Inna Faliks

“Adventurous and passionate” (The New Yorker) Ukrainian-born pianist Inna Faliks has established herself as one of the most exciting, committed, communicative and poetic artists of her generation. Faliks is Head of Piano and Professor of Piano at UCLA. Renowned for her versatility, Faliks is equally at home in the great concerti, standard solo repertoire, chamber music,  interdisciplinary projects and work with contemporary composers. After her acclaimed debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, she has performed on many of the world’s great stages, with numerous orchestras, in solo appearances, and with conductors such as Leonard Slatkin and Keith Lockhart. Critics praise her “signature blend of lithe grace and raw power“ (Lucid Culture), “courage to take risks, expressive intensity and technical perfection” (General Anzeiger, Bonn), “poetry and panoramic vision” (Washington Post), and “riveting passion, playfulness” (Baltimore Sun). Her lauded discography includes a recent all- Beethoven release, “Sound of Verse –  music of Boris Pasternak, Ravel, and Rachmaninoff” – both on MSR Classics,  and a Disklavier recital recording for Yamaha. Upcoming recordings include  “Polonaise-Fantasie, story of a pianist” theater-piano piece,  and her Music/Words new commissions CD.

Faliks’s distinguished career has taken her to numerous recitals and concerti in prestigious venues in the US, Europe and Asia. Winner of many competitions, including the ProMusicis International Award, she has been featured on radio and international television broadcasts, and has performed in Carnegie Hall’s Weill Concert Hall, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Paris’ Salle Cortot, Chicago’s Orchestra Hall, Moscow’s Tchaikovsky Hall, LA’s Zipper Hall,  in Festival Internacional de Mexico, Portland Piano International,  Music in the Mountains, Verbier Festival,  Le Poisson Rouge in NYC, Fazioli Series in Italy, Tel Aviv Museum in Israel. She is consistently engaged as concerto soloist with orchestras throughout the US. Recent  highlights include a tour of China in all of its major halls, including Beijing CPA, Shanghai Oriental Arts Theater and Tianjin Grand Theater, many concerti including Rachmaninoff 2 with Greensboro Symphony Festival, Prokofiev 1 and 3 at Peninsula Festival, Clara Schumann Concerto at Wintergren Festival,  and numerous return engagements – at Minnesota Sinfonia, Newport Festival, Bargemusic, Broad Stage Santa Monica, and more.

An artist as committed to genre-bending and new music as she is to the core repertoire, Faliks is currently presenting Reimagine: Ravel and Beethoven, commissioning today’s leading composers such as Timo Andres, Richard Danielpour, Billy Chilrds and Paola Prestini to create responses to pieces of Ravel and Beethoven. She premiered 13 Ways of Looking at the Goldberg – variations by contemporary composers on Bach’s Aria,  She has performed and recorded the unknown piano works of Russian poet Boris Pasternak, appeared in theatrical productions such as “Admission: One Shilling” with Downton Abbey star Lesley Nicol, collaborated with the modern dance troupe Bodytraffic, and  has premiered new works by many contemporary composers, including  Ljova, Clarice Assad, Jan Freidlin, Sean Hickey, Tania Leon, and others.   Faliks  is the founder and curator of Music/Words , a series that pairs together live performances with readings by established contemporary poets. The series has been heard and seen nation-wide for 8 seasons, live and on radio.  www.musicwordsnyc.com

Faliks is in demand as an Artist teacher, and is frequently invited to guest residencies at leading conservatories, festivals and universities internationally. Her own teachers included Leon Fleisher, Boris Petrushansky, Gilbert Kalish, Ann Schein and Emilio del Rosario.

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