage, this young pianist is both terrifying and exhilarating to behold." (The Independent, Hamburg) are typical of reactions to his playing. Murray Perahia has written that Mr. Class "serves a deeply musical sensibility. He brought intelligence and poetic feeling to his interpretation." Niel Motcham, of The Sarnia Observer, has also ventured to add that Mr. Class' "talent for interpretation will give this young man a significant place in music of the future."
In addition to having more than a dozen recordings to his credit, Mr. Class frequently performs extraordinary amounts of versatile repertoire. As Jan-Marisse Huizing (Professor of Piano at Amsterdam's Sweelinck Conservatorium) recently wrote: "He is an important ambassador for many contemporary composers, both as a soloist and chamber musician." Mr. Class repertoire not only embraces the complete piano sonatas of Mozart and Schubert (performed in Amsterdam in 1997), but extends to the works of Schoenberg, Ligeti, Elliott Carter and Lutoslawski.