Biography
Classical pianist who explores new approaches to making classical music more accessible to audiences
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Education
I received my Master's degree in concert performance (class of Prof. Konstantin Lifschitz) and pedagogy (class of Prof. Diana Binder) at the Lucerne High School of Music (Switzerland). Before this, I spent four years at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz (Austria) for my Bachelor's degree (class of Prof. Markus Schirmer) and one year in Vienna at the University of Music and Performing Arts following the programme for exceptionally gifted young people (class of Prof. Vladimir Kharin).
My initial experience in music is rooted in Riga (Latvia), where I was born.
My first music lessons started at four with a private teacher. A year later, I was admitted to the Riga Musical Emil Darzins School for gifted children where I spent eleven consecutive years studying music. My general academic education was completed at a private secondary school in Riga.
Since 2004 I have played concerts all over Europe, both piano solo and with symphony orchestras. From 2007 to 2017, I won national and international European competitions and also received several special prizes for Eminent style, virtuosity, and interpretations of the works of J. S. Bach.
Between 2006 and 2009, I studied composition in Riga and won the first prize in the International competition of young composers in Latvia in 2007.
Masterclasses with renowned pianists and professors were an integral part of my education. I received lessons from Paul Badura-Skoda, Dmitry Bashkirov, Vladimir Krainev, Bruno Canino, Oleg Maisenberg, Dina Yoffe, Eldar Nebolsin, Muza Rubackite, Sofia Gulyiak, and Boris Berman.
While living in Austria and Switzerland, I received grants, and other support from several organizations, including Rudolf Heydner-Stiftung (2014), Fürst Dietrichstein’sche Stiftung (2019), Rotary Club Graz Süd (2020), Stiftung Lyra (2020), Rosa Steffen-Mörgeli-Stiftung (2021).
Activities
Projects
I was a participant and winner of several festivals, including Académie de Musique de Lausanne in 2015, the International Summer Academy of the MDW in Payerbach-Reichenau in 2016, and the International Academy and Competition Pianale in Germany in 2021.
From 2018 to the present, I have been organizing thematic concerts for various audiences, including the Austrian Rotary Society, nursing homes, and schools.
In April 2020, I became an artist at the Austrian festival Styriarte and I headed the world premiere of "Сorona Meditation" by Austrian composer Gerd Kühr in which the piece was performed online by more than 70 pianists from all over the world. Later in June 2020, I opened their series of first live concerts in Austria after the quarantine giving 10 performances of Mozart Concerto No. 23 for piano and orchestra in four days.
In December 2020, I launched my educational YouTube channel h2hmusic, where I talk about the specifics of the music profession and interesting facts from the field of music.
Since 2022 I have collaborated with the Swiss artist Bernhard Moser, organizing annual audio-visual concerts.
My basic solo repertoire comprises traditional classical compositions from the 18th to the first half of 20th centuries. I also play in duo with my brother, violinist Yevgeny Chepovetsky, in chamber string and wind ensembles, and church organ.
As to my musical preferences, my beloved composers are, to name a few, Ludwig van Beethoven, Johann Sebastian Bach, Richard Wagner and Alexander Scriabin. A performing style that resonates with me the most is that of the Golden Age of piano, i.e. the end of the 19th and the first half of the 20th century.
My other interests in music are connected with conducting, arrangement, the art of counterpoint, and playing historical keyboard instruments.
