Denys Dragan
Denys Dragan was born in 1998 in Ukraine. At the age of 7, after winning his first piano competition, he was told about a music school for specially gifted children in Lviv. His wish to study there was already fulfilled at age of 10, when he entered the school Solomija Krusheljnitckaya, in the class of Prof. T. Alexandrova. The family moved to Lviv where Denys’ musical education became the main concern.
In 2013, he was third prize winner at the Chopin Youth Piano Competition in Warsaw and first prize winner at the Stankovich Piano Competition in Kiev, the Chamber Music Competition Starchenko, and the Na rodine Prokofieva Competition in Donetsk.
In 2014, he won two first prizes at the competition Accords of Chortyzja in Zaporozhiye, Ukraine (in the categories solo recital and concerto with orchestra), and in 2015, another first prize at an international competition of young talents in Prague.
At the age of 17, he graduated from the school in Lviv and moved to Vienna, Austria, to study at the Prayner Konservatorium für Musik und Dramatische Kunst in the class of Prof. Tamara Atschba. The same year Denys wins 1.Prize for the best Prokofiev performance at the
“Great Composers Competition” and later on, wins 1.Prize for the best Rachmaninov as well.
In November 2017 he performs in Khmelnytskyi, Ukraine, an exceptional recital for his age consisting of Bach/Brahms, Prokofiev and Liszt, as well as the Totentanz of Liszt with orchestra. In 2018 he performs a brilliant recital in Vienna, organized by the Cziffra Foundation, after which he is highly praised by critics, especially for his interpretation of Liszt’s Dante Sonata. He is then invited for a concert tour in western Ukraine, performing several times the Rachmaninov concerto n°2.
In February 2019 he is 1st Prize winner of the Agustin Aponte international piano competition in Tenerife, followed in April by the Grand Prix at the ProArt Competition and in July by the bronze medal at the Franz Liszt International Competition in Budapest.
He is invited by the Cziffra Foundation for a new recital in November 2019 in Vienna, followed by a tour with a program dedicated to Liszt and Chopin, performing the full cycle of the 24 preludes.
In 2020 he is invited to perform as part of the first season of the cycle Musik durch die Jahreszeiten (Music through the seasons) at the Ehrbar Hall in Vienna.
Denys Dragan is supported by the Esperus Art Fund since 2017.