Ivan Yanakov (pianist)
The winner of numerous international piano competitions, pianist and conductor Ivan Yanakov has been heard to great critical acclaim in Asia, Europe and North America, most recently in France, Britain, Austria, Germany, Italy (more than 150 concerts), Andorra, Hungary, Bulgaria, Poland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Russia, Turkey, Japan, South Korea, China, and the United States. He has performed as soloist with orchestras in Europe and throughout Asia, and has appeared in halls that include the Tokyo Metropolitan Arts Center, Kitara Hall in Sapporo, and Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall. Recent chamber music concerts include collaboration with members of the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
Born in a family of musicians in Sofia, Ivan Yanakov moved to New York to pursue his musical studies. He earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from the Mannes College of Music and spent 10 years in New York, where he performed extensively in chamber music and recitals and was awarded the Artists International Debut Series Prize at Carnegie Hall. He moved to Paris and later to London, where he founded the London Chamber Players, a chamber orchestra composed of young professionals with a home season at Saint-Giles-in-the-Fields, in Central London.
As a conductor, Ivan Yanakov made his conducting debut with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra in 2010. Ivan Yanakov has appeared on live television and radio broadcasts throughout North America and Europe via satellite, including Live from the Los Angeles Museum of Art. Since 2003, he has been frequently invited to record at the Bulgarian National Radio. He was presented in 2007 with the “Recognition of Excellence Award” by NATO’s Chief Commander in Bosnia, after performing a gala concert with the Sarajevo Philharmonic.
Mr. Yanakov was the co-founder of the Irvine Chamber Music Festival in California and of the Siena Belcanto Festival in Italy, where he also served as Artistic Director. He was also a full-scholarship fellow at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena. Today, he is often invited to give master classes, most recently in Turkey, China, and the Seoul National University.
The 2013/2014 season will take Ivan Yanakov once more to the Far East (Japan, China, Hong Kong), Turkey, and over 10 countries in Europe. His London season as Music Director of the London Chamber Players will explore standard and more obscure repertoire from the baroque, classical and contemporary. He resides in London.
References
- ↑ "Ivan Yanakov". Retrieved 3 February 2016.