Debut Piano Studio: Sergei Pavlov's biography

Professional highlights | Testimonials | Sergei Pavlov's piano repertoire

Professional highlights of Sergei Pavlov's career as a pianist and piano teacher

Russian-Canadian concert pianist Sergei Pavlov graduated the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, one of the finest and arguably most famous schools of music in the world. He holds a Master's Degree in Piano Performance and Piano Pedagogy and has performed as a piano soloist and accompanist in Russia, Latvia, Lithuania, Germany, France, Bulgaria, Romania, United States and Canada.

Sergei Pavlov's piano performances in North America's prestigious concert halls include the CBC's Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto. In 1992 upon his arrival to Canada, he was the subject of a short documentary by CBC's news anchor Jeannie Lee, which was aired on CBC.

Sergei Pavlov is a member of ORMTA (Ontario Registered Music Teachers Association). In 2004, his decades-long private teaching activities culminated in founding Debut Piano Studio, which has become an outstanding piano school for students in the GTA, primarily targeting Scarborough, Markham, North York, Richmond Hill. Currently, students from the eastern part of the GTA are being welcome at the Ajax location of the piano studio, equipped with a Yamaha Grand C5 professional series.

Sergei Pavlov has started a new offering as of 2015: coaching / lessons via Internet (Skype), for advanced students preparing for events and competitions. Please inquire for details and rates.

In addition, Sergei Pavlov offers solo piano concerts at private functions. Bookings need to be made in advance. Please contact us for details. See highlights of Sergei Pavlov's piano repertoire.

In 1995 Sergei Pavlov won the First Prize at the Bartók-Kabalevsky-Prokofiev International Piano Competition. Please see the Past Competitions Laureates. He has also been an adjudicator in festivals and competitions (including the Bartok-Kabalevsky International Piano Competition in 1996).

Enjoy recent sample performances of Sergei Pavlov:

Kabalevsky. Rondo (part of the repertoire that brought Sergei the Grand Prix at the Bartok-Kabalevsky International Piano Competition).
Bartok. Eight Improvisations (part of the repertoire that brought Sergei the Grand Prix at the Bartok-Kabalevsky International Piano Competition).
Beethoven. Piano Sonata No.8 in C Minor, Op.13 (Pathetique)
Chopin. Etude in G Flat Major Op. 10 No 5 ("Black Keys")
Lyadov. Musical Snuff Box

Testimonials

"Lightning-fast arpeggios combined with dazzling repeated octave passages kept the audience enthralled. But always there was a great sense of drama, of building to crashing climaxes in keeping with the intensity of Pavlov's expressive range, and great breadth of emotion... Fiery, exciting and thrilling to watch, Pavlov brought the audience to its feet..."
(Barbara Scott, The Examiner)

"Sergei Pavlov, another Russian wizard, and winner of the 1995 Bartok-Kabalevsky piano competition... demonstrated in works such as Liszt's La Campanella the sort of virtuosity that the best Russian-trained pianists are famed for; and in a Chopin waltz, one of several encores, he managed a lovely expressive winsomeness."
(Jan Narveson, UW Gazette)

"A pianist of immense talent... achieved a musical zenith"
(Bruce Stapley, Weekender)

"Sergei has become known to audiences around the world for the warmth and beauty of his playing and his technical ability. While a brilliant virtuoso, his real forte is cleverly revealing a touching core of musical emotions, from melancholy to deep passion, to shimmering happiness and ecstasy."
(Alexander Rosenblatt, pianist and composer)

Sergei Pavlov's repertoire

Albeniz, Isaac

Suite Espanola

Bach, Johann Sebastian

Chorale Preludes (Transcriptions by F. Busoni)
Adagio (after Marcello)
French Suite No. 1
Partita No. 2
Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue
Preludes and Fugues from Well-Tempered Klavier
Italian Concerto
Concerto in D Minor

Balakirev, Mily

Islamey, an Oriental Fantasy

Bartok, Bela

Eight Improvisations on Hungarian Peasant Songs, op. 20

Beethoven, Ludwig Van

6 Bagatelles
Fur Elise
32 Variations in C Minor
Sonata, Op.2, No.1
Sonata, Op.2, No.2
Sonata, Op.2, No.3
Sonata, Op.10, No.2
Sonata, Op.13 “Pathetique”
Sonata, Op.27, No.2 “Moonlight”
Sonata, Op.31
Sonata, Op.49, No.1
Sonata, Op.49, No.2
Sonata, Op.53 "Waldstein”
Sonata, Op.57 "Appassionata"
Sonata, Op.90
Sonata, Op.101
Sonata, Op.109
Sonata, Op.110
Concerto No. 1 in C Major, Op. 15
Concerto No. 3 in C Minor, Op. 37
Concerto No. 5 in E-Flat Major, Op.73 "Emperor”

