Steinway 11: Johan Randvere & Stefan Ilves

In 2015, 178 private individuals and companies joined forces with Tallinn City Government to make the dream of many Estonian musicians a reality—in September of that year, a brand-new Steinway piano arrived in the dignified White Hall of the House of the Blackheads. This year, we celebrate the 11th anniversary of this noble undertaking. Pianists Johan Randvere and Stefan Ilves will perform. The programme includes music by Bach/Busoni, Kancheli, Rautavaara and Sibelius.

Johan Randvere is a pianist who has received numerous distinctions and won many competitions. His stage experience includes performances in renowned halls such as Carnegie Hall in New York, the Chan Center in Vancouver, the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, Puccini Hall in Milan and others, as well as solo appearances with numerous orchestras, including ERSO, the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra and the Vanemuine Symphony Orchestra. Johan has received the Estonian Cultural Endowment annual award “Ela ja sära”, a scholarship from the Estonian Performers’ Union and the Artur Lemba Prize. He earned a master’s degree at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre under Professor Ivari Ilja and furthered his studies at the Verdi Conservatory in Milan. He teaches piano at the Tallinn School of Music and Ballet and is a presenter on Klassikaraadio, where he hosts the series “Black Key, White Key” about the world of piano. He is also involved in organising piano evenings featuring prominent pianists and is a founding member of Mosso Music.

Stefan Ilves began studying piano at the age of seven at Vanalinna Hariduskolleegium under Maigi Pakri. In 2020, he entered the Tallinn Music High School (since 2022, the Tallinn School of Music and Ballet), where he studied piano in the classes of Marrit Gerretz-Traksmann and Maigi Pakri, and from 2023 to 2026 also in Johan Randvere’s piano class. Stefan currently studies in the 10th grade at MUBA under the guidance of Sten Lassmann. He has taken part in masterclasses led by Sten Heinoja, Ivari Ilja, Hui-Ying Liu-Tawaststjerna and others. Stefan has achieved high placements in several national and international competitions, including “Best Young Instrumentalist” (2019, 2nd place), “Eesti kõla” (2019, 1st place and a special prize; 2020 and 2023, 3rd place), the Oscar Stroka International Competition in Latvia (2020, Grand Prix), the international competition “Young Musician” (2022, 1st place), the 55th International Competition “Virtuosi per musica di pianoforte” in the Czech Republic (2022, 2nd place), and the Peter Toperczer International Competition in Slovakia (2023, 1st place). In 2023, Stefan Ilves performed as a soloist with the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra conducted by Andres Kaljuste.