SERG VAN GENNIP was born as Sergei Dianov in Kazan, Russia, in 1985. Serg lived in Leningrad (St. Petersburg) until the age of five. At this age, he left the Soviet Union and lived in Germany for three years. Afterward he moved to Delft in The Netherlands. Since his very early childhood, Serg has liked listening to operas, visiting ballet performances and concerts of classical music. Serg began to study piano at the age of nine. His first teacher was his mother Olga Dianova. She prepared him for the conservatory. He passed an exam at the Conservatory in the Hague when he was eleven years old, where he studied with Kamilla Bystrova for five years. Now, he studies at the piano-class of pianist Michael Davidson at the Rotterdam Conservatory.
At the age of thirteen, Serg won the televised competition for young talents, named Solo for a Child, after which he became quite well-known in the Netherlands. But this was more of a show for Serg, because he does not support any sort of competitions. His opinion is that music cannot be seen as a ``sport''. His first solo recital took place in a large hall in the city of the Hague, when he was fourteen. At the age of sixteen, he had his first orchestral concert with the State Orchestra of Tatarstan (La Primavera) in Kazan.
Influences that had an impact on his musical life are especially three major pianists of the 20th century, Sergei Rachmaninov, Vladimir Horowitz and Sviatoslav Richter. Most important influences for Serg were, without a doubt, all the great composers with various styles.
Serg van Gennip also has a hobby: painting different landscapes. This is probably related to his musical talent, because ideas for these paintings were born while playing many beautifully colored musical pieces. Besides a large number of pieces, many of his paintings are also to be found on his internet site: http://www.serg.vangennip.com .