In September 2009, Sofya Gulyak was awarded the 1st prize and the Princess Mary Gold Medal at the Sixteenth Leeds International Piano Competition – the first woman in the history of the competition 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 noted in glowing terms by the world’s music press. Sofya has been praised for her "tremendous precision and colouration” and her “exquisite soft playing... with delicacy” and has been described as a “Rach star"(The Washington Post).

Read More... Sofya Gulyak’s resume includes prizes from 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, Isang Yun International Piano Competition in South Korea, San Marino Piano Competition, winner of Busoni Competition in Italy, and prize winner of the Marguerite Long Piano Competition in Paris. Recitals and concert appearances have been numerous, with Sofya Gulyak having performed all over the globe in such venues as La Scala Theatre and Sala Verdi in Milan; Herculessaal in Munich; Salle Cortot, Salle Gaveau and Salle Pleyel in Paris; Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory; Konzerthaus in Berlin; Gewandhaus in Leipzig; the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.; Palais de la Musique in Strasbourg; Hong Kong City Hall; Shanghai Grand Theatre; Musashino Cultural Centre in Tokyo; Finlandia Hall in Helsinki; Bridgewater Hall in Manchester; Teatro Municipal in Rio de Janeiro; Auditorium Manzoni in Bologna; Aberdeen Music Hall; Salle Molière in Lyon; Walt Disney Hall in Los Angeles; King Theatre in Rabat; Kursaal in Bern; and Tivoli Concert Hall in Copenhagen. Sofya Gulyak appeared as a soloist with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Finnish Radio Symphony, Saint-Petersburg Philharmonic, Rio de Janeiro Symphony, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Hallé Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra dell’ Arena di Verona, Orchestra Filarmonica di Bologna, Enescu Philharmonic, Stavanger Symphony, Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, Slovak Radio Symphony, Helsinki Philharmonic, Copenhagen Symphony, Ulster Symphony, Orchestre National de France, Shanghai Philharmonic, Oulu Philharmonic, Leipzig Philharmonic, Pensacola Symphony, Tatarstan Symphony, Philippines Philharmonic, Morocco Philharmonic. She collaborated with such conductors as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Sakari Oramo, Mark Elder, David Hill, Donald Runnicles, Vasily Petrenko, Alexander Lazarev, Alan Buribayev, Eiving Gullberg Jensen, Theodor Guschlbauer, Rory McDonald, Danail Rachev, Fabio Mastrangelo, Michele Mariotti, Fuat Mansurov, Alexander Sladkovsky, Mario Kosik, Jesus Medina, and Peter Rubardt. Festivals in which Sofya Gulyak has participated include Klavier Ruhr Festival, Chopin Festival in Duzniki-Zdroj, Festival de Sceaux, International Keyboard Festival in New York, International Strasbourg Festival, Busoni Festival, Harrogate Festival, Kraków Piano Festival, New Zealand Piano Festival, Ravello Festival, Festival Chopin in Paris, Shanghai International Piano Festival, and many others.

Sofya Gulyak’s recording of Russian piano music (Medtner, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev) was released on Champs Hill Records in 2013 and received a 5 star review in Diapason magazine, with the review stating, “What a pleasure to hear the piano blossoming and projecting in the most vivid of ways when played by Sofya Gulyak. The singing sound alongside dazzling and powerful execution distinguishes an outstanding natural pianist.” Similar praise came from reviews in Gramophone, which called it “a stunning debut album” and The Guardian, which heralded her as “a fearless pianist, never afraid to scale the most technically demanding heights of the repertoire and equally proud to wear her heart on her sleeve”. Her CD of Brahms’ music was released on Piano Classics in the spring of 2015 and got glowing reviews from American Record Guide—“The Handel Variations is among the top contenders on record. From the very first notes she takes charge and envelops us in a thrilling sequence of variations that will send goose bumps to susceptible listeners. Not only does she perform with arresting contrast and lovely, soft floating tone. She keeps you on the edge of your seat, as the music presses ever forward. Sometimes I was reminded of the young Argerich”— and Fanfare magazine—“Her musicality is beautifully attuned to the spirit of Brahms…I must praise Kazan-born Russian pianist Sofya Gulyak, whose impressive reading places a stronger emphasis than Perahia’s on the continuity of the variations… She’s a natural Brahmsian whatever his moods.”

Sofya Gulyak is a native of Kazan, Russia, where she studied in a Special Music College under Nailya Khakimova, and then in the Kazan State Conservatoire under Professor Elfiya Burnasheva. She continued her studies at the Piano Academy ‘Incontri col Maestro’ (Imola, Italy) with Boris Petrushansky and at the Royal College of Music in London with Vanessa Latarche. Sofya Gulyak has been a jury member at international piano competitions in Italy, Serbia, France, Greece, and the USA, and was invited to teach master classes in China, Italy, Australia, New Zealand, Philippines, Hong Kong, Mexico, the USA, and Germany. She is presently a professor of the piano at the Royal College of Music in London. Her playing has been broadcast on radio and TV in Russia, Poland, France, Italy, Germany, the USA, Finland, Denmark, Serbia, New Zealand, Brazil, Mexico, and the United Kingdom (BBC3 and BBC4).

www.sofyagulyak.com