Milana Chernyavska (born 13 January 1968) is a Ukrainian-German classical pianist born and educated in Ukraine. She has played internationally as a soloist and chamber musician, with a focus on contemporary music which she also recorded.
Life and career
Born in Kyiv, Chernyavska began playing piano at age five. Two years later, she began studies at the
Tchaikovsky Conservatory
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...
there in a class for gifted children. After studies with Valery Sagaidachny, she graduated in 1990. She studied further in masterclasses with
Dmitri Bashkirov
Dmitri Aleksandrovich Bashkirov (russian: Дми́трий Алекса́ндрович Башки́ров; November 1, 1931 – March 7, 2021) was a Russian pianist and academic teacher. Trained in his hometown Tbilisi and Moscow, he began an in ...
and , among others, and at the
University of Music and Performing Arts Munich
The University of Music and Performing Arts Munich (german: Hochschule für Musik und Theater München), also known as the Munich Conservatory, is a performing arts conservatory in Munich, Germany. The main building it currently occupies is ...
with
Margarita Höhenrieder
Margarita Höhenrieder (born 1956) is a German classical pianist and a professor at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München. She has performed internationally and recorded, with a focus on chamber music. She premiered compositions which H ...
and
Gerhard Oppitz
Gerhard Oppitz (born 5 February 1953, Frauenau) is a German classical pianist.
He studied with Paul Buck, Hugo Steurer and Wilhelm Kempff. In 1981 he was appointed professor at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München
Chernyavska has appeared internationally, at festivals including the
Lucerne Festival
Lucerne Festival is one of the leading international festivals in the world of classical music and presents a series of classical music festivals based in Lucerne, Switzerland. Founded in 1938 by Ernest Ansermet and Walter Schulthess, it current ...
,
Schwetzingen Festival
The Schwetzingen Festival (German: Schwetzinger Festspiele, now Schwetzinger SWR Festspiele) is an early summer festival of opera and other classical music presented each year from May to early June in Schwetzingen, Germany.
In 1952, the broadca ...
,
Rheingau Musik Festival
The (RMF) is an international summer music festival in Germany, founded in 1987. It is mostly for classical music, but includes other genres. Concerts take place at culturally important locations, such as Eberbach Abbey and Schloss Johannisberg, ...
and
Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival
The Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival is a classical music festival held each summer throughout the state of Schleswig-Holstein in Northern Germany.
History
The festival was founded in 1986 by German concert pianist Justus Frantz.
In 2006, the 2 ...
. She has played at
Wigmore Hall
Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leadin ...
in London, the
Concertgebouw
The Royal Concertgebouw ( nl, Koninklijk Concertgebouw, ) is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The Dutch term "concertgebouw" translates into English as "concert building". Its superb acoustics place it among the finest concert halls i ...
in Amsterdam, the Munich's
Herkulessaal
The Residenz (, ''Residence'') in central Munich is the former royal palace of the Wittelsbach monarchs of Bavaria. The Residenz is the largest city palace in Germany and is today open to visitors for its architecture, room decorations, and displ ...
, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Hall, and the
Suntory Hall
The is a concert venue in the central Akasaka district of Tokyo, Japan. Part of the Ark Hills complex, it consists of a main concert hall, widely considered one of the finest in the world for its acoustics — indeed Herbert von Karajan called i ...
in Tokyo. As a chamber musician, she has performed with
Julia Fischer
Julia Fischer (born 15 June 1983) is a German classical violinist and pianist.Daniel Müller-Schott
Daniel Müller-Schott (born 1976) is a German cellist.
Born in Munich, he studied with Walter Nothas, Austrian cellist Heinrich Schiff and British cellist Steven Isserlis. Violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter personally coached him in her foundation, t ...
, and the
Vogler Quartet
The Vogler Quartet is a German string quartet based in Berlin. It was founded in 1985 and has been playing together with an unchanged line-up since 1986.
History
Together with the Petersen Quartet, also based in East Berlin, it was one of the ...
, among others.
In 2013, she recorded music for violin and piano by Nikolai Rakov, including three sonatas, with
David Frühwirth
David Frühwirth (born 15 June 1974) is an Austrian classical violinist. He has played internationally as a soloist and chamber musician, with a focus on contemporary music which he also recorded. He has given international master classes.
Life a ...
. It was the first recording of these pieces. Barry Brenesal noted in
Fanfare
A fanfare (or fanfarade or flourish) is a short musical flourish which is typically played by trumpets, French horns or other brass instruments, often accompanied by percussion. It is a "brief improvised introduction to an instrumental perfo ...
about this only recording of the music: "Chernyavska is a full partner in the proceedings, delicate and brutal as required, the pair playing together with familiar ease."
She has been a professor at the Musikakademie Liechtenstein, and lectured at music universities. She has been a professor of piano at the
University of Music and Performing Arts Graz
The University of Music and Performing Arts Graz, also known as Kunstuniversität Graz (KUG) is an Austrian university. Its roots can be traced back to the music school of the '' Akademischer Musikverein'' founded in 1816, making it the oldest u ...
.
Awards
Chernyavska achieved prizes at national and international competitions, such as first prize at the
Mykola Lysenko International Music Competition
The Mykola Lysenko Music Competition, named after Mykola Lysenko, was founded in 1962 by the Ukrainian composers Andriy Shtoharenko, Yevhen Stankovych, Myroslav Skoryk, Levko Kolodub, the singer Yelyzaveta Chavdar, pianists Yevhen Rzhanov and ...
in Kyiv in 1998, a Gold Medal at the Vladimir and Regina Horowitz Competition, first prize at the International Piano Competition "Pierre Lantier" in Paris in 1994, and third prize at the international chamber music competition in
Florence
Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...