Biography
A critically acclaimed pianist with varied repertoire, Ilya Kondratiev is the prize-winner of several renowned international music competitions, including Frederyk Chopin Hannover 2011, Franz Liszt Budapest 2011, Franz Liszt Weimar 2011, the Fifth Tbilisi 2013 and Brant Birmingham 2015. Born in Russia, he studied from the age of seven at the Samara College of Music with Victoria Soifer and, from the age of 16, at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory with the distinguished teacher and People’s Artist of Russia Zinaida Ignatieva. In 2014 he moved to London in order to further his studies at the Royal College of Music under Vanessa Latarche and Sofia Gulyak, graduating with a Master of Performance and an Artist Diploma in Performance. He also won the Beethoven Senior Intercollegiate Competition in 2015 and the prestigious Chappell Gold Medal in 2016.
Ilya performs extensively as a soloist and chamber music player at venues such as the Great Hall of Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, Gasteig Munich, Weimarhalle, Palacio de Festivales de Santander, the Palaceof Arts in Budapest and the Great Hall of the Tbilisi Conservatoire. In 2009 he founded a chamber music ensemble Robert Quintet and won top prizes at the Sixth Stasys Vainunas Chamber Music Competition in 2009 and The Premio Vittorio Gui in Florence in 2011.
In 2011 Ilya was invited to work with Elisabeth Leonskaya at the Franz Liszt Piano Academy in Schilllingfurst, Germany and with Pavel Gililov at the Eppan Piano Academy in Italy. He has also performed in the masterclasses of Rolf-Dieter Arens, Dina Yoffe, Konstantin Shcherbakov, Willem Brons, Paul Gulda, Dmitry Bashkirov, Jerome Rose, Leslie Howard, Lang Lang and Arie Vardi.
In 2015 and 2017 Ilya was invited to the “Encuentro” Festival in Santander and in 2016 appeared as a guest artist in the Gumusluk Festival in Turkey, and the Beethoven Music Festival and Academy in Altaussee in Austria. He is generously supported by the Keyboard Charitable Trust and Talent Unlimited Foundation.
Together with the performing, Ilya is developing his teaching career and in 2019 he joined the Royal College of Music London as a deputy piano professor.
A recent appearance for the Keyboard Charitable Trust in Cyprus received an ecstatic review from Yvonne Georgiadou, Artistic Director of The Pharos Cultural Centre: ”A revelation!....... Ilya is the most exceptional of all………Never before did a pianist keep me locked on my seat, full of excitement from beginning to end. He is a fascinating artist. He makes the piano sound like a full orchestra“.
