Interview at “Daytime Ottawa”
Press
A very promising star on the horizon
~ Kathy Parsons
Milana Zilnik has everything it takes to become a famous modern day pianist, and I don’t use those words loosely
~ Dave Greening
Milana’s chamber piano work and voice combine to create just the right antidote for the drag of the day’s agony and stress
~ Zander Buel
“One of the joys of writing reviews and running MainlyPiano.com is getting to know a wide variety of artists and to follow their careers. One of my many favorites has been Milana Zilnik, a pianist/composer that I first reviewed in 2013. We did an interview the following year, and talked quite a bit about her early life and background. I hope you will enjoy catching up with Milana as much as I have!”
“Milana talks about her compositions and about the beauty of performing the music live and focusing on various styles and forms of music to blend and create something new.”
“As soon as Milana Zilnik felt the weight of the piano keys beneath her fingers, she knew what her next project would entail. It was 2015, Zilnik was in Germany, playing on David Klavins' The Giant, the then-largest upright piano in the world. The Kanata resident and singer-songwriter just released what had been a dream from the day she made acquaintance with The Giant three years ago.”
“While some composers may spend great amounts of time and effort carefully writing each note and chord change of their music with pencil on notation paper, others choose to create spontaneously according to their inspiration in the moment. Pianist Milana is one of the later, who as poet William Blake described: “kisses the joy as it flies.” The title of her new album Accidental Etudes is descriptive of this aspect of her creative process.”
“Milana Zilnik has everything it takes to become a famous modern day pianist, and I don’t use those words loosely, I honestly mean it. The reason why I say this is threefold – Her unmarked attention to and passion for the piano, her love for the piano, and her ability to create such inspiring pieces with the smallest melodic snippet to work with. Listening to the three tracks offered to us in this series will make you take a step back and say, “yeah, right, these can’t be improvisations!” But they honestly are, I have attached the youtube link related to the track to prove it.”
“One of my favorite new artists who submitted music for review last year is pianist/composer/vocalist Milana. She released an amazing four albums in 2013 - three solo piano and one vocal. Intrigued, I did a little research on Milana and discovered that in January 2013, she became the only Canadian musician to receive the “SoundCloud Hero” status for being one of the most active and influential members of the SoundCloud community. In June of 2013, one of her songs earned a high score in a crowd review, which earned her a spot as a “Featured Artist” on ReverbNation’s site. In November of 2013, one of Milana’s ambient compositions won Editor’s Choice Award at AudioSparx. Her vocals are often compared to Tori Amos and Sarah McLachlan. A very promising star on the horizon, I’d like to introduce you to Milana!”
“The hustle and bustle of every-day life can be brought to a gradual stroll, a breath of fresh air, with just the right melody and pacing. Cars slow down, people stop talking, and the mind lulls into a dream. Milana’s chamber piano work and voice combine to create just the right antidote for the drag of the day’s agony and stress. With a background in rock and jazz, Milana’s song “Sunny Days” is a contained but majestic piano and flute ensemble looking at gleams of sunshine through leafy tree limbs on a summer afternoon. The distant swells of soft synths are like early morning daylight shining on dew in the grass. Milana’s formal music education in Ukraine and playing by ear gives her musicality inflections and accents that are classical in nature, underlining a rich, hazy voice lodged in deep soul while still coming up for air in a dense falsetto. The improvisational characteristics of her piano playing make it playful but earnest and meaningful...”
~ Kathy Parsons, Interview with MainlyPiano (July, 2024)
“Milana talks about her compositions and about the beauty of performing the music live and focusing on various styles and forms of music to blend and create something new.”
~ Anna Sutyagina, Interview with Moving Classics TV (Jan 17, 2021)
“As soon as Milana Zilnik felt the weight of the piano keys beneath her fingers, she knew what her next project would entail. It was 2015, Zilnik was in Germany, playing on David Klavins' The Giant, the then-largest upright piano in the world. The Kanata resident and singer-songwriter just released what had been a dream from the day she made acquaintance with The Giant three years ago.”
~ Rebecca Atkinson for “Community Voice (Kanata/Stittsville)” (Oct 18, 2018)
“While some composers may spend great amounts of time and effort carefully writing each note and chord change of their music with pencil on notation paper, others choose to create spontaneously according to their inspiration in the moment. Pianist Milana is one of the later, who as poet William Blake described: “kisses the joy as it flies.” The title of her new album Accidental Etudes is descriptive of this aspect of her creative process.”
~ Michael Diamond about “Accidental Etudes” (Apr 29, 2014)
“Milana Zilnik has everything it takes to become a famous modern day pianist, and I don’t use those words loosely, I honestly mean it. The reason why I say this is threefold – Her unmarked attention to and passion for the piano, her love for the piano, and her ability to create such inspiring pieces with the smallest melodic snippet to work with. Listening to the three tracks offered to us in this series will make you take a step back and say, “yeah, right, these can’t be improvisations!” But they honestly are, I have attached the youtube link related to the track to prove it.”
~ Dave Greening, The Piano Cloud (Mar 17, 2014)
“One of my favorite new artists who submitted music for review last year is pianist/composer/vocalist Milana. She released an amazing four albums in 2013 - three solo piano and one vocal. Intrigued, I did a little research on Milana and discovered that in January 2013, she became the only Canadian musician to receive the “SoundCloud Hero” status for being one of the most active and influential members of the SoundCloud community. In June of 2013, one of her songs earned a high score in a crowd review, which earned her a spot as a “Featured Artist” on ReverbNation’s site. In November of 2013, one of Milana’s ambient compositions won Editor’s Choice Award at AudioSparx. Her vocals are often compared to Tori Amos and Sarah McLachlan. A very promising star on the horizon, I’d like to introduce you to Milana!”
~ Kathy Parsons, Interview with MainlyPiano (Jan 04, 2014)
“The hustle and bustle of every-day life can be brought to a gradual stroll, a breath of fresh air, with just the right melody and pacing. Cars slow down, people stop talking, and the mind lulls into a dream. Milana’s chamber piano work and voice combine to create just the right antidote for the drag of the day’s agony and stress. With a background in rock and jazz, Milana’s song “Sunny Days” is a contained but majestic piano and flute ensemble looking at gleams of sunshine through leafy tree limbs on a summer afternoon. The distant swells of soft synths are like early morning daylight shining on dew in the grass. Milana’s formal music education in Ukraine and playing by ear gives her musicality inflections and accents that are classical in nature, underlining a rich, hazy voice lodged in deep soul while still coming up for air in a dense falsetto. The improvisational characteristics of her piano playing make it playful but earnest and meaningful...”