Hailed by The New York Times as a pianist of “a fiery sensibility and warm touch,” Anna Shelest is an international award-winning pianist who has thrilled audiences worldwide.

Born in Kharkiv, Ukraine, she began her piano studies at the age of six. An “effective collaborator” (The New York Times), Anna made her orchestral debut at the age of twelve with the Kharkiv Symphony Orchestra, playing Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto no.1. Since then, she has appeared as a soloist with a number of world-class orchestras including the Montreal Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, St Petersburg Philharmonic, and Estonian National Symphony under Neeme Järvi, among others.

Having received her master’s degree at The Juilliard School in the class of Jerome Lowenthal, Anna Shelest currently resides in New York City with her husband and two sons.

“Shelest has fearlessly mastered the entire range of Prokofiev’s idiom – this is undeniably big-league playing – while offering her own personal touch. I’m happy to report that in the Second Concerto she approaches treacheries such as the huge first-movement cadenza and the unison hands flying through the toccata-like scherzo without resorting to banging or crudeness. She leavens the heaviest passages and adds warmth to the lyrical interludes. Some famous names could learn a thing or two.” – Huntley Dent, Fanfare Magazine, March 2016 ★★★★★