Steeple Concerts at St. Paul's

Blog


Steeple Concerts continues season with virtuoso pianist Ilya Yakushev on Sunday, November 12

Steeple Concerts at St. Paul’s continues its 2023-2024 season at 5pm on Sunday, November 12 with the virtuoso pianist Ilya Yakushev. The concert will be at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 414 East Broad Street, Westfield, NJ. The program will be followed by a reception at which you will have an opportunity to meet and greet the performer.

Virtuoso pianist Ilya Yakushev, with many awards and honors to his credit, continues to astound and mesmerize audiences at major venues on three continents.

In the 2022-23 season, Ilya Yakushev performed as piano soloist with Meridian Symphony, San Luis Obispo Symphony, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Dubuque Symphony, Las Vegas Philharmonic and Fort Wayne Philharmonic in addition to over 40 recitals in North America and Mexico.

Highlights of Yakushev’s 2023-24 season include return appearances with the San Luis Obispo Symphony, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, and Glacier Symphony, as well as a performance with the Panama City Symphony.

In February 2014, British label Nimbus Records published “Prokofiev Sonatas Vol. 1” CD. American Record Guide wrote “Yakushev is one of the very best young pianists before the public today, and it doesn’t seem to matter what repertoire he plays – it is all of the highest caliber”. Volume 2 was published in January 2017, as well as an all-Russian repertoire CD in September 2017.

In past seasons, he has performed in various prestigious venues worldwide, including Glinka Philharmonic Hall (St. Petersburg), Victoria Hall (Singapore), Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall (New York), Davies Symphony Hall (San Francisco), and Sejong Performing Arts Center (Seoul, Korea). His performances with orchestra include those with the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, BBC Concert Orchestra, Boston Pops, Rochester Philharmonic, Utah Symphony, and many others.

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.
 

Tickets to the concert are priced at $30 for adults and $15 for students, and are available on the Steeple Concerts website at www.steepleconcerts.org. More information about upcoming concerts in the 2023-2024 season is also available on the Steeple Concerts website. Parking for the concert is available in the St. Paul’s parking lot off Euclid Avenue or on St. Paul’s Street next to the church.

Mark Hyczko