Thursday, September 28, 2023
"ONE" PIANO FOUR HANDS
Anna Bogolubova
Piano (Ukraine)
&
Irina Nuzova
Piano (Russia)
PROGRAM
Popular Music and arrangements for one piano four hands by Russian and Slavic composers
ABOUT THE MUSICIANS
Anna Bogolubova is one of the leading pianists/composers in Ukraine. In addition to her many television and radio performances, she was featured on a National TV Ukraine documentary – “Anna Bogolubova – Composer and Pianist.” She has performed solo recitals in the USA, Canada, Mexico, Austria, Germany, Andorra, Italy, Poland, Russia, and the Ukraine. First Prize competition wins include: XX Incontro Internazionale Giovani Pianisti Citta Di Senegalis, Italy; Concurso Internacional de Piano, Andorra; The Music and Art Foundation Young Musicians Piano Competition, New York; New York Chopin Competition; BC Pops Competition; Richard Youth Concerto Competition in Binghamton, New York, and most recently Concurso Internacional de Piano Parnassos in Mexico. After her highly successful solo debut at the age of 8 in the famous Odessa Philharmonic Hall, Anna was admitted to the Stolyarsky Music School where she was under the patronage of Anatoly Kardashef.
At the age of 10, Anna was selected to perform Beethoven’s 2nd Piano Concerto under the direction of Garry Oganezov, launching her in a performing career through her native country. She holds both Bachelorand Master’s Degrees from The Juilliard School for the Performing Arts and studied with Oxana Yablonskaya. In August 2007, Naxos released a CD of her performing two concertos by H. K. Hedley with Russia Philharmonic Orchestra, conductor Dmitry Yablonsky. She has over twenty years of pedagogic experience teaching privately and in schools such as The Lycee Francais de New York and the Hovnanian School. She has been invited to give Master Classes in several countries and has been a judge of international piano competitions. In 2010, she co-founded BOMAA (Beauty of Music and Art) in New York City.
Critics have applauded classical pianist Irina Nuzova for her “rise above mere virtuosity” (The Washington Post), “intensity of feeling” (La Nazione, Italy) and “profound interpretation” (Il Resto de Carlino, Bologna). Nuzova has appeared in recital as a soloist and as a chamber musician in the United States, Europe, and South America. In Europe, she has performed as part of the Amici della Musica concert series in Florence; at the Teatro Massima in Catania, Italy; Hermitage State Museum in St. Petersburg; the Moscow Conservatory, and in the Netherlands. In the United States, she has played at the Phillips Collection in Washington D.C., Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall and the Kosciuszko Foundation in New York; and as part of chamber music series including the Rhode Island Chamber Music Concert Series and the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert Series in Chicago. In recital with Wendy Warner, Nuzova has performed at the Music Institute of Chicago, the Phillips Collection, in Toronto, in Boston, and the Rockefeller tri-Institutional series in New York City.
Nuzova appears as soloist in numerous venues. Besides her appearances with her duo at the Phillips Collection in Washington D.C. and at St. Paul’s Music in the Park Series, other highlights include the double recital at the Gardner Museum (complete Beethoven cycle of sonatas), and chamber music performances at the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. Ms. Nuzova has also appeared in live radio interviews and performances in Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington DC, among others, including a live broadcast on WFMT in Chicago; and an interview with Fred Child of Performance Today -- a program that was syndicated nationwide. Also the recipient of the Bruce Hungerford Award at the Young Concert Artist Auditions in New York, Nuzova has won top prizes in competitions such as the Vincenzo Bellini and Citta di Senigallia International Competitions in Italy and the Beethoven Piano Sonata International Competition in Memphis, Tennessee. As a chamber musician, she has won top prizes at the Vittorio Gui and the Premio Trio di Trieste International Chamber Music Competitions in Italy. Nuzova’s performances have been broadcast live on WFMT in Chicago, WGBH in Boston, and Italian TV. Ms. Nuzova is also a member of the Camerata Phillips – an ensemble in residence at the Phillips Collection Gallery in Washington DC.
Nuzova is a native of Moscow, Russia. She made her debut with the Omsk Philharmonic at the age of 14. She studied at the Gnessin Academy of Music under the guidance of Alexander Satz before moving to the United States. Nuzova continued her musical education at the Manhattan School of Music with Lev Natochenny, and at Juilliard where her teachers were Oxana Yablonskaya and Jerome Lowenthal. To further herself as a musician she worked for many years in the cello studio of Harvey Shapiro at Juilliard and pursued individual studies with pianists Jean-Bernard Pommier, Eteri Andjaparidze, and Vladimir Feltsman. Nuzova earned her Doctorate of Musical Arts degree from the Hartt School of Music (University of Hartford, Connecticut). She regularly gives lecture recitals at schools and festivals. For the past two summers Nuzova has taught and performed at the Interharmony International Music Festival and the Summit International Music Festival in Purchase, NY. She also serves regularly as a jury panelist. Ms. Nuzova is a member of the piano faculty of the Special School of Music in New York City and of Bard College's pre-college division.