Passion at the piano: Ilya Yakushev

MIDDLETOWN — The gifted, classical pianist Ilya Yakushev is coming to the Middletown campus of SUNY Orange on Sunday, Oct. 7, to play Beethoven and Liszt on the stage of the William and Helen Richards Theatre at Orange Hall.
Yakushev plays with Russian fervor that is within him but was nurtured during the several years that he was mentored by the renowned Vladimir Feltsman with whom he studied as a graduate student at Mannes College of Music where he subsequently received BM and MM degrees.
A recent review in Life@ReadingEagle.com states: “Yakushev, whose playing shares a spiritual quality with his mentor, Vladimir Feltsman, alternates power with a silken touch.”
The solo recital starts at 3 p.m. and features intricately powerful works by Ludwig van Beethoven and Franz Liszt. With Moonlight and Appassionata sonatas and Vallee and Mephisto all on the same card, the performance should keep concertgoers on the edges of their seats.
As a soloist, Yakushev plays authoritatively as will be witnessed in his manner of performance. He relies on his “instincts,” he states, “which were developed the ‘right’ way by Feltsman. At some point in our profession we don’t think about how to play the music, but rather we look at the direction which the composer is trying to give us and then rely on our instincts.”
Yakushev believes “The ultimate purpose for every musician in my understanding and opinion is to be able to connect with the music.”
EssentialsTickets for the concert will be available when the box office opens at 2 p.m. on the day of the concert at $12 for adults and $10 for senior citizens, faculty, staff and alumni.
Tickets can be purchased online anytime at ww.sunyorange.edu/arts_comm/ticketing.shtml
Online purchase requires a $2.50 service charge for each ticket.
All students are eligible for free tickets at the box office.
Orange Hall is located at the corner of Wawayanda and Grandview Avenues (GPS: 24 Grandview Avenue), Middletown, NY.
Questions may be directed to Cultural Affairs at (845)341-4891 or cultural@sunyorange.edu.