Born in Moscow to musician parents, Serguei Milstein began piano lessons at the age of five and, one year later, entered the Moscow Central Music School, where he studied with Anaïda Soumbatian. He later enrolled in the class of his father, Jacob Milstein, in the Tchaikovsky Conservatoire.
Serguei Milstein is a prizewinner of major international competitions: Second Prize in the « Prague Spring » International Competition (1988), as well as Third Prize in the International Vercelli Competition (1991). In 1997, he won the First Prize at the International Musical Tournament (Rome). His soloist career has brought him to Czech Republic, Italy, France, Germany, Austria, England, the United States, Japan and Russia.
He has also performed at numerous festivals, including the Prague Spring Festival, the Moravian Autumn, the Folle Journée de Nantes and the Roque d’Anthéron Festivals in France.
From 2003 to 2006, Serguei Milstein held the position of visiting professor of piano at the Department of Music of the Kobe College in Japan.
Currently Serguei Milstein is teaching at the Geneva Conservatory of Music in Switzerland.
Sviatoslav Richter saw in Serguei Milstein a serious and introspective musician, a profoundly erudite and talented pianist. The press has rounded out the accolade, describing him as « a pianist with an electrifying and visionary style, capable of providing rare moments of musical joy, that music lovers long to encounter, if only a few times, in their lives. »
