A student of the outstanding Igor Bril—one of Moscow's most prominent jazz pianists—he is the founder and
the leader of a trio in which he improvises with various musicians, experimenting with the American swing tradition. Another side of Igor Yakovenko is his work as a composer of contemporary classical music, where he explores
Igor Yakovenko is well known among connoisseurs of contemporary jazz.
the expressiveness of the musical material.
Igor Yakovenko is well known among connoisseurs of contemporary jazz. A student of the outstanding Igor Bril—one of Moscow's most prominent jazz pianists—he is the founder and the leader of a trio in which he improvises with various musicians, experimenting with the American swing tradition.
Another side of Igor Yakovenko is his work as a composer of contemporary classical music, where he explores the expressiveness of the musical material.
“Yakovenko crafts his compositions by embedding gripping harmonies and jazz improvisations into classical forms.”
Forbes
“Yakovenko crafts his compositions by embedding gripping
harmonies and jazz improvisations into classical forms.”
Forbes
Yakovenko's virtuoso and instantly recognizable playing is appreciated
by listeners of his solo and piano trio concerts.
Combining the exemplary classical school of piano and harpsichord with the skill of a jazz pianist,
he is a versatile musician with a unique
signature style.
Igor Yakovenko is well known among connoisseurs of contemporary jazz. A student of the outstanding Igor Bril—one of Moscow's most prominent jazz pianists—he is the founder and the leader of a trio in which he improvises with various musicians, experimenting with the American swing tradition.
Yakovenko's virtuoso and instantly recognizable playing is appreciated by listeners of his solo and piano trio concerts. Combining the exemplary classical school of piano and harpsichord with the skill of a jazz pianist, he is a versatile musician with a unique signature style.
Biography
Composer and pianist Igor Yakovenko belongs to a new generation of musicians with no boundaries between classical and non-academic music, switching the roles between author and performer. For him, there is also no boundaries between creativity and the exact sciences: choosing between music and technology in his youth, he first graduated from the Aerospace University.
Engineering education pushed Yakovenko to overcome the isolation of the musical worlds: he studied at the Moscow Conservatory at the Department of Historical and Modern Instrumental Performance, and also received an improvisational education at the Maimonides Academy under the guidance of Igor Bril - the master of jazz performance.
Due to his exceptional musicality he became a member of the residence of Snape Maltings (Great Britain), which hosts the world-famous Aldeburgh Festival founded by Benjamin Britten.
"Classical and contemporary, restraint and freedom,
structure and improvisation, intimacy and tension,
electronics and jazz",
– RBK Style.
"Classical and contemporary, restraint and freedom, structure and improvisation, intimacy and tension, electronics and jazz",
– RBK Style.
A contrasting musical background led Yakovenko to numerous projects: he wrote the opera “Guilty” for the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Theater, released several albums on such labels as Melodiya, Rainy Days and FANCYMUSIC label - a place of power for innovative composer music.
He performed at leading art venues -
National Center for Contemporary Art,
Stanislavsky Electrotheatre,
Moscow Museum of Modern Art,
Spiridonov House,
and academic halls -
State Academic Chapel of St. Petersburg,
Jewish Museum,
Zaryadye Concert Hall, ect.
