Alexey Shpakov was born in 1984 in Leningrad. From 1999 to 2002, he studied at the Secondary Special Music School–Lyceum of the Saint Petersburg State Conservatory in the class of Professor Nina Seryogina, Honoured Artist of Russia. In 2007, he graduated from the Piano Faculty of the Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory, where he continued his studies with the same teacher. He also studied in the classes of Professor Inga Dzektser (chamber ensemble), Honoured Artist of Russia Iosif Livshits, and Yuri Serov (collaborative piano and accompanist training).
He worked as a piano teacher and collaborative pianist at a number of Saint Petersburg music institutions, including Children’s Music School No. 37 (2007–2015), where he served as Director from 2012 onward, and the Rimsky-Korsakov Music College (2008–2012).
He is a prizewinner of international competitions and festivals, including:
1998
- Winner and recipient of a special prize from the Polonia Cultural and Educational Society at the Open Russian-Polish Competition for Young Pianists for the best performance of works by Frédéric Chopin (Saint Petersburg)
- Winner and recipient of a special prize from People’s Artist of Russia Mikhail Pletnev at the International Young Pianists’ Competition named after Sergei Rachmaninoff (Veliky Novgorod)
1999
- Prizewinner at the International Festival of Young Virtuoso Pianists (Saint Petersburg)
2006
- Diploma recipient at the 8th International Competition named after Maria Yudina in the Chamber Ensemble category (duo with cello)
From 1995 to 2000, he was a scholarship holder of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Society and Bank Saint Petersburg. From 1998 to 1999, he was also a scholarship holder of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. He has repeatedly been awarded the title of Best Collaborative Pianist.
He maintains an active concert career and is a regular participant in a wide range of musical events, including festivals, concerts, and master classes in Saint Petersburg, other Russian cities, and abroad. He has performed on the stages of the Large and Small Halls of the Shostakovich Saint Petersburg Philharmonia, the Great Hall of the Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory, and the Great Hall of the Sobinov Saratov State Conservatory.
He has toured in Germany, Austria, Slovenia, and the Netherlands.
As a collaborative pianist, he has taken part in master classes led by David Geringas, Elena Obraztsova, Svetlana Sidorova de Sangy, Alexei Vasilyev, Vyacheslav Prokopov, Boris Taburetkin, and others. He also participated repeatedly in the Russian-American master classes of the International Music Academy in cooperation with the Manhattan School of Music in New York, held in Saint Petersburg during the 2000s, where he twice received the Academy Certificate.
Since 2016, he has regularly collaborated with the Saint Petersburg Music House as a collaborative pianist. He has also repeatedly taken part in programs of the Sirius Educational Center in Sochi.
Since 2017, he has additionally collaborated with the Elena Obraztsova Cultural Center in Saint Petersburg, participating in various events under its auspices, including concerts, auditions, and master classes. In November 2020, he presented an open seminar there entitled The Experience of Collaborative Piano Work with Various Instruments, Choir, and Vocalists: Features, Differences, and Shared Principles as part of the International Creative School of Vocal and Instrumental Art.
