Chamber Music Concert

In April, Russian pianist Ilya Yakushev makes his debut as a part of the Gualala Arts Chamber Music Series. With many awards and honors to his credit, he continues to astound and mesmerize audiences at major venues on three continents. His performance is set for Saturday, April 8, 2023 at 4:00 p.m. Regular chamber concert fans will note that this performance is on a Saturday (instead of the usual Sunday performances.) Tickets are $40 advance, $5 more if purchased the day of. Purchase Tickets.

In the 2019-20 season, Yakushev performed as piano soloist with more than 30 recitals in North America and Europe. Highlights of Yakushev’s 2021-22 season included appearances with the Wisconsin Philharmonic and La Crosse Symphony. In past seasons, he has performed in St. Petersburg, Singapore and Seoul,  and delighted audiences from Carnegie Hall to Davies Symphony Hall, the BBC Concert Orchestra, Boston Pops, Rochester Philharmonic, Utah Symphony, and many others.

In a recent review, the New York Times was impressed.  “Mr. Yakushev . . . cultivates a fiery, impetuous persona . . . [he played Prokofiev’s first and second sonatas] with both energy and brash humor, and in Schumann’s ‘Carnaval’ collection, he was febrile, ready to pounce but delicate in the gently fluttering ‘Reconnaissance.’”

Winner of the 2005 World Piano Competition which took place in Cincinnati, OH, Mr. Yakushev received his first award at age 12 as a prizewinner of the Young Artists Concerto Competition in his native St. Petersburg. In 1997, he received the Mayor of St. Petersburg’s Young Talents award, and in both 1997 and 1998, he won First Prize at the Donostia Hiria International Piano Competition in San Sebastian, Spain. In 1998, he received a national honor, The Award for Excellence in Performance, presented to him by the Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation in Moscow. Most recently, Mr. Yakushev became a recipient of the prestigious Gawon International Music Society’s Award in Seoul, Korea.

Mr. Yakushev attended the Rimsky-Korsakov College of Music in his native St. Petersburg, Russia, and subsequently came to New York City to attend Mannes College of Music where he studied with legendary pianist Vladimir Feltsman.

Ilya Yakushev is a Yamaha artist.