Yakov Kasman’s debut in America in 1997 as Silver Medalist in the Tenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition in Fort Worth was the culmination of several competition triumphs and tours in Europe and the Middle East, including top prizes at the 1991 Valentino Bucchi Competition in Rome, the 1991 London World Piano Competition, the 1992 Arthur Rubinstein International Competition in Tel Aviv, and the 1995 International Prokofiev Competition at St. Petersburg.
Since his American debut, he has given concerts in the North and South Americas, Europe, Asia, and Middle East, including recitals in New York City, Boston, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Cleveland, St. Louis, Kansas City, St. Paul, Atlanta, and Birmingham. He has appeared as soloist with more than 70 orchestras including the Buffalo, Oregon, Pacific, Syracuse, Memphis, Miami, Ft. Worth, Nashville, and Alabama symphonies, Athens State Orchestra, the Orchestre de Lille and Orchestre Philharmonique de Montpellier in France, the Singapore Symphony, the National Symphony Orchestra of Taiwan, Orquestra Simfonica de Baleares (Spain), Daejeon Philharmonic Orchestra (South Korea) and the Moscow Philharmonia Orchestra.
Dr. Kasman has 15 studio CD recordings on the Calliope label. His two CD set of the recordings of the complete sonatas of Prokofiev was awarded the "Grand Prix de la Nouvelle Academie du Disque" in France in 1996. The International Piano Quarterly magazine recommended his CD of Moussorgsky’s "Pictures at an Exhibition" as one of 14 equally ranked best in a survey of recordings over the past 75 years. His recording of Shostakovich’s Concerto No. 1, and Schnittke’s Concerto for Piano and Strings, released in 2000, received the "Choc du monde de la musique" award in France, is rated highest for artistry and sound quality by Classics Today.com, and referred to as "superlative" in the American Record Guide. His recording of All-Tchaikovsky CD featuring "The Seasons" and Grand Sonata in G-Major was rated 10/10 by ClassicsTodayFrance.com in December 2005.
Dr. Kasman is active as a teacher and adjudicator. He served as a jury member at the Busoni International Piano Competition (Bolzano), International Piano Competition "Grand Prix Animato" in Paris, France, International Piano Competition in Memory of Vladimir Horowitz in Kiev, Ukraine, the Corpus Christi International Competition, "Merzlyakovka invites friends" All-Russian Piano Competition in Moscow, Kalinnikov International Piano Competition in Orel, Russia, International Competition for Young Pianists in S. Prokofiev's Native Land in Donetsk, Ukraine, International Chopin Piano Competition in China and for four years has judged the Rocky Mountain Amateur Piano Competition in Colorado Springs. He has been guest artist and faculty at the Piano Texas International Academy and Festival in Fort Worth, at the Summer Keyboard Institute SKI/Colorado, at Busan International Music Academy in South Korea, and for several years at the International Summer Music Academy in Kiev, Ukraine. Recent engagements include performances with National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, "Kiev Soloists" Chamber Orchestra, Dayton Philharmonic, Louisiana Philharmonic, Buffalo Philharmonic, KBS Orchestra in Seoul, Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony in Canada and a performance with Orchestre Lamoureux at the Theatre de Champs Elysees in Paris, France, duo piano recitals with Aleksandra Kasman in United States and internationally, as well as masterclasses in Japan.
Prior to coming to United States, Kasman was on faculty at the Music College of the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory in his native Russia. Dr. Kasman is actively involved in local, state, and national music teachers organizations as guest artist, teacher and adjudicator. His students are winners of regional, national and international competitions.