Ilona Mazan
Born in Moscow, pianist Ilona Mazan has distinguished herself from an early age as one of the most compelling young artists to emerge from Russia’s storied musical tradition. Guided initially by her mother, she began piano studies at the age of six and was soon admitted to the preparatory music school of the Academic Music College of the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory. At nine, she entered the prestigious Central Music School at the Moscow State Conservatory, studying with the renowned pedagogue Prof. Kira A. Shashkina.
Mazan’s prodigious talent was evident from the outset. At just seven years old, she made a remarkable debut in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, performing J. S. Bach’s Concerto in F minor with orchestra—becoming one of the youngest pianists ever to appear on that historic stage. She later completed her studies at the Central Music School under Prof. Vasily I. Ermakov. Her final state examination at seventeen was itself a milestone: she performed all twelve of Chopin’s Études, Op. 10 consecutively, becoming only the second student in the school’s history to do so.
In 2018, Mazan entered the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory as a student of Prof. Zoya A. Ignatyeva, graduating with highest honors (Red Diploma). She subsequently pursued postgraduate studies at the Gnesins Russian Academy of Music in the class of Prof. Yuri A. Bogdanov, completing her assistantship-internship with distinction.
A laureate of numerous international competitions, Mazan’s recent achievements include:
• 2nd Prize, International Piano Competition De Bach au Jazz (Athens, 2025)
• 1st Prize, Tadini International Music Competition (Lovere, Italy, 2024)
• 3rd Prize, VII International Alexander Nasedkin Competition (Yaroslavl, 2024)
• 6th Prize, XII International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition (Hartford, USA, 2021)
• 3rd Prize, VII International Fryderyk Chopin Competition (Petrozavodsk, 2021)
• 1st Prize, VI International Competition Performers of the 21st Century (Moscow, 2020)
• 1st Prize, Second All-Russian Competition Musical Talents of Russia (Moscow, 2020)
• 1st Prize, Open International Competition Russian Music of the 19th–21st Centuries (Moscow, 2008)
• 1st Prize, IX Moscow Young Pianists Competition Steps to Mastery (Moscow, 2007)
Mazan has performed widely throughout Russia—in major Moscow venues including the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, Moskontsert, and the Moscow International House of Music—and in leading philharmonic halls across St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Yaroslavl, Sochi, Yalta, Foros, Petrozavodsk, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, among others. Her international appearances span Germany, Austria, Italy, Greece, and the United States. She has been featured at prominent festivals such as the Rheingau Music Festival (2014), the International Forum of Spanish Art (Moscow, 2019), and the International Piano Campus (Milan/Lovere, 2024).
She has appeared as soloist with the “Masters of Russia” Orchestra under the baton of Valery Petrov and currently serves on the faculty of the Gnesins Music College, continuing the pedagogical lineage that shaped her own artistic development.