‘I love it so much’: Kansas Citian from Russia basks in glow of Cliburn piano honors

After winning the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1958, Van Cliburn talked about the Russian people.

“They are very warm individuals,” he said in an interview. “They love very strongly. And, yes, they’re very sincere as a people. As a matter of fact, I couldn’t refrain from telling them that they’re very much like Texans. If a Texan likes something, he’ll tell you, and if he doesn’t, he’ll certainly let you know.”

The pianist Ilya Shmukler, 27, a Russian musician now studying in the Kansas City area, certainly embodies those traits of warmth and love, even as the world view of his country’s leaders has darkened.

Shmukler, who is currently a student at Park University’s International Center for Music, spoke to The Star about his piano career, his training and his life on Sunday, a first day of rest after he was a finalist for Van Cliburn’s namesake piano competition in Fort Worth, Texas, one of the most prestigious such contests in the world. He was also given the award for the Best Performance of a Mozart Concerto and a cash prize of $5,000.

Being a finalist in a field of 39 of the world’s best pianists is one of the greatest honors in music. It’s also a feather in the cap for Park University and Shmukler’s mentor and teacher, Stanislav Ioudenitch, himself a Cliburn gold medalist in 2001 who came from Russia.

Shmukler had already competed in the 2017 Cliburn Competition, where he was a quarterfinalist. After the competition, he returned to Russia to finish his master’s degree. In 2018, he decided to text Ioudenitch.

“In Russia, Stanislav Ioudenitch is a superstar,” Shmukler said. “He gave master classes there, and I attended them and thought that I should text him. Finally he replied to me. I was shocked that he really did that, I was so happy. Moreover, he listened to my recordings, which I sent to him, and he told me, well, I’m shy and hate to say it, but he told me that I’m a talented guy.”

Ioudenitch told Shmukler he wanted to hear him in person, so while Shmukler was in New York City giving a solo recital, he had three days off, and bought a ticket to Kansas City.

“I played for him, and he said, yeah, from now on you’re my student,” Shmukler said. “I was overwhelmed by feelings, I cannot describe. I was happy, to say the least.”

Shmukler has been a student at Park University since 2019.

“When I first came to Professor Ioudenitch, he told me I needed to change everything,” Shmukler said. “Five years ago, I was 22 years old, and I was so young and green, we decided to change me a lot in my technique, in my feelings, in what I do on the piano.”

Ioudenitch, who also shaped Behzod Abduraimov and Kenny Broberg into piano competition powerhouses, went to work on Shmukler.

“He taught me how to read the score, how to feel what the composer put in the score, what is the story, what is it about, what is behind the notes,” Shmukler said. “And, of course, the technique. He showed me so many exercises to improve my fast playing, arpeggio scales, octaves and many other stuff.”

The Cliburn, which features hours of grueling solo recitals and concertos, is considered the Olympics of piano competitions. Shmukler also got into shape physically.

“I tried to walk not less than 10,000 steps per day,” Shmukler said. “Without exercise, you cannot sit at the piano, there are always problems with the back if you sit eight hours a day. I love walking. Many good thoughts come into your mind. You should go to the park, forest or woods, and just think about everything. Probably a decision about your music comes there. Finally, you practice refreshed and with new strength.”

At this edition of the Cliburn, Shmukler faced off against 30 other superb pianists, all of them at the top of their game. How can a judge possibly make a decision?

“I think jury members are heroes,” Shmukler said. “This is priceless what they do. They have to find the true artists who can say something in music, the story, the philosophical thoughts. All of the finalists were so different. Three of us played the Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3. I heard all of us. Totally different interpretations. Amazingly different. I think that the jury did a very good job.”

After playing four and half hours of music within two weeks, Shmukler says he is exhausted.

“But I love it so much,” he said. “I received so many messages from all over the world. I’m so happy I put my strength and my inner power to something people love.”

As a Russian musician whose family still lives in Russia, Shmukler is having particular anxiety over Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. On Feb. 24, The New York Times asked Shmukler about his reaction to the invasion, and he said he felt “shame and responsibility.”

But why should Shmukler feel shame and responsibility? He had no part in the decision to invade Ukraine.

“I don’t know, this is just my feeling,” he said. “I’m a Russian patriot, and I want the best for my country, and I thought that decision was a huge mistake, to say the least. I have family in Russia, that’s why I don’t want to go deeper because I’m so afraid for them. That’s why I don’t talk about politics. First of all, I’m not a professional politician. I hate non-professionalism.”

In spite of the situation at home, the future is looking bright for Shmukler. He’ll make his Carnegie Hall solo recital debut on Dec. 13, and he also hopes to give a recital in Kansas City, which he now considers his home.

“I feel like I’m already a winner,” Shmukler said. “Somebody asked me how I feel to be in the top six pianists of the whole world. I don’t even understand that now. Perhaps I’ll understand it in the future.”

To learn more about Park University’s International Center for Music, see icm.park.edu.

You can reach Patrick Neas at patrickneas@kcartsbeat.com and follow his Facebook page, KC Arts Beat, at www.facebook.com/kcartsbeat.