Internationally acclaimed pianist, recording artist, educator and Steinway Artist, Sophia Agranovich, presents a concert of passion, dazzling virtuosity, lyric beauty, and unforgettable musical storytelling.
The program opens with a Prelude by Claude Debussy. Impressionistic color washes over the senses in this selection, where sound becomes light and harmony dissolves into atmosphere.
At the heart of the concert stands the sweeping grandeur of Fantaisie in F minor by Frédéric Chopin—a work of noble melancholy and heroic defiance. At once intimate and orchestral in scope, its unfolding narrative moves from whispered introspection to blazing triumph.
Two jewels from Transcendental Études by Franz Liszt follow. The luminous Ricordanza shimmers like a half-remembered dream—ornamented, nostalgic, and heartbreakingly tender—while the volcanic Appassionata surges with tempestuous intensity, a whirlwind of blazing octaves and ferocious brilliance.
The celebration of Romantic spirit concludes in splendor of Carnaval by Robert Schumann—a masquerade of flirtation, fantasy, and fiery exuberance. In this gallery of musical characters, passion dances with wit, and intimacy collides with spectacle in a triumphant finale.
The program opens with a Prelude by Claude Debussy. Impressionistic color washes over the senses in this selection, where sound becomes light and harmony dissolves into atmosphere.
At the heart of the concert stands the sweeping grandeur of Fantaisie in F minor by Frédéric Chopin—a work of noble melancholy and heroic defiance. At once intimate and orchestral in scope, its unfolding narrative moves from whispered introspection to blazing triumph.
Two jewels from Transcendental Études by Franz Liszt follow. The luminous Ricordanza shimmers like a half-remembered dream—ornamented, nostalgic, and heartbreakingly tender—while the volcanic Appassionata surges with tempestuous intensity, a whirlwind of blazing octaves and ferocious brilliance.
The celebration of Romantic spirit concludes in splendor of Carnaval by Robert Schumann—a masquerade of flirtation, fantasy, and fiery exuberance. In this gallery of musical characters, passion dances with wit, and intimacy collides with spectacle in a triumphant finale.
Programme
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Claude Debussy
Pour le Piano i. Prelude Frédéric Chopin Fantaisie in F minor, Op. 49 Franz Liszt Transcendental Étude No. 9 in A-flat Major, "Ricordanza" Transcendental Étude No. 10 in F minor, "Appassionata" Robert Schumann Carnaval, Op. 9 (Scènes mignonnes sur quatre notes)
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Sophia Agranovich |
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Sophia Agranovich—multi-award-winning pianist, recording artist, educator, producer, and artistic director—is internationally acclaimed for her breathtaking virtuosity and profound sensitivity. Fanfare celebrates her as “a bold, daring pianist in the tradition of the Golden Age Romantics…a tigress of the keyboard,” while OneWorld Music Radio lauds her as “one of the most accomplished classical pianists of her day.” Magazine di Arte e Cultura describes her as “a reincarnation of Liszt in a postmodern guise.” Her performances captivate with what Audiophile calls “an orison of uncommon beauty,” and the American Record Guide commends her for an “interpretation that dares to be different… magnificent shading and superior musicianship.”
A Steinway Artist, Sophia Agranovich has graced concert stages around the world. Recently she played solo concerts at the Pennautier Festival and Juan-les-Pins in France where she premiered compositions dedicated to her by Françoise Choveaux, and was invited to China and Brazil. Among other major festivals she had participated is Les Arts George V in Paris, Festival Musicale delle Nazioni in Rome, and Aspen in US. Some of her prestigious venues are David Geffen Hall, Bruno Walter Auditorium and Paul Hall at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Weill Recital Hall, Merkin Hall, Roerich and Metropolitan museums, Bargemusic, Tenri Cultural Institute, Polish Cultural Foundation, Lambert Castle, Watchung Arts Center, Sieminski Theater, Salle Cortot, Théâtre Na Loba, American Cathedral in Paris, Ehrbarsaal, Gesellschaft für Musiktheater, Palais Khevenhüller, Kaiser Hall, Sala Baldini, Teatro di Marcello. She is also performing in numerous colleges, universities, museums and libraries. Ms. Agranovich has collaborated with Mark Peskanov, Shlomo Mintz, Christopher Collins Lee, Andrew Litton, Alexander Mishnaevsky, Andrew Lamy, Brett Deubner, Gregory Singer, Anatole Wieck, Rupam Sarmah, Lili Haydn, Hamid Saeidi, Kathleen Supove, award-winning Emmy, Grammy, and Billboard top ten musical artists, and members of the major orchestras.
