North Westmorland Arts
Concerts in Appleby-in-Westmorland
TELEPHONE 017684 83777
- Home
- About
- News
- Calendar
- Subscription
- Links
- FAQ
- Past Years
- Contact
Sophia Lisovskaya - programme & biography
PROGRAMME
Mozart Adagio in B minor K540
Chopin Nocturne no. 1 in B flat minor, op. 9, no. 1
Chopin Barcarolle in F sharp major, op. 60
Chopin Scherzo no. 2 in B flat minor, Op. 31
Tchaikovsky from The Seasons, op. 37 - 11 seasons
BIOGRAPHY
Sophia Lisovskaya was born in Moscow into a family of professional musicians. Having shown early promise she gave her first public performance at the age of six in Moscow’s Museum of Fine Art, one of Sviatoslav Richter’s favourite venues, and has since continued to follow the grand tradition of the old Russian School with a lineage of professors leading directly back to the great figures of Neuhaus, Sofronitzky and Scriabin. Indeed, to quote The American Record Guide:
“…coming close to the standard set by
Sofronitzky and Richter for these pieces. These are outstanding
performances.”
First formal distinction came at the age of 13 when she won
first prize in the All Soviet Competition: “New Names”
performing Chopin’s 2nd piano concerto with the former Ministry
of Culture Symphony Orchestra, whilst studying at the
Tchaikovsky Junior Conservatoire of Music. Sophia completed her
musical education in the West, taking up the offer of a full
scholarship at London’s Royal Academy of Music in 1994 and
gaining a scholarship from London’s Philharmonia Orchestra in
1996. In parallel with her studies, Sophia Lisovskaya’s career
continued to blossom from her teens onwards with engagements
such as her tour in South America performing Rachmaninov’s 4th
concerto in Buenos Aires (at the Teatro de Colon), Rio de
Janeiro and Sao Paulo. She subsequently performed throughout
Europe including appearances at St. James’ Palace (London), the
Vasteras Concert Hall (Sweden), and Wigmore Hall (London).
Since then, Sophia has performed numerous concerts all over the
UK, including making a return to London’s Wigmore Hall where she
performed a recital focusing on the late works of Chopin as well
as works of the great Russian composers. Continuing to expand
her Russian repertoire Sophia also gave her debut in Sweden on
tour performing Rachmaninov’s 2nd piano concerto. Her debut in
the legendary “Great Hall” of the Moscow Conservatoire,
performing the premiere of Bruch’s Double Piano Concerto with
the Moscow State Chamber Orchestra in their Winter Proms season,
was a huge success and she has made a number of broadcasts
including live performances on National Swedish Radio, BBC Radio
3 and Moscow Radio. Previous engagements have also included
Sophia’s concert to open the London Festival Orchestra’s
“Virtuoso Pianists” concerto series (performing Schumann’s piano
concerto), her return to tour Russia giving several performances
with the Novosibirsk Philharmonic Orchestra under their music
director maestro Katz for their 50th Year Jubilee Concert, and
performing with the Queensland Orchestra in Australia. At a Gala
Concert in Latvia Sophia performed Shostakovich’s 2nd Piano
Concerto and she has given recitals in Milan (in the prestigious
Sala Verdi for the Società dei Concerti), London (St John’s,
Smith Square) and Moscow, and returned to Sweden for an extended
recital tour.
Closer to home, Sophia continues to expand her UK audience,
performing up and down the country. She has recently performed
at St. George's, Bristol and Chipping Campden Music Festival and
her UK engagements in the current season include a recital at
the Swaledale Festival.
Sophia continues to pursue her pianistic career upholding her
strong belief and commitment to artistic integrity. Her
repertoire is broad although her childhood love of Russian
composers has never left her and indeed her debut CD was a
recital disc of the composer Scriabin, which was released on the
Swedish label BIS. Critical acclaim again praised her
traditional Russian approach with Michel Le Naour of Le Monde de
la Musique writing:
“There is no denying that Lisovskaya
possesses the sensitivity and technique that allows her to step
beyond the technical pitfalls Scriabin’s music is littered
with.”
Her live performances are invariably described as original and
powerful, with particular praise reserved for her ability to
make a strong impact on audiences with her unique, recognisable
sound. The Music Director of the Moscow Radio Symphony
Orchestra, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra and the Zurich Opera
House, Maestro Vladimir Fedoseev refers to Sophia Lisovskaya as
“A pianist with a special poetic gift”.
Since performing with her father during her childhood, Sophia
has enjoyed collaborating with other artists. Earlier in her
career, Sophia’s involvement in chamber music took her to many
festivals including the Bregenz Festival, the Josseff Otten
Festival, and the Ascona Music Festival. More recently she
performed in Moscow’s first Schubertiade at the new “Music
House” concert hall in Moscow with Russia’s leading chamber
musicians. Here in the UK she enjoys creative partnerships with
exciting young artists such as the Barbirolli Quartet.
Sophia made her debut in China in 2011 with a tour which
included venues in Guangzhou and Beijing and an appearance on GZ
Television. She has been invited to return to China, this time
to give performances for broadcast by television stations
Phoenix TV and CCTV.
In addition to her devotion to music, Sophia is
passionate about the visual arts and has studied History of Art. She
was therefore particularly delighted to accept a recent invitation
to perform at the opening night of the Giacometti Centre in
Switzerland.
Sophia strongly believes in the importance of
charity work and has performed for various organisations, including
UNICEF (Paris) and the Musicians Benevolent Fund.