Ivan Ilić

Described by the New Yorker as an "adventurous pianist" who "likes his music on the brainy side," Ivan Ilić is building a strong international reputation. Ivan started music studies at age 6. He earned degrees in mathematics and music at the University of California Berkeley before moving to Paris on a fellowship from the university. Shortly afterwards Ivan was admitted to the Conservatoire Supérieur de Paris where he took a Premier Prix. Ivan's graduate studies were supported by the Nadia Boulanger Foundation in Paris, the Karić Foundation in Serbia, the University of Illinois, the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris, and the American Foundation in Paris. The City of Paris sponsored his first recording.

Career highlights include recitals at Carnegie Hall (New York), Wigmore Hall (London), the National Concert Hall (Dublin), Glenn Gould Studio (Toronto), and the American Academy in Rome. Other recent engagements include recital débuts in Vienna, Sao Paulo and Geneva.

Ivan's CD of 24 Préludes by Claude Debussy received Mezzo Television's Critic's Choice Award in France, and was featured as a Top Five CD of the Year in America's Fanfare Magazine. It was also selected by Classique News in France as a Top 5 CD of the Month. The disc was broadcast on Radio France, BBC Radio 3, Dutch Radio 4, American Public Radio, Radio Hong Kong, and numerous other classical stations.

His next CD (2012) featured the complete Chopin Studies for the left hand by Leopold Godowsky, a veritable tour-de-force of musicianship and virtuosity. The recording, described as "a major achievement" and "breathtaking" by BBC Radio 3, was the The Daily Telegraph's CD of the Week, a Top 5 CD of MDR Figaro in Germany and a Top 5 CD of Classique News in France. It also received a perfect 5-star rating from Czech Radio 3 - Vltava. The CD was broadcst widely across six continents. Videos of Ivan performing Godowsky on YouTube went viral, attracting over 500,000 views. Ivan then made his acting début in two French short films: Luc Plissonneau's Les Mains and Benoît Maire's Le Berger.

Ivan's newest CD - The Transcendentalist - was released in June 2014. It draws a connection between Alexander Scriabin miniatures and late Morton Feldman, with detours in early John Cage and a Feldmanesque new work by Scott Wollschleger. It was selected as a Critic's Choice by BR Klassik (DE), Swiss Radio Espace 2 (CH), Listen Magazine (US), and Classique News (FR). It was also a CD of the month of Sinfini Music (UK) and TGV Magazine (FR), won a Supersonic Award from Pizzicato Magazine, and garnered 5-star reviews from Harmonie Magazine (CZ) and Aachener Zeitung (DE). In November 2014 the album was nominated for the International Classical Music Awards for "Album of the Year". It was also mentioned by Forbes in their Top 10 New Classical Releases list for 2014.