Try playing Beethoven’s Piano Sonata No. 1 as an unmistakeably 18th-century piece yet give the audience enough hints as to the greatness of a classical maestro who would define the early 19th century. Ilya Shmukler pulled this off in a live recital.
Not only that. Shmukler performed the piece – the recording of which is now available on CD – in the first round of the 2024 Concours Géza Anda in Zurich. The very round in which the competing pianists nervously pace around biting their fingernails in some dimly lit backstage room at the Musikschule Konservatorium in Zurich.
Unfazed, Shmukler played like a virtuoso. Then came the semi-final on a sweltering June evening in Winterthur. Despite the presence of jury chair and master pianist Mikhail Pletnev, it was turning out to be a forgettable occasion. Then Shmukler walked on stage to perform Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 17. – another “threshold” piece. Composed in 1784, No. 17 already hints at the glorious No. 20 in D minor that was to follow one year later. Shmukler’s skilfully ambivalent interpretation won over the audience, sealing the young man’s place in the final at the Zurich Tonhalle. Indeed, everyone in the auditorium now knew that Shmukler would go on to win the competition.
The Geza Anda Foundation was created in 1978 in memory of Swiss-Hungarian pianist Géza Anda who died in 1976. It owes its existence to Géza Anda’s wealthy widow Hortense Anda-Bührle. The Concours Géza Anda has taken place every three years since 1979. What is remarkable yet telling is that none of the star prodigies have previously won the competition – pianists like Bruce Liu and Daniil Trifonov earned their stripes elsewhere.
But what sets the Géza Anda Foundation apart is that it helps its winners by providing them with concert appearances for three years – in Europe, South America, and Asia. Past winners include Konstantin Scherbakov, Alexei Volodin, Nikolai Tokarev and Dénes Várjon.
This list now includes Ilya Shmukler, who was born in Moscow in 1994. His live competition performances – pieces by Beethoven, Schubert, Liszt, Bartók and Stravinsky – have been recorded on an album. There is much to admire about this wonderful pianist, whom we will all hear much more about sooner or later.
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