In her Pushkin House recital programme Latvian pianist Antonina Suhanova explores creative and personal bonds between early 20th century Eastern European composers. Brought together by their love of music and mutual teachers, Kalnins, Vitols, Arensky, Prokofiev, Rachmaninov and Siloti socialised, conversed and inspired each other’s masterpieces, engaging in fierce disputes. Based either in Moscow or Saint Petersburg, some chose to stay in Russia, others acted as heralds of Russian music abroad. Some chose to uphold revered traditions, others created bold new styles. The programme invites the audience to reflect on the diversity of the styles of these five composers united by their love and appreciation of the Russian musical tradition.
Programme:
Kalnins At Friend’s Grave - In Memoriam Emils Darzins (1913)
Vitols Ten folk songs Op. 29
Arensky Piano pieces Op. 53
Prokofiev Sonata no. 4, Op. 29, ‘From Old Notebooks’
Rachmaninov Sonata no. 1, Op. 28
Rachmaninov/Siloti Vocalise
Latvian pianist Antonina Suhanova has been performing on international stages since 2000. At the age of 5 she began piano studies at Pavuls Jurjans Riga Music School with Ludmila Kiselenko, making her concerto debut at the age of 8, continuing her professional development at Jazeps Medins Riga Secondary Music School with Gunta Boža and at Jazeps Vitols Latvian Academy of Music with Professor Juris Kalnciems. In 2012 Antonina commenced her studies at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (GSMD, London) under the tutelage of the distinguished British pianist Ronan O’Hora. She has participated in numerous masterclasses of world-renowned pianists, including Vladimir Ashkenazy, Dmitri Bashkirov, Boris Berman, Idil Biret, Pavel Gililov, Jaques Rouvier, Matti Raekallio, Richard Goode, Robert Levin and Yefim Bronfman. Antonina holds Bachelor of Music, Master of Performance and Artist Diploma degrees from GSMD, and her studies have been generously supported with a full scholarship throughout the years.
Antonina Suhanova has given performances at the Great Guild Hall in Riga, Moscow International House of Music, Erin Arts Centre in Isle of Man, Jerwood Hall, LSO St Luke’s, St Martin in the Fields, St James’s Piccadilly, Milton Court Concert Hall and Barbican Hall in London. She has appeared as a soloist with the Tallinn Chamber Orchestra, London’s Silk Street Sinfonia, “Sinfonia Concertante” Chamber Orchestra, Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, Liepaja Symphony Orchestra, “Moscow Virtuosi” Chamber Orchestra, and other collectives, collaborating with such distinguished conductors as Andris Nelsons and Vladimir Spivakov, amongst others. Antonina has performed at renowned festivals in the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Netherlands, Latvia, Switzerland, Austria and Russia. She made her debut performance at the Barbican Hall with the Guildhall Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Adrian Leaper as a finalist of the Guildhall Gold Medal Prize in May 2016, returning in December of the same year to perform a solo recital. In 2017 she was invited to participate in the Academie de Musique Lausanne in Switzerland where she became the festival laureate together with her duo partner Alexandra Lomeiko (violin).
Performances of Antonina Suhanova have been broadcasted by Latvian Radio 3 “Klasika”, Russian TV Channel One, Switzerland radio Espace 2 and BBC 3. Antonina is the winner of Hattori Foundation Senior Award, Kenneth Loveland Gift, Help Musicians UK, Drake Calleja Trust, and the William Brown prize in the Scottish International Piano Competition (2017). In March 2018 she was nominated for the International German Piano Award 2018.
Antonina Suhanova completed the Artist Diploma course at GSMD in July 2018, and was awarded a fellowship for the 2018 / 2019 academic year. In November 2018 she made her debut performance at the Wigmore Hall, being broadcast live on the BBC Radio 3.