"A great master, his style combines ample technique, maturity, lyric fantasy, and liberty." Le Monde Paris, France

"...great charm, finely controlled color and moments of emotive power."
The Washington Post U.S.A.

"Mr. Itin's sound was lovely and delicate ... obviously a gifted performer."
New York Times U.S.A.

"Itin is a master: his tone graded to the tiniest detail and embued with wide expressive range indeed."
The Jerusalem Post Israel

"...pianist Itin illuminated the concerto he played with unquestionably perfect technique and sensitive understanding of the art (music)."
Der Tagesspiegel Berlin, Germany

"There was no doubt that Itin was the outstanding performer, with a wonderful range of colour, a truly imaginative way with texture and phrasing, and a supreme technical command."
The Guardian London, England

US Reviews

"IIya Itin, first-prize winner of the Robert Casadesus Ninth International Piano Competition, played with velvet touch, beautiful tone, romantic temperament and virtuoso technique yesterday at the Cleveland Institute of Music. A poet at the keyboard, Itin molded each musical element with such sensitive nuance and expressive rubato that he seemed incapable of shaping a prosaic phrase.

Itin made Debussy's Estampes into delicious dream music of liquid lyricism and flowing rhythm. In Chopin's Nocturne in C minor, Op.48 No.1, Itin denied the percussive nature of the piano by making melodies sing and harmonies melt. In Chopin's Barcarolle in F sharp major, Op.60, he revealed his mastery of rubato. After the intermission, Itin turned his attention to Rachmaninoff, a composer for whom he has a clear affinity. In two preludes from Opus 32 the pianist sounded as though he had come home to mother Russia after a long journey through fascinating but foreign musical territory. In Rachmaninoff's Sonata No.2 Op.36 he unleashed his virtuosity and brought down the house."
The Cleveland Plain Dealer
 

In the last Leeds International Piano Competition, Ilya Itin won an a unanimous decision from the jury, sweeping all the awards and winning the votes of the BBC audience.

Ilya Itin has concertized throughout the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe. He has played with orchestras such as the Cleveland Orchestra, the National Symphony in Washington, D.C., and the Berlin radio Symphony Orchestra. Itin has performed on the stages of the Lincoln Center (New York City), the Kennedy Center (Washington, D.C.), Severance Hall (Cleveland), Salle Pleyel and the Chatelet Theatre (Paris), among many other distinguished venues. His concerto appearances with orchestra have included performances with the London Philharmonic in the Royal Festival Hall, the Tokyo Philharmonic in Orchard Hall and the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic in its Great Hall in St. Petersburg, Russia. Itin has also played in China, South America, and Israel. He has toured extensively in England, giving his BBC Proms debut with the BBC Philharmonic and Vassily Sinaisky at the Royal Albert Hall. He has appeared with the Philharmonia Orchestra under both Mikahil Plentnev and Neeme Jarvi. He made his Vienna debut while on tour with Sir Simon Rattle and the city of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.

Ilya Itin was born in Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg), Russia. Prior to entering the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, he studied a the Sverdlovsk music Conservatory, from which he was graduated with Highest Honors. His teacher was Lev Naumov. Ilya Itin has lived in the United States since 1990 and since 1991 has studied with Yin Cheng Zong

"From the opening measures of Chopin's Barcarolle. Itin asserted his strong musical ideas. He was not afraid to take liberties with tempos and phrasing, which lent a certain maturity to his playing. Rachmaninoff's Sonata No.2 in B flat minor occupied the second half of the recital and Itin's performance was cogent and well defined. Pacing in the second movement was particularly, nice and phrasing was sensitive. The evening's first encore. Rachmaninoff's Prelude in G. showed Itin's best artistic features and it was played with lovely technical refinement and control."
The Washington Post

"Ilya Itin the 24 year-old who won the Casadesus Piano Competition last year in Cleveland, began his recital bravely on Friday evening, tackling Beethoven's late Sonata in A flat Op.110. But he seemed bent on defying the stereotypes of the brawny Russian pianist and the flashy contestant. Mr ltin's sound was lovely and delicate and his tempos were relaxed and dreamy. Debussy's Estampes, too, made for an impressive technical display and some gorgeous sonorities... Chopin's Nocturne in C minor (Op.48 No.1) elicited an impassioned, eruptive performance."
The New York Times

"Certainly one of the best artists the Princeton Chamber Symphony has ever presented, Russian pianist Ilya ltin made his mark from the very beginning of Grieg's Concerto. This was a pianist with passion and drama, yet one who maintained the dark subtlety of the music and found all the tension and release within the phrases. Indicative of his power over the audience was the absolute silence in the hall during the cadenza to the first movement."
Town Topics, Princeton N.J.

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