Canadian born pianist of Ukrainian ancestry, Yaroslav ('Slava') Senyshyn, Steinway Artist, was one of two prize pupils (along with the Canadian composer and pianist, Larysa Kuzmenko) of the late and great Antonina Yaroshevich. Yaroshevich was a contemporary of Vladimir Horowitz at the Kiev Conservatory. Both Horowitz and Yaroshevich studied with the famous pedagogue Felix Blumenfeld. Thus the grand tradition of piano playing was passed on and imparted to Yaroslav Senyshyn. Senyshyn is now one of the very few exponents of this style of playing the piano.

Georgetown University Radio featured Senyshyn in a documentary program about great Canadian pianists, including Glenn Gould, Angela Hewitt, Louis Lortie and Anton Kuerti. In addition to his concert activities, Dr. Senyshyn is Professor of Music and Moral Philosophy at Simon Fraser University. He also performs with his wife, Professor and Dr. Susan O’Neill, the internationally acclaimed scholar, President-Elect of the International Society for Music Education (ISME) and virtuoso flautist. They are both currently recording artists for Albany Records, New York.

Senyshyn is described as a pianist of "enormous power" and "sophistication" (The Washington Post) and for his “originality” (The New York Times). “When he wishes, he’s capable of a truly colossal sound…He can also play with great delicacy and refinement… of a beguiling, other-worldly atmosphere…. music masterfully performed” (Robert Schulspaer, Fanfare). “Senyshyn is a pianist of real sensitivity… the ideal interpreter, fearlessly delivering clusters one moment, proffering reflective balm the next… This really is beautiful playing, painterly in its ability to secure and extend an atmosphere…. There is a luminosity here that is rarely heard (Colin Clarke, Fanfare).

“Senyshyn is a passionate pianist who delivers a significant emotional impact…with myriad colors and weaving an emotion-packed aural tapestry” (Maria Nockin, Fanfare). One has only to listen to the thunderous bass …and the crystalline clarity of the tolling bell-like figuration...Yaroslav Senyshyn demonstrates technical fluency, mastery of the composer’s unique keyboard style, and an understanding of the music’s underlying complex emotional makeup, which, in my opinion, are the equal of any pianist who has played these [Rachmaninoff’s] works, and which give Senyshyn’s performances a truly authentic feel” (Jerry Dubins, Fanfare).

“Senyshyn is a lion on a throne…Once he places himself on the throne he attacks as a lion would, with class, style and strength. He is in full control of the keyboard. It is almost in one move that he sits and plays, there is no delay. He knows what he wants to do and he does it…. Just when the audience was brought upright in their seats, he sent it into soundless hush as he gave the keys his special caress….he played with decreased magnitude. He played with grandeur and dignity. He brought the audience to its feet. He brought this writer to a sweat. If this writer could fondle the typewriter the way this student of Antonina Yaroshevich touches the piano, a Pulitzer award would follow" (Don Wilcox of the Enterprise-Bulletin).

Senyshyn has performed to critical acclaim on all the continents of the world. Although a very reclusive artist he has recently increased his concert activity to accommodate both solo and concerto appearances. Those who have been lucky to hear him are amazed at his charismatic and highly musical appeal on the concert stage. He is a pianist who very much reminds his audiences of the truly great artists of the past.

“Senyshynis a pianist of real sensitivity... the ideal interpreter, fearlessly delivering clusters onemoment, proffering reflective balm the next... This really is beautiful playing, painterly in its ability to secure and extend an atmosphere.... There is a luminosity here that is rarely heard"
-Colin Clarke, Fanfare

“When he wishes, he’s capable of a truly colossal sound...He can also play with great delicacy and refinement... of a beguiling, other-worldly atmosphere.... music masterfully performed”
-Robert Schulspaer,Fanfare

"Senyshyn is described as a pianist of "enormous power","sophistication"and for his "originality”-The Washington Post and The New York Times“Senyshyn is a passionate pianist who delivers a significant emotional impact...with myriad colors and weaving an emotion-packed aural tapestry.”
-Maria Nockin, Fanfare