Sophia Agranovich co-produced and released 11 albums and several singles. Her recordings are charting in top 10 across all musical genres on One World Music Radio and on World Top Radio Airplay Charts. Her discography received outstanding reviews and includes ‘Romantic Virtuoso Masterpieces’ (works by Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Schumann, Scriabin), ‘Franz Liszt – Bicentennial Tribute’ (‘Un Sospiro’, ‘La Campanella’, Rhapsodie Espagnole, Sonata in b minor); ‘Passion and Fantasy’ (Beethoven: ‘Appassionata’, Chopin: Fantaisie and Sonata in b minor); complete Brahms-Paganini Variations; Schumann: Symphonic Etudes, Schumann-Liszt: ‘Widmung’; Schubert: ‘Wanderer’ Fantasie and Chopin: 4 Ballades; Schumann: Carnaval and Fantasie; Chopin: Polonaise-Fantaisie and Nocturne Op. 48 No.1, Liszt: complete Sonnetti del Petrarca, ‘Dante’ Sonata, Hungarian Rhapsody No. 14; Chopin: Sonata in B-flat Minor, 4 Scherzi, Polonaise ‘Héroïque’; ‘In Celebration of 250th Anniversary of Beethoven’ (Fantasie Op. 77, Sonatas ‘Pathétique’, ‘Moonlight’, ‘Tempest’): ‘Liszt: Rhapsodies, Études and Transcriptions’ (Hungarian Rhapsodies No. 6 and No. 13, Études d’exécution transcendante ‘Ricordanza’ and ‘Mazeppa’, Schubert/Liszt Ständchen. Erlkönig, Die Forelle); ‘Album Leaf: Piano Works by Felix Mendelssohn’ (Fantasia in F-sharp minor Sonate ecossaise, Albumblatt in A minor, Caprice in A minor, Variations serieuses, complete Etudes, Rondo Capriccioso), ‘A Reverie of the Soul: Piano Works by Robert Schumann’ (Sonata No.2, Symphonic Etudes, Arabeske, Papillons).
Ms. Agranovich is a First Place Winner of The American Prize in Piano Solo, Mykola Lysenko International Competition—former Ukrainian Young Artists Competition, and Bergen Philharmonic Competition. She is a recipient of 3 Gold and 17 Silver Medals from Global Music Awards, 4 Gold awards from One Earth Awards, 2 Best Instrumentalist awards from InterContinental Music Awards, Master Prize and Best Beethoven Performance from Beethoven International Competition, 2 Gold Medals from Prestige Music Awards, Best Classical Artist and Best Classical Solo from World Entertainment Awards, Diamond Prize and Best Schubert Performance from Schubert International Competition, Diamond Prize and Best Debussy Performance Special Award from the Claude Debussy International Music Competition, Diamond/Platinum and Artist awards from World Classical Music Awards, Grand Prize from UK International Music Competition, Best Classical Solo / Best Classical Album / Hall of Fame from Akademia Music Awards; 6 Best Classical Piano Albums and Best Classical Performance from Clouzine International Music Awards, 2 Best Classical Artist / Best Female Classical Artist / 3 Best Classical Recording / Best Instrumental Recording from Radio Music Awards, Best Classical Recording and Hall of Fame from Indie Music Channel, 12 Platinum / 3 Gold / 2 Instrumentalist of the Year awards from LIT International Music Awards, Best Classical Album from One World Music Radio, Steinway Top Teacher Award, Industry Leader and Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Awards and more.
Her albums and live concerts are broadcast worldwide, most recently in Brazil on Universidade FM 106.9 “Company of the Music”, in Canada on CKWR and Grand101.1 FM “Women in Music”, Berlin, Munich, Rome, New Zealand, London, Tokyo, Osaka, Southampton, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Portugal, Paris, Tel-Aviv, Taiwan, Canary Islands, Brazil, WMNR Fine Arts Radio, SiriusXM, NPR WLPR-FM “Art on the Air”, WQXR Greene Space live with Elliott Forrest, on WWFM “Between the Keys” with Jed Distler, WWFM “Piano Matters” and WQXR “Reflections from the Keyboard” with David Dubal.
