'Fiery, impetuous' pianist to perform at the Milford Theatre

MILFORD — "Mr. Yakushev can do just about anything he wants," said a New York Times music critic. And what he'll do on Nov. 4 at the Milford Theatre is play Beethoven's "Tempest" sonata and pieces by Tchaikovsky and Liszt. He'll also perform Rachmaninov's cello sonata in a duet with Kindred Spirits' artistic director, Yosif Feigelson.
Ilya Yakushev came to the music world's attention when he won the Young Artists Concerto Competition in St. Petersburg, Russia. At the time, he was 12 years old. In 1998 he won first prize at the Donostia Hiria International Piano Competition, and in 2005 he won the World Piano Competition. Over the past decade or so, he has performed at major concert halls in Europe, Asia, and the United States.
According to a 2013 review in The New York Times, "No one would confuse Mr. Yakushev for bland. He cultivates a fiery, impetuous persona, beginning pieces before the applause has died down and leaping to his feet before the final note has ended. His tone was authoritatively even in the first movement of Beethoven’s 'Moonlight' Sonata."
His local performance, titled "Tempest of the Heart," will take place at 7:30 p.m. at the Milford Theatre, 114 East Catharine St., Milford, on Saturday, Nov. 4.
Tickets cost $20 at the door, $15 in advance, at kindredspiritsarts.org; or in person at Holy Crepes, 224 Broad St. in Milford. Children under 15 will be admitted free.
The grand piano will be provided by the Yamaha Piano Co., being delivered to the Milford Theatre by Vincitore Pianos of Poughkeepsie, N.Y. Yakushev is a featured Yamaha artist.
The concert is a production of Kindred Spirits Arts Programs, a nonprofit organization of volunteers that has been bringing high-quality entertainment to area audiences and programs to school students since 2002. On Nov. 3 Yakushev and Feigelson of Kindred Spirits will do a workshop for students at Delaware Valley High School.
For more information visit the Kindred Spirits website kindredspiritsarts.org.