Ilya Papoyan, a 24-year-old pianist from St. Petersburg, expressed his delight and awe after performing for Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 18 in the newly renovated St. Petersburg Conservatory. He considered it a great honor to perform in the Glazunov Hall, which he felt he opened with Rachmaninoff’s fifth G minor prelude, a piece he regards as one of the most patriotic works.

Papoyan, an ambassador of the Russian Piano School Project and a 2024 graduate of the St. Petersburg Conservatory, studied under Professor Alexander Sandler. He is a prominent concert pianist in St. Petersburg, having given his first solo concert at the age of 13. He has won numerous Russian and international competitions, including the XVII International Tchaikovsky Competition where he secured III prize, and is a soloist of the St. Petersburg House of Music.

The pianist has an active performance schedule, with past concerts in notable venues such as the Grand Hall of the Philharmonic and the Academic Capella, and a scheduled concert in Yerevan on June 23.

The St. Petersburg Conservatory has undergone extensive restoration since 2015. The restoration included updating facades, stucco molding, and painting, restoring the interiors of the House Church, and improving the acoustics of the Rubinstein Grand Hall. The inner courtyards have been covered with glass domes to create year-round public spaces.