A native of Ukraine, Sophia Agranovich won the Mykola Lysenko International Competition at ten, being the youngest participant. At thirteen she performed Concerto in E minor by Chopin in Chernivtsi, Lviv and Kyiv. Her concerts were broadcast on national TV and radio stations. Her teachers in Ukraine were professors Anna Stolarevich and Alexander Edelmann, peers of Vladimir Horowitz in the class of Felix Blumenfeld and disciples of Heinrich Neuhaus. At fifteen, Ms. Agranovich entered the Juilliard School in New York City as a student of legendary professor Sascha Gorodnitzki, who himself was a student of Josef Lhevinne (peer of Sergei Rachmaninoff and Alexander Scriabin). While at Juilliard, she also studied with Nadia Reisenberg, a disciple of the St. Petersburg piano school of Leonid Nikolaev and student of Hofmann and Alexander Lambert – student of Franz Liszt. Ms. Agranovich earned Bachelor and Master Degrees from the Juilliard School, holding full scholarship and a Fellowship teaching Piano Minor at Juilliard. After graduating Juilliard, Ms. Agranovich began working towards her Doctorate at the Columbia University, but deferred that pursuit to raise a family
Sophia Agranovich is an esteemed pedagogue, lecturer, master class clinician, adjudicator, and is a recipient of numerous teaching awards. Her students often win top prizes in regional, national and international competitions and are playing at prestigious venues and internationally. They had been accepted to Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, New York University, Mannes College and other notable universities. Their performances were broadcast on radio and TV, including WWFM “Kids on Keys” and WQXR “Young Artists Showcase”. Ms. Agranovich is an active member of various professional music organizations, listed annually in “Who’s Who in America” and “Who’s Who in the World”, has been featured in American Record Guide, Fanfare Magazine, New York Times, The Whole Note, Broadway World, World Culture Times, Musical America, FOX News, News ABC and other major media outlets as well as in indie music publications and international news. She is a voting member of NARAS (GrammysR) and GrammyU mentor, Artistic Director of “Classicals at the Circle” music series at the Watchung Arts Center and a Program Chair of Music Educators Association of New Jersey.
A Steinway Artist, Sophia Agranovich has graced concert stages around the world. Recently she played solo concerts at the Pennautier Festival and Juan-les-Pins in France where she premiered compositions dedicated to her by Françoise Choveaux, and was invited to China and Brazil. Among other major festivals she had participated is Les Arts George V in Paris, Festival Musicale delle Nazioni in Rome, and Aspen in US. Some of her prestigious venues are David Geffen Hall, Bruno Walter Auditorium and Paul Hall at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Weill Recital Hall, Merkin Hall, Roerich and Metropolitan museums, Bargemusic, Tenri Cultural Institute, Polish Cultural Foundation, Lambert Castle, Watchung Arts Center, Sieminski Theater, Salle Cortot, Théâtre Na Loba, American Cathedral in Paris, Ehrbarsaal, Gesellschaft für Musiktheater, Palais Khevenhüller, Kaiser Hall, Sala Baldini, Teatro di Marcello. She is also performing in numerous colleges, universities, museums and libraries. Ms. Agranovich has collaborated with Mark Peskanov, Shlomo Mintz, Christopher Collins Lee, Andrew Litton, Alexander Mishnaevsky, Andrew Lamy, Brett Deubner, Gregory Singer, Anatole Wieck, Rupam Sarmah, Lili Haydn, Hamid Saeidi, Kathleen Supove, award-winning Emmy, Grammy, and Billboard top ten musical artists, and members of the major orchestras.
Sophia Agranovich co-produced and released 11 albums and several singles. Her recordings are charting in top 10 across all musical genres on One World Music Radio and on World Top Radio Airplay Charts. Her discography received outstanding reviews and includes ‘Romantic Virtuoso Masterpieces’ (works by Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Schumann, Scriabin), ‘Franz Liszt – Bicentennial Tribute’ (‘Un Sospiro’, ‘La Campanella’, Rhapsodie Espagnole, Sonata in b minor); ‘Passion and Fantasy’ (Beethoven: ‘Appassionata’, Chopin: Fantaisie and Sonata in b minor); complete Brahms-Paganini Variations; Schumann: Symphonic Etudes, Schumann-Liszt: ‘Widmung’; Schubert: ‘Wanderer’ Fantasie and Chopin: 4 Ballades; Schumann: Carnaval and Fantasie; Chopin: Polonaise-Fantaisie and Nocturne Op. 48 No.1, Liszt: complete Sonnetti del Petrarca, ‘Dante’ Sonata, Hungarian Rhapsody No. 14; Chopin: Sonata in B-flat Minor, 4 Scherzi, Polonaise ‘Héroïque’; ‘In Celebration of 250th Anniversary of Beethoven’ (Fantasie Op. 77, Sonatas ‘Pathétique’, ‘Moonlight’, ‘Tempest’): ‘Liszt: Rhapsodies, Études and Transcriptions’ (Hungarian Rhapsodies No. 6 and No. 13, Études d’exécution transcendante ‘Ricordanza’ and ‘Mazeppa’, Schubert/Liszt Ständchen. Erlkönig, Die Forelle); ‘Album Leaf: Piano Works by Felix Mendelssohn’ (Fantasia in F-sharp minor Sonate ecossaise, Albumblatt in A minor, Caprice in A minor, Variations serieuses, complete Etudes, Rondo Capriccioso), ‘A Reverie of the Soul: Piano Works by Robert Schumann’ (Sonata No.2, Symphonic Etudes, Arabeske, Papillons).