"Senyshyn is described as a pianist of "enormous power" and "sophistication"
-The Washington Post

“Senyshyn is not alone, of course, nor certainly the first, to give Chopin’s [second] concerto its able-bodied due.
Performances by Ashkenazy, Rubinstein, and Argerich have taken a similar approach, resisting temptations to
sentimentalize the music with excessive rubato or feminize it with undue swooning. Senyshyn belongs in this august
company.”
-Jerry Dubins, Fanfare

“Senyshyn’s Liszt A-Major [Second Concerto] is one heck of a heart-in-throat thrilling
performance…On all counts, a terrific release.”
-Jerry Dubins, Fanfare

“He possesses a big, rich, highly individual tone, while being unafraid to create a very wide dynamic range…
Senyshyn’s opening movement [of Chopin’s Second Concerto] is truly Maestoso, without ever turning overly majestic;
a confiding intimacy always is present. The slow movement is a breathtaking reverie, while the finale takes the
profusion of pianistic ideas and lets each one sing.
In the last movement of Chopin’s Second Concerto…Senyshyn finds depth in figurations that most pianists just treat as
bravura passage work. Senyshyn’s playing really swings, with heart and soul that make the listener want to dance…”
-Dave Saemann, Fanfare

“Senyshyn is hand in glove with him [conductor, Oliver von Dohnányi] all the way. This is a huge, brawny performance
that never loses its lyricism. I only hope that this is one of the rare recordings that brings an artist to wider public
awareness. Highly recommended.”
-Dave Saemann, Fanfare

“There is no question that in his performances of the Chopin and Liszt, Senyshyn revels in exploring striking contrasts
of dynamics, tempo, and phrasing. While it is possible that Senyshyn calculated these juxtapositions when preparing for
the recording, the impression is of an artist giving himself to the music, the moment, and the emotions they inspire
within him. Senyshyn’s flexibility of phrasing, and willingness to linger over certain moments, is definitely within the
grand Romantic tradition. So, too, is his willingness to adopt hair-raising tempo choices, particularly in the fleet
moments of the Liszt.”
-Ken Meltzer, Fanfare

“When he wishes, he’s capable of a truly colossal sound…He can also play with great delicacy and refinement… of a
beguiling, other-worldly atmosphere…. music masterfully performed.”
-Robert Schulspaer, Fanfare

“Senyshyn is a pianist of real sensitivity… the ideal interpreter, fearlessly delivering clusters one moment, proffering
reflective balm the next… This really is beautiful playing, painterly in its ability to secure and extend an atmosphere….
There is a luminosity here that is rarely heard.”
-Colin Clarke, Fanfare

“Senyshyn is a passionate pianist who delivers a significant emotional impact…with myriad colors and weaving an
emotion-packed aural tapestry.”
-Maria Nockin, Fanfare

“One has only to listen to the thunderous bass …and the crystalline clarity of the tolling bell-like figuration...YaroslavSenyshyn demonstrates technical fluency, mastery of the composer’s unique keyboard style, and an understanding of
the music’s underlying complex emotional makeup, which, in my opinion, are the equal of any pianist who has played
these [Rachmaninoff’s] works, and which give Senyshyn’s performances a truly authentic feel.”
-Jerry Dubins, Fanfare

“A truly authentic, emotionally driven performance.”
-Jacqueline Kharouf, Fanfare

“Senyshyn is a lion on a throne…Once he places himself on the throne he attacks as a lion would, with class, style and
strength. He is in full control of the keyboard. It is almost in one move that he sits and plays, There is no delay. He
knows what he wants to do and he does it…. Just when the audience was brought upright in their seats, he sent it into
soundless hush as he gave the keys his special caress….he played with decreased magnitude. He played with grandeur
and dignity. He brought the audience to its feet. He brought this writer to a sweat. If this writer could fondle the
typewriter the way this student of Antonina Yaroshevich touches the piano, a Pulitzer award would follow."
-Don Wilcox, Enterprise-Bulletin

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