A musician with a fiercely inquisitive mind, impeccable technique and an intensely poetic vision, Ilya Poletaev is the only Canadian ever to win First Prize at the International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition in Leipzig.
Hailed as “one of the most significant pianists of his generation” by the Süddeutsche Zeitung, he has performed across Canada, the United States, Europe, and Russia, in prestigious venues such as the Leipzig Gewandhaus, KlavierFestival Ruhr, Dresdner MusikFesttage, Potsdam Musikfestspiele, Accademia Filarmonica Romana, Leipzig BachFest, Montreal Bach Festival, Philadelphia’s Kimmel Center, Toronto’s Roy Thomson Hall, Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, and many others.
He was also the Grand Prize winner of the 2008 Concorso Sala Gallo in Italy, a laureate of the 2008 Canadian Stepping Stone, a top prize-winner at the 2007 SEHKS harpsichord competition, and a prize-winner at the 2011 George Enescu Competition in Bucharest.
In 2009 he joined the roster of Astral Artists, and is currently an Astral Artist laureate.
On the modern piano, he has appeared with major orchestras such as the Toronto Symphony, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Hartford Symphony, Moscow State Symphony Orchestra, Samara Philharmonic, Sinfonia Toronto, Orchestra Filarmonica di Cluj, and others, collaborating with conductors including David Robertson, Peter Oundjian, Bernhard Gueller and Alexis Hauser.
Mr Poletaev is equally at home on the modern piano and historical keyboards, including harpsichord, fortepiano and chamber organ. His repertoire spans from the 16th to the 21st century, encompassing both traditional works and contemporary music.
He is also active as a continuo player and improviser, notably for silent films, and has appeared at Le Giornate del Cinema Muto in Pordenone, one of the world’s most important silent film festivals.
Among his recordings, the two-volume set of violin and piano music by George Enescu with Axel Strauss has received high critical acclaim.
An active chamber musician, he is the founding member of Trio de Montréal and Trio Séléné.
His performances and interviews have been broadcast on BBC, WQXR New York, CBC Radio-Canada and major German radio networks.
Originally from Moscow, he moved to Israel and then to Canada at the age of 14.
He holds degrees from the University of Toronto and Yale University, where he studied with Marietta Orlov, Colin Tilney, Walter Buczynski and Boris Berman.
Ilya Poletaev is currently Associate Professor of Piano at McGill University and lives in Montreal with his wife and two sons.
