Gerstein wins prestigious Opus Klassik award for Komitas/Debussy project
BERLIN, Germany—Acclaimed pianist Kirill Gerstein has been awarded the Opus Klassik Special Award for Curatorial Achievement for his double album and accompanying book Music in Time of War, dedicated to the music of Claude Debussy and Komitas.
Opus Klassik is Germany’s most prestigious award for classical music.
In his acceptance statement, Gerstein noted: “This album was never intended as a commemoration for its own sake. It is an active musical reflection on how art reacts to and survives the horrors of war, persecution, displacement. It is also, tragically, a reminder of the persistence of these themes today. The First World War and the Armenian Genocide are not merely distant, historical echoes. The aftershocks of those catastrophes powerfully shape our present.”
Gerstein added, “Art does not replace historical truth or political accountability. That is not its role. Yet, like no other form of expression, art reminds us of the cost of forgetting.”
Gerstein expressed deep gratitude to his artistic collaborators, as well as institutional partners such as the Wiener Konzerthaus and the Columbia University Armenian Center.
Music in Time of War pairs Debussy’s late works—composed amid the devastation of World War I—with pieces by Komitas, the Armenian priest-composer whose life and music were marked by the Armenian Genocide. The album was released to widespread critical acclaim, previously earning spots on The New Yorker’s “Fifteen Notable Recordings of 2024” and The New York Times’ list of best classical albums of the year.
Inspired by Komitas, regarded as the founder of the Armenian national school of music and a pioneer of ethnomusicology, Gerstein’s project offers a profound meditation on art created in the face of collective catastrophe.
The recording features collaborations with Armenian soprano Ruzan Mantashyan and pianists Thomas Adès and Katia Skanavi.
Accompanying the album is a beautifully illustrated book with four in-depth essays (in English, French and German) that explore the intersection of music, war and memory. Contributors include Annette Becker (Paris Ouest Nanterre La Défense), Armenian composer Artur Avanesov, Khatchig Mouradian (Columbia University and the Library of Congress) and composer Heinz Holliger.
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