Boccherini, Luigi

Minuet

Brahms, Johannes

3 Hungarian Dances
Rhapsody, Op.79, No.1
Rhapsody, Op.79, No.2
Intermezzo, Op 117, No.1 “Sleep Softly My Child”
6 Waltzes
Concerto No.1 in D Minor, Op. 15

Chopin, Frederic

6 Preludes
6 Mazurkas
12 Waltzes
12 Etudes
4 Nocturnes
Polonaise in A-Flat Major, Op. 53
Fantasy-Impromptu, Op.66
Impromptu, Op.29
Ballade No.1 in G Minor, Op. 23
Ballade No.2 in F Major, Op. 37
Scherzo No.1 in B Minor, Op. 20
Scherzo No.2 in B-Flat Minor, Op. 31
Scherzo No.3 in C-Sharp Minor, Op. 39
Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58
Concerto No.1 in E Minor, Op. 11

Debussy, Claude

2 Arabesques
6 Preludes
Suite Bergamasque

Franck, Cesar

Variations Symphoniques For Piano and Orchestra

Gershwin, George

3 Preludes

Grieg, Edvard

6 Lyric Pieces Sonata, Op. 7 in E Minor
Concerto in A Minor

Haydn, Franz Joseph

Sonata in D Major
Concerto in D Major

Kabalevsky, Dmitri

Rondo in A Minor, Op. 59

Liadov, Anatoly

Music Box, Op. 32

Liszt, Franz

Gnomenreigen
Waldesrauschen
Feux Follets
Mazeppa
La Campanella
Consolation No.3 in D-Flat Major
Liebenstraum No.3
Valse Oubliee No.1
Funerailles
Mephisto-Waltz
Fantasy based on Verdi's "Rigoletto" (Liszt piano transcription)
Hungerian Rapsody No.6
Rhapsody Espagnole
Sonata in B minor
Concerto No.2 in A Major

Moussorgsky, Modest

Pictures at an Exhibition

Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus

Fantasy No.3 in D minor, K.397
4 Sonatas
Concerto No.20 in D Minor, K.466

Prokofiev, Sergei

March from "The Love for the 3 Oranges," Op.33
Prelude, Op.12, No.7
Diabolical Suggestion, Op.4, No.4
Toccata, Op.11
Sonata No. 3 in A minor, Op.28

Rosenblatt, Alexander

Variations on Paganini Theme

Rachmaninoff, Sergei

3 Etudes
6 Preludes
Elegy, Op.3, No.1
Lilacs
Melody, Op.3, No.3
Polichinelle, Op.3, No. 4
Moment Musical, Op 16, No. 4 in E minor
Vocalise, Op. 34, No. 5
Sonata No. 2 in B-Flat Minor, Op. 36
Concerto No. 1 in F-Sharp Minor, Op.1
Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op.18

Ravel, Maurice

Pavane pour une Infante Defunte
Jeux D'eau

Rimsky-Korsakoff, Nicholas

Flight of the Bumble-Bee from Opera "The Tale of Tzar Saltan"

Scarlatti, Domenico

Sonatas

Schubert, Franz

2 Impromptus
Moment Musical, Op.94, No. 2
Sonata in A Minor, Op.42

Schumann, Robert

Arabesque, Op.18
The Prophet Bird, Op. 82 No. 7
Novellets, Op.21, No.1 and No. 2
Aufschwung, Op.12, No.2
Scenes from Childhood, Op.15
Carnaval, Op.9
Faschingsschwank aus Wien , Op. 26
Concerto in A Minor, Op. 54

Scriabin, Alexander

3 Etudes
Poeme Vers la Flamme, Op. 72
Sonata No.5, Op.53

Stravinsky, Igor

3 Movements from Ballet "Petrouchka"

Shchedrin, Rodion

Humoresque
Prologue and The Races from Ballet “Anna Karenina” (Michail Pletnev’s piano transcription)

Tchaikovsky, Peter Ilyich

The Seasons, Op. 37
Four Excerpts from Ballet “Nutcracker” (Pletnev’s piano transcription)
Piano Concerto No.1 in B-Flat Minor, Op. 23