On his newest Steinway release, the brilliant pianist Stanislav Khristenko invites listeners on a captivating musical journey. Bringing together preludes by composers across centuries, this imaginative program offers a compelling form of time travel—illuminating the evolution of the genre while celebrating the rich history of keyboard music.

Steinway & Sons is pleased to release pianist Stanislav Khristenko' newest album, 24 Preludes (STNS 30257) on June 5, 2026..

In his program notes for the album Khristenko writes:
The prelude, originally an improvisatory form, evolved into a standalone genre over the course of music history. While it was often used to introduce larger works, composers increasingly began to treat preludes as self-sufficient pieces, allowing for the expression of a wide range of musical ideas and characters. The concept of writing a set of 24 preludes—covering all major and minor keys—was
popularized by J.S. Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier and later expanded upon by composers such as Chopin,Scriabin, and Rachmaninov, among many others.

This program brings together preludes by various composers from different centuries, creating a kind of time travel through the genre’s evolution and the broader history of keyboard music.

– Stanislav Khristenko

 

“Mr. Khristenko plays with thoughtful lucidity and restraint …suave…flowing and sensitive”

New York Times

 

“Khristenko’s playing offers suitably cool clarity; he articulates lines for melodic eloquence even when that melodic quality is not obvious, and maintains an admirable lightness of touch.”

 ClassicalMusic.com

 

“Khristenko handles the most virtuosic music with an easy touch. Yet that ease of execution includes a heavy dose of dramatic expression, so he always keeps the listener engrossed.”

 Classical Candor

Album Credits

24 Preludes / Stanislav Khristenko • STNS 30257

Release Date: 6/5/2026 

Recorded May, 2024 at Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan.

Producer: Stanislav Khristenko
Recording Engineer: Joshua Frey
Mixing and Mastering: Daniel Shores
Editor: Stanislav Khristenko

Executive Producers: Eric Feidner, Jon Feidner

Art Direction: Jackie Fugere

Design: Cover to Cover Design, Anilda Carrasquillo

Project Coordinator: Renée Oakford

Piano Technician: John Veitch

Piano: Steinway Model D #607799 (New York)

About the Artist

Described as a “poet of piano” by Le Soir (Belgium), Ukrainian-born American pianist Stanislav Khristenko has performed in some of the world’s major concert halls. He has been praised for “emotional intensity, “charismatic expression,” “palette of touches,” “solid” and “precise technique” by The New York Times, The Washington Post and Miami Herald, Gramophone, BBC Music Magazine and El Pais.

Khristenko has appeared as a piano soloist with the Cleveland Orchestra, National Orchestra of Belgium, Phoenix Symphony, Liege Royal Philharmonic, Suwon Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as Bilbao, Madrid, Tenerife, Puerto Rico, and Richmond symphony orchestras, among others. His performance highlights include solo recitals at Carnegie Hall, Vienna Konzerthaus, Palais de Beaux-Arts in Brussels, as well as performances with orchestras in Philharmonie Berlin, Seoul Arts Center, Prague Rudolfinum, Moscow Conservatory Great Hall, and others. Khristenko’s performance as a piano soloist with The Lviv National Orchestra of Ukraine in Stern Auditorium at Carnegie Hall was chosen as one of 15 highlights of the 2022/2023 Carnegie Hall season by The New York Times. 

Khristenko’s recordings were released on the Steinway & Sons label (Fantasies, Romeo and Juliet and Schubert: Sonata in C minor, D 958), Naxos (Soler: Sonatas), Oehms (Krenek: Piano Works), and Toccata Classics (Krenek: Piano Works, Volume One and Krenek: Piano Works, Volume Two). He is a Steinway Spirio Artist with a significant presence in the Spirio recording library.

Khristenko is a prizewinner of numerous piano competitions including Gold Medal at Cleveland Piano Competition, First Prize at Maria Canals Piano Competition, Second Prize at Isang Yun and Takamatsu Piano Competitions, and Fourth Prize at Queen Elisabeth Music Competition. In the United States, he also received First Prizes at Bosendorfer, Jose Iturbi, Virginia Waring, and Wideman Competitions, among others. He has been on the jury panel of many international piano competitions.

In his hometown in Ukraine, Khristenko co-founded music festival KharkivMusicFest that presented the world’s top classical musicians as well as unique projects including Festival Orchestra, Classical Music Conference, Children’s Orchestra, and artist-designed pianos for interactive public display. As a Music Director, he founded Nova Sinfonietta Chamber Orchestra of Ukraine that performed works of over 40 composers in its first three seasons. 

Khristenko gave his first piano solo recital in Kharkiv Philharmonic Hall at the age of 11. He graduated from Moscow Chopin College and Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, where he studied with Vera Gornostaeva. In 2008, he moved to the United States to study with Sergei Babayan at the Cleveland Institute of Music. He also completed post-graduate Artistic Training in Orchestral Conducting at the Chopin University in Warsaw, Poland and Short Course in Orchestral Conducting at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester, England.

In 2024, Khristenko was appointed Assistant Professor of Piano in the Michigan State University College of Music.
Stanislav Khristenko is a Steinway Artist.

About Steinway & Sons label

The STEINWAY & SONS music label produces exceptional albums of solo piano music across all genres. The label — a division of STEINWAY & SONS, maker of the world’s finest pianos — is a perfect vessel for producing the finest quality recordings by some of the most talented pianists in the world.