Biography 2024
Michael Bulychev-Okser is an American pianist, composer, and pedagogue.
Critics praise Michael's "imaginative and intelligent style" (David Dubal), "highly musical playing" (Fanfare Magazine), “sympathetic, yet eloquent dialogue” (BBC Magazine), "elegance and grace the piano is destined to produce" (Cosmo Buono), and "sheer poetry and panoramic vision" (Las Provincias, Valencia).
Hailed by New York Times as "enticing and brilliant", Michael Bulychev-Okser debuted with Manhattan Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Jonathan Strasser. Since then, Michael has performed thousands of solos, chamber, and orchestral concerts, collaborating with conductors like Patrick Gardner (USA), Kynan Johns (Australia), Dmitri Yablonsky (Israel), Francesco Di Mauro (Argentina), and Robert Lehrbaumer (Austria). Bulychev-Okser's extensive piano career has showcased him in solo recitals and orchestra appearances around the globe in the world's most prestigious stages: Carnegie Hall, Merkin Hall (New York), Kennedy Center (Washington, D.C.), La Salle Pleyel (Paris), Wigmore Hall (London), Heichal Hatarbut (Tel Aviv), The Saal Palace (Alexandria), IBK Concert Hall (Seoul), and Universidad Nuevo Leon (Monterrey).
In the concert season 2024, Michael performed a concert tour in Italy (Rome, Milan, Taranto, and Taormina (Sicily); appeared as guest artist with Estonian Symphony Orchestra, performing Concerto No. 1 by Alexey Shor; taught masterclasses and performed solo recitals at MusicArte International Competition (Italy), Gvadalajara Piano Festival in Mexico, and Gümüşlük International Classical Music Festival in Turkey.
Bulychev-Okser is a frequent guest artist at numerous music festivals, competitions, and concert series, including Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester, U. K.; Todi International Music Festival, Italy; Kaufmann Music Center, New York; Latvian Academy of Music in Riga; Changsha Music Competition, China; Valencia International Piano Festival, Spain; Piano Island Festival, Singapore; International piano festival in Universidad de Nuevo Leon, Mexico; Buchmann-Mehta School of Music at Tel Aviv University, Israel; Sarajishvili Tbilisi State Conservatory: Tbilisi, Georgia; SUMY International Festival (Ukraine); Rachmaninov Concert Hall in Moscow, Russia; Isidor Bajic Piano Competition – Novi Sad, Serbia; XX Scriabin International Competition – Grosetto, Italy; XVI Compositores des Espagna – Madrid, Spain; Piano Competition “Vals de travers” – Nouchatel, Switzerland; XI MozArte Piano Competition – Aachen, Germany; XI Lyon International Piano Competition – Lyon, France; Palais Auersperg in Vienna, Austria, and Paderewski and Chopin International Competitions in the United States and Poland.
Bulychev-Okser's discography includes recordings of Beethoven's "Pathetique" Sonata and "Goyeskas" by Granados (RCA label), "Transcriptions from Past to Future" (Neue Sterne, Germany), and "Music by New York composers", recorded live at the Barge Music Festival in New York. Recordings 2023 include complete Ballades and Scherzos by Frederic Chopin (Odradek Record Label) and an album on Convivium Records Label/Naxos as a duo with the British violinist Miriam Davis, celebrating the legacy of Marcel Proust.
A recipient of Who’s Who in Music, Michael has been featured on CBS and Channel 12 programs and WQXR and WWFM radio stations, in addition to international media: TV1 (Russia), TV3 (Estonia), RAI 1 (Italy), and Nippon TV (Japan).
An avid collaborative musician, Michael Bulychev-Okser collaborated with pianists Olga Kern, Dmitri Bashkirov, Daniel Pollack; violinists Shlomo Mintz, Albert and Alexander Markov, Carmine Lauri, Alyssa Margulis and Miriam Davis; cellists Raphael Wallfisch and Maria Kliegel; violists Paul Neubauer and Hartmut Rhode; clarinetist Julian Milkis and Metropolitan Opera soprano, Olga Makarina.
Committed to innovative programming and celebrating the world's cultures, Bulychev-Okser has performed rare Italian paraphrases (Ravenna, 2014), presented recitals of music exclusively by Baltic composers (in Estonia and Latvia), and has transcribed Chinese folk songs in a jazzy style; his performance of transcriptions on the bank of Yangtze River was shown to over a million viewers worldwide.
An educator with 22 years of experience, Michael Bulychev-Okser is a Piano Professor at Lucy Moses School at Kaufman Music Center and Long Island Conservatory. He also held teaching positions at New York University, Rutgers University of New Jersey, and Mokwon University in South Korea. While teaching piano to a variety of students aged 7-36, Bulychev-Okser has developed his own method of piano education, which is focused on developing critical thought processes. Bulychev-Okser summarized his method in a book “Conversations with students”, which is to be published in 2025 in New York.
Bulychev-Okser’s commitment to initiating multi-cultural musical forums and curating concert series has inspired him to establish George Gershwin International Music Competition in New York, and Classical Hugs International Music Festival, a large-scale annual event, presenting master classes, lectures, and concerts in 4 countries: Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Finland.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Michael Bulychev-Okser has performed numerous online concerts, including the United States premiere of Thin Air by Calliope Tsoupaki on behalf of Festivals for Compassion. Michael’s online concerts in support of New York medical and emergency workers were awarded Honorary Diplomas by the New York Assembly Member, William Colton. Michael Bulychev-Okser also organized Classical Hugs - Online Music Festival, which supports musicians across the globe with educative and performance opportunities. Starting as an online music festival, Classical Hugs has developed into a large-scale international event.
Concert seasons 2022-2024 features Bulychev-Okser’s orchestra appearance in Mendelssohn’s Double Concerto with legendary Shlomo Mintz, solo recitals at multiple festivals in France, Spain, Italy, at Washington International Piano Festival, D.C., appearance with Cita de Reus XXI Orchestra in Barcelona, and Reus, Spain, and CD release on Convivium Records Label with British violinist Miriam Davis, featuring French repertoire, based on the literary associations of Marcel Proust.