Marina Yakhlakova was born in 1991 in Moscow. She graduated from the Moscow State Specialized Music School for Gifted Children where she studied piano under Nazarova, Tropp and Zdobnova and continued her education in the Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory under professor A. Strukov (Lev Vlassenko’s pupil). She graduated from the Conservatory in 2014 with distinction. Currently, Marina is studying at the Barenboim-Said Academy (the Artist Diploma Program) under maestro Daniel Barenboim himself mentoring, being at the same time a post-graduate at the Moscow Conservatory under mentoring of professor A. Strukov. Also, Marina has been chosen for studying at the Lake Como International Piano Academy.
In 2011 Marina became the winner of the 7th International Franz Liszt Piano Competition Weimar-Bayreuth. She also got a special prize for the best interpretation of a work composed by Franz Liszt. In the view of Dmitri Bashkirov, “there is no doubt that Marina Yakhlakova is a very gifted person with an individual attitude towards music, having brilliant pianism and understanding of musical ideas essence as well as the ways for their clear and vivid realization”. In the words of Russian pianist Denis Matsuev, Marina Yakhlakova is “a phenomenally talented person”. Daniel Barenboim after listening to Marina’s playing for the first time said, that Marina is «a mature pianist, who, without any doubt, will have pianist career».
She has received recital and concerto performances in Australia, Austria, Canada, China, France, Germany, Georgia, Hungary, Israel, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Ukraine. She performed in Queensland Performing Arts Centre hall in Brisbane and other concert halls of Australia, Brucknerhaus hall in Linz, Shanghai Concert hall, National Centre for the Performing Arts Concert Hall in Beijing, the Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin and other concert halls of Germany, the Tivoly Vredenburg in Utrecht, the Concert hall of the Franz Liszt Music Academy in Budapest, Edvard Grieg Museum Concert Hall in Bergen, the Musicaliska сoncert hall in Stockholm, the Great and the Small halls of the Moscow Conservatory, the Camber Hall of the Moscow International Performing Arts Center. Marina has taken part in ‘Liszt en Provence’ festival’; Pianoforte-Fest Meissen (Germany) and the MDR Musiksommer Festival in Germany. Marina has collaborated with such orchestras as Sankt-Petersburg Academic State Orchestra, Rishon LeZion Orchestra, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Statskapelle Weimar Orchestra, Loh-Orchestra Sonder-Hausen, Meiningen Court Orchestra, Jenaer Philharmonie under the baton of Maxim Fedotov, Markus L. Frank, Vassilis Christopoulos, Jessica Cottis and others. Her Chamber music partners were cellists Alexander Ramm, Edgar Mоreau and Anastasia Kobekina.
Maxim Fedotov, well known violonist and conductor, regards that «Marina Yakhlakova belongs to the best constellation of young pianists, the hope of Russian pianistic school. Brilliant pianistic technique, excellent professionalism, coupled with amazing artistic willpower and mature musical thinking – are the main features of her bright talent».
She has made two recordings for the “Master Performers” label. One of them has won Supersonic Award given by "Pizzicato" magazine.