Sofya Gulyak - Biography

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In September 2009 Sofya Gulyak won the 1st prize and the Princess Mary Gold Medal at the Sixteenth Leeds International Piano Competition – the first woman to achieve this distinction. Since then she has appeared all over the world to great acclaim. Her recital programmes are frequently reviewed in superlatives, and her concerto appearances with major orchestras are written up in glowing terms by the world's music press. Sofya has been praised for her “tremendous precision and coloration...exquisite soft playing” (Washington Post). 

Sofya Gulyak's resume includes prizes at many prestigious piano competitions: she is a 1st prize winner of William Kapell International Piano Competition in the USA, Maj Lind Helsinki International Piano Competition, Tivoli Piano Competition in Copenhagen, Gyeongnam International Piano Competition in South Korea, San Marino Piano Competition, 2nd prize winner (first not awarded) of Busoni Competition in Italy and 3rd prize winner of Marguerite Long Piano Competition in Paris. 

Sofya Gulyak is a native of Kazan (Russia) where she studied in a Special Music College, and then in Kazan State Conservatoire under professor Elfiya Burnasheva. Ms. Gulyak graduated also from “Ecole Normale de music de Paris Alfred Cortot” with the highest distinction. She then continued her study at the Piano Academy “Incontri col Maestri” (Imola, Italy) with Boris Petrushansky and at the Royal College of Music with Vanessa Latarche. 

Recitals and concert appearances have been numerous, with Ms.Gulyak having performed all over the globe in such venues as the Sala Verdi,Milan; Hercules-Saal, Munich; Salle Cortot, Salle Gaveau and Salle Pleyel, Paris; Big Concert Hall, Moscow Conservatoire; Konzerthaus, Berlin; Gewandhaus, Leipzig; Kennedy Center, Washington; Palais de Musique, Strasbourg; 
Hong Kong City Hall; Finlandia Hall, Helsinki; Bridgewater Hall, Manchester; Teatro Municipal, Rio de Janeiro; Salle Moliere, Lyon; Walt Disney Hall, Los Angeles; King Theatre, Rabat; Kursaal, Bern and Tivoli Concert Hall, Copenhagen. 

Sofya Gulyak has appeared as a soloist with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Finnish Radio Symphony, Saint-Petersburg Philharmonic, Rio-de-Janeiro Symphony, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Halle, BBC Scottish, Orchestra of Fondazione Arena di Verona, Orchestra Filarmonica di Bologna, Bucharest Philharmonic, Stavanger Symphony, Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz orchestra, Ulster Symphony, Oulu Philharmonic, Leipzig Philharmonic, Helsinki Philharmonic, Morocco Philharmonic, Copenhagen Symphony, 

Orchestre National de France and Baltimore Symphony. She has played under the baton of Vladimir Ashkenazy, Sakari Oramo, Sir Mark Elder, David Hill, Donald Runnicles, Vasily Petrenko, Alan Buribayev, Eivind Gullberg Jensen, Theodor Guschlbauer, Rory McDonald, Danail Rachev, Fabio Mastrangelo, Michele Mariotti and Fuat Mansurov.  She has participated in many festivals, such as Klavier Ruhr Festival, Chopin Festival in Duzniki-Zdroj, Festival du Sceaux, International Keyboard Festival in New York, International Strasbourg Festival, Busoni Festival, Harrogate Festival, Cracow Piano Festival, Liszt Festival at Villa d'Este, Nordlys Festival in Norway and Ravello Festival. 

Ms.Gulyak has also attended as a jury member at international piano competitions in Italy, Serbia, France, Greece and USA. 

Her playing has been broadcast on radio and TV in Russia, Poland, France, Italy, Germany, USA, Finland, Denmark and the United Kingdom (BBC 3 and BBC 4).