Biography
New age pianist and composer Kostia has released multiple solo albums while also contributing arrangements to projects by fellow musicians. Born Konstantin Efimov in St. Petersburg, Russia, he grew up under his grandmother’s care after his parents took jobs in East Germany. His introduction to music came at age four, when his parents mailed him a 1937 Wolkenhauer upright piano. Formal training soon followed under two instructors, after which he entered the Rimsky/Korsakov Conservatory. Before moving to the United States in the late 1980s, the pianist toured extensively across Eastern Europe and Scandinavia. Shortly after settling in America he joined the Narada roster, which issued his 1994 effort Suite St. Petersburg: A Piano Portrait and the 1996 collection 10 Pebbles. In 1999 he delivered a ten-track tribute titled Kostia’s Interpretations of Elton John on the World Disc imprint. Kostia has also supplied arrangements for other Narada artists, among them David Arkenstone’s 1991 album In the Wake of the Wind, the 1993 releases Chronicles and Robot Wars, and 1994’s Another Star in the Sky, as well as Michael Gettel’s 1992 recording Places in Time. In addition, he played piano on Daryl Stuermer’s 2000 solo album Another Side of Genesis.
Albums
