Fifteen-year-old pianist
Alexander Malofeev performs in Eilat.
By MAXIM REIDERAlexander Malofeev(photo credit: PR)
Alexander Malofeev, 15, will perform a recital at the Eilat Chamber Music Festival today (Friday) at 11 a.m.Malofeev entered the spotlight when he won first prize at the 8th International Tchaikovsky Competition for young musicians in 2014. Two years later, he won the Grand Prix of the International Competition for Young Pianists, the Grand Piano Competition, organized by Denis Matzuev.Speaking on the phone from Moscow, Malofeev says that the latest competition was very challenging.“Excellent young pianists from all over the world took part in it,” he says. “From the moment I got to know about this competition, I wanted to participate in it, but winning was far from simple.”Born in Moscow, Malofeev started playing piano at the age of five.“My mother took me to the music school that was just across the street,” he recounts.He continued his studies at Moscow’s prestigious Gnessin State Musical College. But the young protégé wasn’t sure he wanted to become a professional musician.“I think until I was 11, they had to force me to play. But then it happened to me – I walked onto the stage of a big hall, and the sensation was like flying. Sharing music with the audience and receiving their feedback was very exciting. That was when I decided that I would become a musician. I don’t regret it at all, although piano consumes a lot of my time,” he says.Malofeev performs solo recitals and plays as a soloist with major orchestras, cooperating with leading conductors such as Valery Gergiev and Vladimir Spivakov.His favorite composers are the 20th-century Russians.