Anna Shelest

Having been hailed by critics as the “female reincarnation of Liszt” and a “piano lioness,” Ukrainian-born pianist Anna Shelest made her international debut at age eleven at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris as the youngest winner of the Milosz Magin International Piano Competition.  At twelve she appeared with the Kharkiv Symphony Orchestra, playing Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 1.  Since then she has been a soloist with some of the world’s most renown orchestras, including the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Netherlands Symphony Orchestra, and the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic.

Ms. Shelest is a 2009 first prize winner of the Bradshaw & Buono International Piano Competition.  She has also won first prizes in the Louisiana International Piano Competition, the Kawai American Recording Contest, The Third Netherlands International Piano Competition for Young Musicians, and The Corpus Christi International Competition for Piano and Strings.

Her discography includes an all-Rachmaninoff CD featuring Études-Tableaux Op. 39 and Moments-Musicaux Op. 16, as well as a collaborative recording with Cristian Ganicenco, principal trombonist of Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra on the CD, “Beyond Oblivion” featuring music for trombone and piano.

Currently living in New York, Ms. Shelest is a graduate student at The Juilliard School, where she studies with Jerome Lowenthal.  Her upcoming performances this season include her Alice Tully Hall and Stern Auditorium debuts, both in conjunction with The Alexander & Buono Competitions and their partner foundation, The Sorel Organization.