Dmitriy N. Illarionov

He is one of the most talented contemporary Russian guitarists, who, despite his youth, is already described as a «virtuoso of the highest class».

He was born in 1979 in Chișinău, where his parents had moved from Moscow shortly before his birth. At the age of seven he began to study classical guitar. In his own words, this interest arose «of its own accord», since there were no musicians in the family. He first studied with Valery Mikhailovich Yemelyanov and Elena Anatolyevna Bondarenko in Chișinău, and then, after the family returned to Moscow in 1991, continued under the guidance of Oleg Vitalyevich Nazarenko (a student of A. M. Ivanov‑Kramskoy).

In 1993, having graduated with distinction from music school, Dmitry entered the Academic Music College at the Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory, joining the guitar class of Natalia Nikolayevna Dmitrieva.

In 1997 Dmitry Illarionov graduated from the college with honours and was admitted (having received the maximum possible score in the entrance examinations) to the Gnesin Russian Academy of Music, where he studied in the class of Professor Alexander Kamilovich Frauchi, Honoured Artist of Russia. In the 2001–2002 academic year he also studied for a time with Nikita Arnoldovich Koshkin.

In 2002 he graduated from the Gnesin Russian Academy of Music (with highest honours) and in October of the same year entered the assistant traineeship programme there (artistic supervisor — Professor A. K. Frauchi).

Dmitry Illarionov is a laureate of numerous international competitions. In 1997 he won the «Guitar Moscow» competition and became a laureate of the International Competition «Classical Heritage» (Moscow).

In 1999 Dmitry won the 6th International Guitar Competition in Gdańsk (Poland), receiving all the special prizes, and was awarded the Grand Prix — a guitar by the renowned Japanese luthier Masaya Nobe. The jury of the competition, on behalf of the festival «10th Gdańsk Meeting of Guitarists» (within which the competition was held), solemnly bestowed on Dmitry Illarionov the title «The Greatest Hope». This was the first time that a representative of the Russian guitar school had achieved such success at this competition.

In 2000 D. Illarionov became a laureate of the prestigious 7th International Royal Competition «Guitar Spring 2000» (Charleroi‑Seneffe, Belgium). In the same year he won Second Prize at the 3rd Alexander Tansman International Competition of Musical Personalities in Łódź (Poland). This achievement is particularly significant because the guitar here competed directly with piano, cello, and violin. Never before had the guitar been placed so high at this competition.

At the end of 2000 D. Illarionov won the most prestigious guitar competition held in Russia — the International Competition «Guitar in Russia» (Voronezh). At the same time he was honoured by the Association of Russian Universities, receiving an award and a diploma «For excellent studies and musical individuality».

In 2002 Dmitry Illarionov became a laureate of the International Guitar Competition in Kutná Hora (Czech Republic). In addition, he is a laureate of the conducting competition dedicated to the 100th anniversary of A. S. Ilyukhin (Moscow, 2000) and of the 10th Republican Young Composers’ Competition of the Moldavian SSR (Chișinău, 1990).

In 2002 Dmitry Illarionov won the International Solo Competition of the Guitar Foundation of America (Guitar Foundation of America Competition 2002), which took place from 15 to 20 October 2002 in Miami, Florida, USA. This victory is undoubtedly among the most important achievements of the modern Russian guitar school.

Since 1996 Dmitry has been a regular participant in the guitar music festivals organised by N. A. Ivanova‑Kramskaya in Moscow.

He has enjoyed great success at festivals, including:

• «Days of Mandolin and Guitar» (Moscow, 1999);
• «Tabula Rasa» (Volgograd, 1999);
• «World of Guitar» (Kaluga, 2000 and 2002);
• the Classical Guitar Festival in Łódź, Poland (2000);
• «11th Gdańsk Meeting of Guitarists» (Gdańsk, Poland, 2001);
• «Renaissance of the Guitar» (Gomel, 2001);
• «Vozvrashchenie» («Return») (Moscow, 2002);
• the International Guitarists’ School (Saint Petersburg, 2002);
• «Spring of the Guitar» (Saratov, 2000, 2002).

In 2002 Dmitry Illarionov made his debut in Germany. On 28 July, as part of the International Guitar Festival in Nürtingen, his solo recital was a great success. In a lengthy review of the concert published on 30 July 2002 in the newspaper «Nürtinger Zeitung», Heinz Böhler noted that the young Russian guitarist fully succeeded in winning over the audience with his artistry — a task far from simple and not within everyone’s power, given that the previous evening the same stage had hosted such renowned masters as David Russell and Manuel Barrueco. Dmitry Illarionov gave superb performances of Mauro Giuliani’s «Gran Overtura» (op. 61), Alexander Tansman’s «Cavatina», six movements (Nos. 5–10) from Igor Rekhin’s «24 Preludes and Fugues for Solo Guitar», Dušan Bogdanović’s «Ex Ovo», Mario Castelnuovo‑Tedesco’s «Capriccio Diabolico», and Francisco Tárrega’s «Carnival of Venice». In the latter he demonstrated what the critic described as a «healthy self‑confidence»: unafraid of comparison with David Russell’s masterly interpretation of «Carnival of Venice» at the festival’s opening, he proved himself brilliantly in this «duel». D. Illarionov concluded his recital with an encore performance of a waltz by Roland Dyens and was deservedly rewarded with prolonged applause.

The guitarist’s repertoire is extensive and includes original works for guitar from various periods and styles, lute music, concertos for guitar and orchestra, and rarely performed pieces for guitar. Among his core repertoire are early music (L. Milan, A. Mudarra, J. Dowland), works by 19th‑ and early‑20th‑century composers (F. Sor, M. Giuliani, J. Turina, F. Tárrega), and modern Russian and international music (A. Tansman, M. Ponce, J. Rodrigo, A. Barrios, M. Castelnuovo‑Tedesco, I. Rekhin, S. Assad, R. Dyens, F. Martin, W. Walton, D. Bogdanović, and others).

Dmitry Illarionov performs equally frequently in solo recital and as a member of chamber ensembles. He has appeared as a soloist with various orchestras, including the Governor’s Symphony Orchestra (Irkutsk), the State Symphony Orchestra of Tatarstan (Kazan), the National Chamber Orchestra of the Republic of Moldova (Chișinău), and the «Vremena Goda» Chamber Orchestra (Moscow).

Among the works performed by D. Illarionov with orchestra, special mention should be made of Joaquín Rodrigo’s famous «Concierto de Aranjuez» and «Fantasía para un gentilhombre», his «Concierto Andaluz» for four guitars and orchestra (first and second guitar parts), as well as Heitor Villa‑Lobos’s Guitar Concerto and double concertos by Vivaldi and Castelnuovo‑Tedesco.

The renowned Italian guitarist Carlo Marchione has remarked on the exceptional clarity and depth of D. Illarionov’s interpretations, combined with his virtuosic command of the instrument. The distinguished Yugoslav‑born composer Dušan Bogdanović, who attended one of his concerts, said of the young guitarist’s playing: «It was one of the most inspired guitar concerts I have ever heard». D. Illarionov has recorded four CDs, including a duo disc with one of Russia’s leading cellists, Boris Andrianov (a laureate of numerous international competitions, including the Tchaikovsky Competition).