艾德曼 1960 年 7 月 22 日出生於烏克蘭，來自一個相當著名的音樂世家。父親亞歷山大・艾德曼（Alexander Edelmann）也是一位鋼琴家，為布倫姆費爾德（Felix Blumenfeld，霍洛維茲的老師）與涅高茲（Heinrich Neuhaus，李希特的老師）的學生，並曾經擔任柴可夫斯基國際鋼琴大賽評審。艾德曼從小即展現過人音樂才華，五歲起由父親教導鋼琴，十歲時首度與管弦樂團合作演出，曲目是貝多芬的第一號鋼琴協奏曲，少年時期的艾德曼經常巡迴前蘇聯舉行鋼琴獨奏會，或與俄羅斯許多管弦樂團合作演出。因為家鄉戰亂，1978 年全家流亡義大利，1979 年定居紐約，進入茱莉亞音樂學院就讀。艾德曼迅速在美國建立聲望，憑藉超凡的技巧與優雅而成熟的樂思，很快地被視為同輩裡最重要的鋼琴家之一。艾德曼 1979 年在美國青年音樂會藝術家國際試音比賽（Young Concert Artists International Auditions）中勝出，獲得國際吉娜巴考爾鋼琴獎學金（Gina Bachauer Memorial Scholarship），此一獎學金使得他能求教傳奇鋼琴家費庫斯尼（Rudolf Firkusny）；1983 年艾德曼在比利時伊莉沙白國際鋼琴大賽（Queen Elizabeth International Competition）裡進入決賽。艾德曼榮獲紐約 92 街Y徹卡斯基獨奏會獎（徹卡斯基於 1986 年設立該獎，旨在鼓勵有天賦的年輕鋼琴家）。

艾德曼的職業演奏生涯起始於美國，他在芝加哥管弦樂廳、紐約大都會藝術博物館、帕莎蒂那大使廳等地的演出獲得廣大迴響，他在美國首演之後不久，洛杉磯重要的音樂評論家認為艾德曼的演出能夠引發聽眾的激情：「評論音樂這回事就像其他職業，有時也有風險存在。不過它最大的獎勵，就是會毫無預期地碰巧發現偉大的天才。昨天晚上鋼琴家艾德曼帶給滿屋子聽眾的獨奏會，就屬於這類型的驚喜！」在芝加哥管弦樂廳的首演之後，最有影響力的樂評卡迪西（Claudia Cassidy）在《芝加哥雜誌》寫道：「艾德曼在走進音樂廳時，大家對他很陌生，但結束後一出音樂廳，大家視他為珍寶。……一場極富音色之美的熱情演奏，炫示的宏偉內涵，是只有巨匠才能展現的。」在美國，艾德曼被視為同年代蘇俄移民美國的鋼琴家當中，最年輕也是呼聲最高的一位。師承的音樂血緣、詮釋、風格、生活背景與精湛琴藝，使得人們從艾德曼的演奏之中，彷彿看到了年輕時代的霍洛維茲，也因此包括立體音響評論的許多美國報刊雜誌樂評家，一致讚譽艾德曼為「霍洛維茲的繼承者」（Horowitz’s Heir-Apparent）。

隨後艾德曼在巴黎、阿姆斯特丹、布魯塞爾、馬德里、慕尼黑、多特蒙德、法蘭克福、米蘭、杜林、費拉拉、西亞那、佛羅倫斯、東京、首爾等地演出，也有極佳的評論。艾德曼曾經克里夫蘭管弦樂團、美國交響樂團、倫敦交響樂團、巴黎管弦樂團、華盛頓國家管弦樂團（應羅斯托波維契之邀請）、耶路撒冷交響樂團、布宜諾斯艾利斯國立管弦樂團、米蘭的威爾第管弦樂團、鹿特丹愛樂（指揮為葛濟夫）等管弦樂團合作，也與貝許米特／莫斯科獨奏家合奏團一同巡迴義大利。

在室內樂演出方面，艾德曼經常於音樂節與他的朋友們合作演出，包括鋼琴家齊柏斯坦、小提琴家齊許宏（Philip Hirshhorn）、小提琴家特雷雅可夫（Victor Tretyakov）、小提琴家許瓦柏格（Dora Schwarzberg）、貝許米特、豎笛家波塔爾（Michel Portal）、保羅・梅耶等人。2006 年，艾德曼與莫斯科獨奏家團於莫斯科音樂學院大廳合作演出莫札特的慶典音樂會，也與華沙小交響樂團巡迴義大利，合作布拉姆斯第二號鋼琴協奏曲。2010 年，艾德曼受阿格麗希之邀，於盧加諾音樂節合作演出數場音樂會。教學方面，艾德曼於 1996-2001 年擔任紐約大學鋼琴教授，2002-2009 年，他擔任東京武藏野音樂學院的客席鋼琴教授。

錄音部分，艾德曼在定居美國之後，於 BMG Classics/RCA Red Seal 灌錄過許多唱片：他經常與弗洛爾／邦貝格交響樂團、貝格隆／斯德哥爾摩愛樂管弦樂團合作，灌錄孟德爾頌鋼琴協奏曲、理查・史特勞斯的滑稽曲；而他也灌錄貝多芬、舒伯特、舒曼、蕭邦、普羅高菲夫的鋼琴獨奏作品，皆獲得廣大好評。2008 年起，艾德曼開始與日本發燒名廠 Triton 合作，灌錄一系列作品：首張專輯為 2009 年發行的巴哈作品錄音，同年也發行紀念舒曼的舒曼鋼琴作品，以及蕭邦的四首敘事曲。2010 年艾德曼灌錄了李斯特的奏鳴曲以及舒伯特的《流浪者幻想曲》，以及一套 2CD 的蕭邦與貝多芬奏鳴曲集。

“Edelmann is a real artist… His importance is manifest in his music, he has the super abundant technique that permits him to do just about anything he pleases at the keyboard andit is coupled with what I must call poetic vision - the kind of insight into a composer’s thoughts and feelings that permits the most sympathetic approach to his work.” - Chicago Sun-Times.

