Alexander Bernstein, a San Francisco native, began piano lessons at age 7, later moving to Walla Walla, Washington where he studied for nine years. Alexander received a Bachelor’s Degree in Music from Harvard University in May 2010 where he studied privately with both Patricia Zander and Stephen Drury of the New England Conservatory. He also completed a Master’s Degree in Piano Performance at the Royal Irish Academy of Music in Dublin in 2012. He is currently pursuing an Artist Diploma at Shenandoah Conservatory under the tutelage of John O’Conor.
After making his symphonic debut in 1999, Alexander has performed concerti with orchestras in the US and Europe, most recently including performances of Rachmaninoff’s Concerto No. 3 with the RTE National Symphony Orchestra in Ireland and the Shenandoah University Symphony Orchestra in Virginia. He has given solo recitals in the US, Canada, Ireland, the UK, Germany, Italy and Romania.
Alexander is an avid devotee of new music, studying and premiering works of living composers as well as Berio, Ligeti, Ives, and Cage. In September 2015 he recorded a solo CD of works by the Irish composer Ryan Molloy.
Alexander has had much success in competitions, recently winning 2nd Prize and the RTE Lyric Fm Special Prize in the 2015 Dublin International Piano Competition, 3rd Prize in the 2015 Verona International Piano Competition, and 3rd Prize in the 2015 Gian Battista Viotti International Piano Competition. He also received 1st Prize in the 2011 Irish Freemasons Young Musician of the Year Competition.
Repertoire
Round I
Beethoven Sonata No. 23 in F minor, Op. 57
Round II
Liszt Sonata in B minor, S.178
Round III
Schubert Sonata No. 21 in B-flat major, D. 960
Rzewski Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues
Round IV
Rachmaninoff Concerto No. 3 in D minor, Op. 30
