Celebrated pianist to perform at CWU on January 20

The CWU Department of Music will welcome a special guest to the Ellensburg campus Tuesday, January 20, when Grammy-nominated producer Sergei Kvitko delivers a lecture and recital in the McIntyre Music Building Recital Hall.

At 2 p.m., the world-renowned pianist will speak to members of the CWU community about his musical production career. Then at 6 p.m., Kvitko will present a free piano recital titled “Exit Music (for the End of Time).”

His critically acclaimed 2021 album Mozart. Post Scriptum with Madrid Soloists Chamber Orchestra was praised as “an absolute explosion of creativity” and also won The American Prize in Piano Performance.

Kvitko was recently nominated for Producer of the Year for the upcoming 2026 Grammy Awards and for Best Classical Album in the Latin Grammys. He now serves as a voting member of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, which presents the Grammys.

As a composer, Kvitko has garnered multiple awards for his incidental music in the production of Steven Dietz’s play, Dracula. His other compositions include incidental music for Tennessee Williams’ play, The Glass Menagerie, along with many transcriptions and arrangements, such as cadenzas for Mozart’s Concerto in D Minor.

According to his website, Kvitko has built a name for himself in the music industry due to both his artistic accomplishments and his reputation as an internationally sought-after classical recording engineer and producer.

Kvitko was born in Russia and began studying music at the age of 6. After receiving a top-flight musical education in his home country, he came to the United States to pursue a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Michigan State University.

He made his New York City debut in 2013 with a solo recital at Carnegie Hall, and since then, he has made solo, chamber and orchestral appearances around the world, including in the United States, Canada, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Austria, Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

To learn more about the January 20 event in Ellensburg, email music.department@cwu.edu.