Alexander Yakovlev
Alexander Yakovlev rose to prominence as one of the most artistic pianists of his generation because of the integrity and emotional refinement of his performances throughout the world. Heralded for his interpretations as“a virtuoso and thinker”, he is an artist who “possesses his own style founded on a deep penetration into the composer’s conception…” (El Pais) He was designated as "the most perspective musician of his generation" (Chopin magazine). Winner of 30 first prizes and more than 50 prizes at international piano competitions, including for example the Takamatsu, Japan, the Cincinnati World Piano Competition, and the Compositores de Espana in Madrid, he has nurtured a successful career to great acclaim throughout Europe, Asia, and America.
After a series of remarkable debuts on such prestigious stages as Carnegie Hall in New York, Victoria Hall in Geneva, the Grand Hall of the Berlin Philharmonic Society, and the Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia in Valencia, Alexander Yakovlev has inspired an ever-growing demand for his artistry.Other notable appearances include concerts in the Alte Oper in Frankfurt am Main, the Komische Oper Berlin, Verdi Hall at the Music Conservatory in Milano, the Auditoria Zaragoza, the Palau de la Música in Barcelona, as well as the Mariinsky Concert Hall and the Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow,the Bunka Kaikan Concert Hall, and the Toppan Hall in Tokyo.
Alexander’s 2016-2017 concert season began with a memorable performance in Bonn where he presented his own adaptations of rarely performed symphonic music by Russian composers. He then went on to Auditorio San Pedro in Monterrey, where, after a resoundingly successful performance, he was invited to perform again in the same season and in the same venue. Alexander also went on an extensive tour of German cities. At mid-season 2016-2017, he enjoyed a very successful tour in Japan, and as a result, he was invited back in the same season with the support of Fazioli. Dearly loved by the Japanese audience, Alexander has concertized in Japan for seven seasons. The end of this season is marked by a performance at the Moscow Philharmonic with the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra.
He will open the 2017-2018 season at the principal venues of China, such as Shanghaicity theatre, Xinghai Concert Hall, and Tianjin Grand Theatre.
Critics worldwide have hailed the pianist’s performances: “Alexander Yakovlev has absolutely charmed the audience. The lovers of music in Brescia have not heard such pure and mighty sonority for long ago…” Bresciaoggi (Italy). “Nobody in the world can compare with his experience in musical competitions” (Piano Forum Magazine, Russia). “A revelation! We dare not speak of the virtuosity; it was breathtaking, incandescent, and spirited. Three encores that the audience insisted upon were brilliant: Scarlatti and the pianist’s own arrangement of works by Mussorgsky and of the Petrushka Suite by Stravinsky have revealed Yakovlev as the phenomenon of Russian pianism.”(concertclassic.com, France).
Alexander is a graduate of the Rostov State Conservatoire where he also did postgraduate study with Sergei Osipenko and studied composition under Leonid Klinichev. He subsequently studied at the Salzburg "Mozarteum" under Alexei Lyubimov and in Berlin at the Universität der Künste under Pascal Devoyon. The pianist’s international career grew rapidly after he won the Chopin Competition in Rome in 2006, where, in addition to the Grand Prix, Alexander Yakovlev received a gift of a concert grand piano. The Vatican radio broadcast of his performance of the Mozart Piano Concerto No. 24 in C minor was heard worldwide.
That same year, the former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder supported Alexander by attending his performance in Merseburg and participating in the presentation of his first CD in Germany.
In 2013, Mr. Yakovlev won the Ettore Pozzoli International Piano Competition and he also received the Italian Presidential Prize “For Services to Italian Culture” (Seregno, Italy). The pianist has performed with many of the most important orchestras of the world such as the Orchestra of the Berlin Philharmonic Society, the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Milan Orchestra I Pomeriggi Musicali, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Mariinsky Orchestra, the Symphony Orchestra of the Moscow Philharmonic, and the Rome Chamber Orchestra.
Yakovlev has collaborated with such famous conductors as Conrad van Alphen, Mark Gibson, Misha Damev, Ravil Martynov, Kent Nagano, Alexander Polianichko, Jean Bernard Pommier, Shinsaku Tsutsumi to name only a few.
Alexander regularly participates in such music festivals as the “Great Masters of Zaragoza” in Spain, the Festival of Pianist Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli in Italy, Mayfest in Scotland, and "Faces of Contemporary Pianism" in St. Petersburg. Alexander is the winner of the 21st Musical Olympics International Festival in St. Petersburg.
His diverse and multifaceted active performing repertoire includes 26 piano concertos and more than 20 solo programs, many of which also include his own transcriptions of opera and symphonic music. For more the ten years, Alexander has regularly given master classes in Russia and abroad. He is a visiting professor in Minneapolis (USA), Takamatsu (Japan), and Benasque (Spain) He is also the founder of the summer/winter academy and festival "Grand piano in palace" in St.Petersburg.
