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evoked memories of Dame Myra Hess and Englishman Harold Samuel, i.e., she cared deeply about the music, knew stylistically what to do with it, and (best of all) produced a demure, pearly, singing tone... each note like a tiny pearl, released gradually." (American Record Review, 2005). "A towering and authoritative presence on stage . . . Sarah Grunstein beguiled her audience into complete contemplative stillness." (The Chronicle, 2005.) "Her superb pianism and the special sound of the instrument, both melodious and powerful . . . combined to create an experience that will not soon be forgotten, but that was all too soon over . . . Remarkable!” (Classical Voice of New England, 2007). Praised by The New York Times as "a versatile, expressive pianist who combines a penetrating musical intelligence with the technical proficiency to realize her ideas," Australian pianist Sarah Grunstein performs internationally as concert artist. Born in Sydney, Sarah Grunstein’s career has included concerts in the United States, Austria, Hungary, Italy, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and her homeland. During the celebration of the Bach Tercentenary she performed Bach’s complete "Well-Tempered Clavier" in London, New York, and Sydney, her all-Bach recital at London’s Purcell Room leading to an invitation to perform at Kensington Palace before His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. A winner of the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Award for Young Australians, she has appeared as concerto soloist with the Monteverdi Chamber Orchestra, the Melbourne Musicians, the Victorian State Orchestra, and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Most recently she has collaborated as chamber artist with Chilean cellist Jan Muller-Szeraws. As soloist and chamber musician, Sarah Grunstein's repertoire spans from the music of J.S. Bach to Australian, American, and European contemporary chamber works. As educator, she has given master-classes, lecture-recitals, and seminars on modern and historic pianos in the United States (including the New England Conservatory and the Frederick Historic Piano Collection), the United Kingdom, Norway, Australia, and New Zealand. Sarah Grunstein is a graduate of The Juilliard School, where she earned the Bachelor and Master of Music degrees, and held a Teaching Fellowship for four years following graduation. She holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from The Graduate Center of the City University of New York. She is a former student of renowned teachers Sascha Gorodnitzki and Herbert Stessin (Juilliard), Nancy Salas (Sydney Conservatorium), Lev Natochenny (Frankfurt Hochschule für Musik), Malcolm Bilson (Cornell University), and Greville Rothon, assistant to Claudio Arrau. She has found deep inspiration in the artworks of her father, artist Bill Grunstein, on whose life and work she has recently published. In addition to her Teaching Fellowship at Juilliard, Sarah Grunstein has taught at the Manhattan School of Music, the City University of New York, Fordham University, the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, and the Victorian College of the Arts. In 2002 she joined the faculty of the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts, where she is Assistant Professor. At Holy Cross she founded and leads the monthly Performance Forums, has presented colloquia on her 18th-century fortepiano, founded the Annual Chamber Music Festival (now part of the Academic Conference), and is Co-Director of the Chamber Music Program. Sarah Grunstein has received acknowledgement from the Carnegie Hall Weill Music Institute as the first professor to bring college students to Carnegie Hall’s Professional Training program. She has led study tours to the Frederic Historic Piano Collection where she has created and directed Holy Cross Historic Piano Chamber Festivals, featuring students performing solo and chamber works on historic instruments. She has recently been elected as the first Board Member in Performance for the Northeast Region of the College Music Society. In the summer of 2008 Sarah Grunstein performed Bach’s Goldberg Variations in Italy at the XIV International Music Festival at Rocca Grimalda, Alessandria, sponsored by the Comune of Rocca and the Regione Piemonte. At Durham University, England, she presented a lecture-recital on Chopin as improviser, entitled “Playing the Changing Face of Chopin’s Score.” Her performance-demonstration included her own improvisation between preludes. She presented master-classes at Monash University, Melbourne, Australia, and for the Piano Forum at the Norwegian Academy of Music, Oslo. In New Zealand, she presented piano classes, master-classes, and recital as Distinguished Artist-in-Residence at the University of Auckland. Sarah Grunstein is a Steinway Concert Artist.
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