The winner of 25 national and international awards, Rafael Lipstein has performed in the most renowned concert halls worldwide: the Oriental Art Center Shanghai, the Cologne Philharmonic, the Herkulessaal in Munich, the Peking University, the Tonhalle Düsseldorf – to name a few.
When one of the greatest pianists of all time Martha Argerich listened to Rafael play piano, she said that “When Lipstein plays, the piano simply sings!” Described by the press as the “Prince of the Pianists” (Beijing) and “Exceptional talent with great virtuosity and remarkable charisma” (Die Welt), Rafael graduated with distinction from the Mozarteum University (Salzburg, Austria).
He studied piano in the studio of Professor Pavel Gililov who – surprisingly enough – was teaching in the next classroom to the living legend of the violin world Professor Zakhar Bron. As a piano professional, Rafael has also worked with Martha Argerich, Ivry Gitlis, Emanuel Ax, Ferenc Rados, Naum Grubert and many other famous classical pianists.
The winner of numerous of the most prestigious piano awards in the world, including the second prize at the International Russian Music Competition Sanremo 2019 and the ‘Gold Medal with high distinction’ at the 3rd Berlin International Music Competition, Rafael agreed to join the Zakhar Bron School of Music in August 2021. Among other national and international competitions he won are:
As a soloist with orchestra, Rafael performed with the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne, the Kurpfälzisches Kammerorchester Mannheim, the JSO Cologne, the Sanremo State Orchestra and the Suzhou Symphony Orchestra, among others. According to the German daily newspaper Allgemeine Zeitung, “The audience celebrates the pianist frenetically.”
As a teacher Rafael uses contemporary professional body-conscious and piano methods: the Feldenkrais method, the Taubman method, Feuchtwanger and Alan Fraser methods. They can help both beginners and advanced pianists develop a healthy and virtuosic piano technique.