Anna Fedorova

Piano
Written By Boudewijn Dekker
Anna+Fedorova025_1.jpg

Anna Fedorova

Piano

Ukrainian pianist Anna Fedorova's playing is "unfailingly sensitive, poetic and tasteful” (Gramophone). Menahem Pressler said of her recent performance at the BBC proms: “It has been my greatest joy to listen to Anna Fedorova’s wonderful performance of the Chopin F minor Concerto. Her beautiful sound and natural freedom in making music with total technical security made for one of the finest Chopin performances I have heard in a long long time.”



From an early age, the Ukrainian-born pianist Anna Fedorova showed an innate musical maturity and amazing technical abilities. Her live recording of Rachmaninoff’s 2nd Piano Concerto has more than 40 million views on YouTube and is highly acclaimed by critics and world-renowned musicians. She regularly performs at the world’s most prestigious concert halls such as the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, New York's Carnegie Hall, Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, Tonhalle Zürich, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Bunka Kaikan in Tokyo, and many others.



As a soloist, Anna Fedorova has performed with the Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic, Tokyo Symphony, Yomiuri Orchestra, Russian National Orchestra, Utah Symphony, Dallas Symphony, Hongkong Philharmonic, the Netherlands Philharmonic, and many more. Called the ‘house pianist’ of the Concertgebouw, Anna Fedorova has performed there more than 30 times as well as in numerous online and television broadcasts. She is a regular guest at leading music festivals such as Verbier and Menuhin Festivals in Switzerland, Stift Music Festival in the Netherlands, Festival de Sintra in Portugal, Ravinia Festival in the USA. In July 2022 Anna performed with the Verbier Festival Orchestra at the opening of the Verbier Festival and she made her debut at the international piano festival La Roque d’Anthéron.

Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Anna helped raise well over 500,000 euros for humanitarian aid organizations in March and April 2022 alone. In the summer of 2022, Anna Fedorova was invited to be the piano soloist of the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra. Between July 28th and August 20th, they performed under the baton of Keri-Lynn Wilson at Teatr Wielki–Polish National Opera, Royal Albert Hall London (televised BBC Proms concert), Munich, Chorégies d’Orange, Konzerthaus Berlin, Edinburgh Festival, Summer at Snape Maltings, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Lincoln Centre New York (twice) and Kennedy Centre Washington.

In 2018, Anna Fedorova signed with Channel Classics Records for a series of recordings. She has re-leased three solo piano albums, four chamber music albums, and all of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concertos with the Sinfonieorchester St. Gallen. BBC Music Magazine gave a 5+5 star-review for the first album with Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 1, Preludes, and Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini. In Novem-ber the album “Fathers and Daughters” appeared featuring Anna and Dana Zemtsov and their fathers.

Anna Fedorova graduated from the Lysenko School of Music in Kyiv with Borys Fedorov and the Acca-demia Pianistica in Imola, Italy, with Leonid Margarius. She received her Master’s degree and Artist Diploma at the Royal College of Music, London, under the guidance of Norma Fisher. Her mentors include Alfred Brendel, Menahem Pressler, Steven Isserlis, and sir András Schiff.

Togehter with double bassist Nicholas Santangelo Schwartz, Anna founded the Davidsbündler Music Academy in The Hague. The academy offers young and talented musicians private lessons, masterclasses, in-depth sessions and side-by-side concerts together with established musicians. It's a unique and successful programme, which includes 15 young Ukrainian pianists on full scholarships.

 

Highlights

March 3, Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No.1 with Boston Philharmonic Youth Orchestra and Ben Zander, USA

May 26, Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3 with Schubert Filharmonia and Tomàs Grau at Palau de la Musica Barcelona

September 1, Ravel Piano Concerto in G with Brussels Philharmonic at Concertgebouw Amsterdam

 

Reviews

2023/9 Release Channel Classics CD with all Rachmaninoff concertos

“Fedorova convinces with everything: with her thoughtful tempi, richly varied dynamics, broad, breathing lines, beautiful phrasing and elaboration down to the smallest details. As a result, the listener becomes completely captivated by her powerful and lyrical playing and begins to listen to the familiar passages with renewed interest. The collaboration with the St. Gallen Symphony Orchestra is exemplary.”
— Luister Magazine
“Anna Fedorova performs Rachmaninov’s Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 4 magnificently, on the Channel Classics label. A phenomenal Ukrainian pianist defending solidarity and peace.”
— Stretto, Michel Dutrieue
“Fedorova waxes poetic and meditative whenever Rachmaninoff gives her a chance, and she maintains a light touch in the virtuosic passages.”
— American Record Guide
“(...) a fine and engaging performance, with Anna Fedorova as much a poetess as a virtuoso, and her fingers are very agile, a boon in the Finale.”
— Colin's Column

13 concerts tour performing Chopin 2 with the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra

“It has been my greatest joy to listen to Anna Fedorova’s wonderful performance of the Chopin F minor Concerto at the BBC Proms concert with the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra under Keri-Lynn Wilson. Her beautiful sound and natural freedom in making music with total technical security made for one of the finest Chopin performances I have heard in a long long time.”
— Menahem Pressler
“The pianist Anna Fedorova was a sensitive, poetic soloist in Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2, a nod to the Polish support for the Freedom Orchestra project.”
— New York Times
“In Chopin’s Piano Concerto No 2, Anna Fedorova provided laid-back virtuosity on tap, while the quality of orchestral blend was extraordinary for an ensemble giving its second ever performance.”
— Guardian *****
“Die [..Spannung in Sylvestrovs Symphonie] löst sich bei Chopins 2. Klavierkonzert, das Anna Fedorova mit großer Innigkeit spielt, ohne dabei je ihre Virtuosität in den Vordergrund zu rücken; sie ist im
wahrsten Sinne eine „Dienerin des Wer- kes“, ”
— Hamburger Abendblatt

Recital debut La Roque d’Anthéron

“Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition. With what virtuosity the young woman tackles this last part of the program. We are with her and understand everything about the exhibition which, one day, captivated the composer. All the subtleties, the phrasing, the technical freedom, the expressions are exposed. Time has stopped and the auditorium has turned into a dreamlike gallery! This is a very original creation ever created for the piano. Imagine, we walk from one canvas to another, the music pays a vibrant tribute to painting and even if the painter is not familiar to us, (Viktor Hartmann), it doesn’t matter!
Music and painting closely linked, Mussorgsky paints with music, and Ana Fedorova shakes the brushes, plays with the pigments, sometimes takes out the painting knives to work the sound material! We believe in the ability to hear colors in music and with Anna Fedorova, the impression felt musically is strong, vibrant. This also comes from the fact that his piano treatment is almost orchestral. We also like the orchestral version of an inspired Ravel, who respected the original music.
Anna Fedorova, at the end of the concert, has revealed us that it is this piece that she preferred to play that evening. She was in perfect communion with Modeste Moussorgski.
It has been seen, and heard, of course!”
— Wukali, Petra Wauters
Boudewijn Dekker
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