“By virtue of Edelmann's breathtaking virtuosity and the clarity of his ideas, the young pianist reminded me of Horowitz. Sergei Edelmann is the kind of pianist who speaks directly to his instrument. And the voice is big and rich in musical and technical gifts.” - Seattle Post.

Born in Lvov, Ukraine in 1960, Sergei Edelmann comes from a long and outstanding musical heritage; his father, Alexander Edelmann, renowned pianist and pedagogue, a pupil of both Felix Blumenfeld （professor of Vladimir Horowitz） and Heinrich Neuhaus （professor of Sviatoslav Richter） taught Sergei since the age of 5. In his native country, Sergei's first orchestral performance was at the age of 10 playing Beethoven's First Piano Concerto. He subsequently performed extensively in recitals and with orchestras throughout ex-USSR.

Sergei Edelmann came to the United States in 1979. Within his first year here, he quickly established himself as a significant and highly acclaimed pianist of his generation. Not long after his debut performance in the United States, one of Los Angeles's major concert critics described the excitement generated by Sergei's performance: "Music reviewing, as a profession has its perils, but one of its rewards is the shock of unexpectedly stumbling onto great talent. That happened last night when this young pianist, Sergei Edelmann, gave a recital to our full house audience". And, after his debut recital in Chicago’s Orchestra Hall, one of the most respected and feared musical critics, Claudia Cassidy, wrote in the Chicago Magazine: “Sergei Edelmann walked in the Orchestra Hall a stranger and out of it one to be cherished”.

Sergei Edelmann is a winner of the Young Concert Artists International Auditions, the Gina Bachauer Memorial Scholarship at Juilliard, and a major prizewinner of Belgium's Queen Elizabeth International Competition. Mr. Edelmann is also the recipient of the prestigious 92nd Street YM-YWHA's Shura Cherkassky Recital Award.

His BMG Classics/RCA Red Seal CDs with the Bamberg Symphony under the baton of Claus Peter Flor and the Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra with Paavo Berglund include both Mendelssohn concertos and the Strauss Burlesque, and his series of solo recordings of Beethoven, Schubert, Schumann, Chopin, and Prokofiev, have gathered enthusiastic critical acclaim. In the fall of 2008 Mr. Edelmann has embarked on a major new series of recordings for the Japanese label “Triton”, first of which, with works of J. S. Bach, was released in February 2009, the second, dedicated to R. Schumann came out in June and in September 2009, the Chopin album, which includes 4 ballades. In March 2010, came out the album of Liszt Sonata and Schubert’s “Wanderer” Fantasy and in October, November consecutively – one double CD with Chopin sonatas and another with Beethoven sonatas.

His solo recitals in the United States have included Chicago’s Orchestra Hall, New York’s 92nd Street “Y” and Metropolitan Museum of Arts, Pasadena’s Ambassador Auditorium among numerous others. In Europe he has performed in Paris, Amsterdam, Brussels, Madrid, Munich, Detmold, Frankfurt, Milan, Turin, Ferrara, Siena, Florence and in Asia he regularly appears in Tokyo, Taipei and Seoul.

Mr. Edelmann has appeared with the Cleveland Orchestra, American Symphony Orchestra at the Carnegie Hall, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre de Paris, the Washington National Symphony Orchestra （at the invitation of Mstislav Rostropovich）, the Toronto Symphony, the Dallas Symphony, Jerusalem Symphony, Haifa Philharmonic Orchestra, Mexico Philharmonic, Orchestra National de Buenos Aires in Teatro Colon, Saint Louis Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic, Seattle Symphony, Orchestra Verdi di Milano, the Rotterdam Philharmonic, tour of Italy with Moscow Soloists under Yuri Bashmet, “New Russia” Symphony, the National Symphony of Johannesburg and the Cape Town Philharmonic in South Africa and other major orchestras across Europe, the Far East, and North and South America.

A true collaborator, Mr. Edelmann enjoys festival appearances that afford him the opportunity to work with friends and colleagues. Among his chamber music partners: pianist Lilya Zilberstein, violinists Philip Hirshhorn, Victor Tretyakov, Dora Schwarzberg, Sergei Stadler, Alissa Vaitsner, violist Yuri Bashmet, clarinetists Michel Portal, Pascal Moragues, Julian Milkis and Paul Mayer, violoncellists Mario Brunello, Tatiana Vasilieva, Dmitri Yablonsky and Sviatoslav Zagursky.

He has appeared in major international music festivals: La Rocque d’Antheron, Tours, Dinard, Poitiers, Nancy, Sully, Radio France Montpelier, Maggio Musicale di Firenze, Rovereto, Ravello, Camerino and Elba （where he premiered in Italy Gya Kantcelli's Piano Quartet and K.Penderezky Sextet).

Recently, Mr. Edelmann performed in the Mozart celebration concert with Moscow Soloists at the famed Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, was a soloist in J.Brahms Piano concerto No.2 with Sinfonia Warsovia for the tour of Italy and, in June 2010, he was invited by Martha Argerich to participate in several concerts at the Lugano Festival.

In addition to his concert activities, Mr. Edelmann devotes a considerable amount of his time to teaching. He was a Professor of the Piano Faculty at New York University from 1996 to 2001 and, from 2002 to 2009, a Guest Professor of Piano at the Musashino Music Academy in Tokyo.