Ms. Agranovich is a First Place Winner of The American Prize in Piano Solo, Mykola Lysenko International Competition—former Ukrainian Young Artists Competition, and Bergen Philharmonic Competition. She is a recipient of 3 Gold and 17 Silver Medals from Global Music Awards, 4 Gold awards from One Earth Awards, 2 Best Instrumentalist awards from InterContinental Music Awards, Master Prize and Best Beethoven Performance from Beethoven International Competition, 2 Gold Medals from Prestige Music Awards, Best Classical Artist and Best Classical Solo from World Entertainment Awards, Diamond Prize and Best Schubert Performance from Schubert International Competition, Diamond Prize and Best Debussy Performance Special Award from the Claude Debussy International Music Competition, Diamond/Platinum and Artist awards from World Classical Music Awards, Grand Prize from UK International Music Competition, Best Classical Solo / Best Classical Album / Hall of Fame from Akademia Music Awards; 6 Best Classical Piano Albums and Best Classical Performance from Clouzine International Music Awards, 2 Best Classical Artist / Best Female Classical Artist / 3 Best Classical Recording / Best Instrumental Recording from Radio Music Awards, Best Classical Recording and Hall of Fame from Indie Music Channel, 12 Platinum / 3 Gold / 2 Instrumentalist of the Year awards from LIT International Music Awards, Best Classical Album from One World Music Radio, Steinway Top Teacher Award, Industry Leader and Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Awards and more.
Her albums and live concerts are broadcast worldwide, most recently in Brazil on Universidade FM 106.9 “Company of the Music”, in Canada on CKWR and Grand101.1 FM “Women in Music”, Berlin, Munich, Rome, New Zealand, London, Tokyo, Osaka, Southampton, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Portugal, Paris, Tel-Aviv, Taiwan, Canary Islands, Brazil, WMNR Fine Arts Radio, SiriusXM, NPR WLPR-FM “Art on the Air”, WQXR Greene Space live with Elliott Forrest, on WWFM “Between the Keys” with Jed Distler, WWFM “Piano Matters” and WQXR “Reflections from the Keyboard” with David Dubal.
A native of Ukraine, Sophia Agranovich won the Mykola Lysenko International Competition at ten, being the youngest participant. At thirteen she performed Concerto in E minor by Chopin in Chernivtsi, Lviv and Kyiv. Her concerts were broadcast on national TV and radio stations. Her teachers in Ukraine were professors Anna Stolarevich and Alexander Edelmann, peers of Vladimir Horowitz in the class of Felix Blumenfeld and disciples of Heinrich Neuhaus. At fifteen, Ms. Agranovich entered the Juilliard School in New York City as a student of legendary professor Sascha Gorodnitzki, who himself was a student of Josef Lhevinne (peer of Sergei Rachmaninoff and Alexander Scriabin). While at Juilliard, she also studied with Nadia Reisenberg, a disciple of the St. Petersburg piano school of Leonid Nikolaev and student of Hofmann and Alexander Lambert – student of Franz Liszt. Ms. Agranovich earned Bachelor and Master Degrees from the Juilliard School, holding full scholarship and a Fellowship teaching Piano Minor at Juilliard. After graduating Juilliard, Ms. Agranovich began working towards her Doctorate at the Columbia University, but deferred that pursuit to raise a family
Sophia Agranovich is an esteemed pedagogue, lecturer, master class clinician, adjudicator, and is a recipient of numerous teaching awards. Her students often win top prizes in regional, national and international competitions and are playing at prestigious venues and internationally. They had been accepted to Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, New York University, Mannes College and other notable universities. Their performances were broadcast on radio and TV, including WWFM “Kids on Keys” and WQXR “Young Artists Showcase”. Ms. Agranovich is an active member of various professional music organizations, listed annually in “Who’s Who in America” and “Who’s Who in the World”, has been featured in American Record Guide, Fanfare Magazine, New York Times, The Whole Note, Broadway World, World Culture Times, Musical America, FOX News, News ABC and other major media outlets as well as in indie music publications and international news. She is a voting member of NARAS (GrammysR) and GrammyU mentor, Artistic Director of “Classicals at the Circle” music series at the Watchung Arts Center and a Program Chair of Music Educators Association of New Jersey.