World-class pianist, Mikhail Voskresensky, to perform at Rowan University

On Friday, May 5, Rowan University’s College of Performing Arts will welcome world-class pianist Mikhail Voskresensky for a special performance. For more than 60 years, Voskresensky has captivated audiences with electrifying, award-winning interpretations of the great piano literature in all styles. He will perform pieces by Mozart, Beethoven, Prokofiev, and Chopin in an hour-long public concert for Rowan University and the surrounding community. 

Voskresensky’s visit to Rowan stems from a connection through the College of Performing Arts Advisory Council, a group of community members and stakeholders who provide their perspective on and support for the arts and the work of the college. Bill Roberts, member of the advisory council, heard about Voskresensky’s story through a former colleague and an article in The Atlantic that details his decision to defect from Russia. Inspired by Voskresensky's moral integrity and courage, Roberts jumped into action and contacted Dr. Rick Dammers, Dean of the College of Performing Arts.

“It is a great honor for me even to have played a small instrumental part in bringing about this great performance, and with it this intense symbol of moral integrity and courage,” says Roberts.

While Voskresensky currently resides in New York, he left Russia in June of 2022 in protest against the war in Ukraine. Born in Berdyansk, Ukraine, Voskresensky lived and worked in Russia for his entire life. He graduated from the Moscow Conservatory, where he previously served as head of chair for piano faculty. Voskresensky was awarded numerous medals and prizes including, the Nikolai Rubinstein Gold Medal, the Prize of Moscow City, Merited Artist of Russia, the Russian Imperial Medal of Saint Anne, and the Japanese medal the Order of the Rising Sun. In 1989, he was named the People’s Artist of Russia, the highest artistic title in the country.

Throughout his career, Voskresensky has performed with more than 150 conductors in dozens of countries around the world from Europe to South America. His concert debut abroad was in Warsaw, Poland where he played Chopin's Second Concerto under the baton of Maestro Yuri Svetlanov with the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra. Voskresensky also played the premiere of Shostakovich’s Second Concerto in the presence of the composer during Prague Spring Festival. His YouTube channel has more than 100 videos of recitals and concertos with orchestras, most recently, 27 piano concertos of Mozart and all of Beethoven’s concerts with the Choral Fantasy.

After hearing from Roberts, Dammers went to Rowan piano professor Veda Zuponcic about the potential opportunity of bringing Voskresensky to campus. Zuponcic, who lived in Moscow for more than a decade, taught at the Moscow Conservatory and knew fellow faculty member, Voskresensky, personally.

“I said ‘of course!’,” says Zuponcic of the opportunity. “He is one of the great pianists of the 20th and 21st centuries. He’s left a historic imprint on pianistic history.”

While he identifies as an artist and performer first, Voskresensky is also a consummate instructor of his craft. In his time at the Moscow Conservatory, his students won more than 120 international prizes, including 61 gold medals.

Voskresensky will host a masterclass for three Rowan piano students Zuponcic selected. She notes that the opportunity to play for someone with such broad experience is “very special.”

Tickets for Voskresensky’s performance are available through the College of Performing Arts box office. Visit go.rowan.edu/tickets to purchase.