Rachel Breen at Piedmont Piano Company

Miniatures: from Bach to Kurtag

Rachel Breen returns to the piano store for a solo piano recital. Her program includes two suites, the first by one of the giants of western civilization, J.S. Bach. The second suite of miniatures is on the surface scattered with differences—culture, time period, geography, religion—but is deeply linked by the humanity of its composers and our humanity as listeners.


Bay Area native Rachel Breen has been described as “an extraordinarily skilled pianist with a gift for memorization,” having “a beautiful piano sound and original detail.” She received her bachelor’s degree with academic honors from the Juilliard School, and her master’s degree from the Yale School of Music, where she studied with – respectively – Julian Martin and Boris Slutsky. Previously, she was a student of Dr. Sharon Mann at the San Francisco Conservatory; until age 10, she was self-taught. She is currently a Soloklasse artist at the Hannover Hochschule für Musik under Lars Vogt, and is based in both Europe and the United States. ...

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Miniatures: from Bach to Kurtag

Rachel Breen returns to the piano store for a solo piano recital. Her program includes two suites, the first by one of the giants of western civilization, J.S. Bach. The second suite of miniatures is on the surface scattered with differences—culture, time period, geography, religion—but is deeply linked by the humanity of its composers and our humanity as listeners.


Bay Area native Rachel Breen has been described as “an extraordinarily skilled pianist with a gift for memorization,” having “a beautiful piano sound and original detail.” She received her bachelor’s degree with academic honors from the Juilliard School, and her master’s degree from the Yale School of Music, where she studied with – respectively – Julian Martin and Boris Slutsky. Previously, she was a student of Dr. Sharon Mann at the San Francisco Conservatory; until age 10, she was self-taught. She is currently a Soloklasse artist at the Hannover Hochschule für Musik under Lars Vogt, and is based in both Europe and the United States.

Breen has won top prizes in the Beethoven International Competition in Vienna, the Georges Cziffra International Competition, the Livorno International Competition, the Gallinari International Competition, Premio Melini, the Spanish Composers International Competition and the NFMC Young Artists’ Competition, and received the 2021 Kurt Alten Prize from her university in Hannover. She is one of ten semifinalists in the upcoming Honens International Piano Competition.

Aside from piano, Breen earned first prize on the National Latin Exam and third prize on the National French Exam. She spends her spare time exploring philosophy and visual arts, as well as forgetting to answer important emails.

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