Biography
Rafael Kyrychenko was born in 1996 on the Azores Islands and began his piano studies with his mother, Cristina Pliousnina, when he was five years old. Having finished his studies in the Professional Course in the Madeira School of Arts, and also the Chapelle Musicale Reine Elisabeth under the master ship of Maria João Pires, Rafael was attending the Brussels Conservatory with Daniel Blumenthal. In 2019, he has been accepted into the Imola Piano Academy with Prof. Leonid Margarius, and since 2021, he’s studying in the Escuela Superior Reina Sofia in Madrid with prof. Milana Chernyavska.
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Rafael has participated in masterclasses with world renowned teachers such as Philippe Entremont, Dmitry Bashkirov, Nelson Delle-Vigne Fabbri, Michel Béroff, Martino Tirimo, Artur Pizarro and Rosella Clini, among others. He also receives a scholarship from the International Academy of Music in Liechtenstein and participates in the intensive music weeks and activities held there.
Rafael won his 1st prize at the age of eight, in his first international competition in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. Since then, he has traveled internationally, achieving many 1st and 2nd prizes in Denmark, Portugal, Spain, Italy, France, Estonia, San Marino, Cyprus and also in the United States. His latest achievement is the 3rd prize in the “Maria Canals Piano Competition” in July 2021.
In the Paris International Summer Sessions, Rafael had the opportunity to play in Salle Cortort and the Fountainebleau Palace. He also performed in prestige halls such as the Sala de Congressos and Teatro Baltazar Dias (Funchal, Madeira), the Genebra Congress Hall (Narva), the Estonia Concert Hall (Tallinn, Estónia), the DeSantis Chapel de Palm Beach Atlantic University (EUA), the Sala Suggia da Casa da Música (Porto), the CCB (Lisboa, Portugal), the Charlottenborg Festsal (Copenhagen, Denmark), the Flagey Studio 1 (Brussels, Belgium) and others.
In 2014, Rafael won the 25th edition of the Yamaha Scholarship. Along with his solo recitals, he has also performed under the baton of world-renowned conductors such as Mikhail Jurowski, Philippe Entremont, Andris Poga, Joseph Swensen, Michael Schønwandt, Cesário Costa and Rui Massena.