Legendary Pianist Natalya Antonova in Class and All-Chopin Concert at HSU

Natalya Antonova is the definition of a living legend, as a pianist and as a teacher. She is coming to Humboldt State University in both of these roles, culminating in an all-Chopin concert on Saturday evening, October 2. For local audiences and students “it’s an incredible opportunity,” said pianist and HSU Music professor Daniela Mineva.

As a performer, Antonova is “a superb stylist and extraordinary technician,” Mineva said. “Her gloriously artistic playing seduces with sensitivity and powerful interpretations. Many of her peers refer to her piano recitals as life-changing events.”

Natalya Antonova began studying piano at the age of four at the Leningrad Conservatory, where she would later become the youngest professor since the school’s founding in 1862. She has performed throughout the world, participating in many international festivals, and has given hundreds of master classes and lectures, from the Moscow Academy of Music and the Paris Conservatory to the New England Conservatory and Taiwan University.

"She represents the best of the famous Russian School of Piano Playing," Mineva said, referring to a set of approaches and techniques originally developed in the 19th century, which also honors individuality.

At HSU her solo concert will honor the 200th anniversary year of Frederic Chopin’s birth, providing a diverse sampling of his work beginning with his first published piece, the Rondo in C Minor. “Chopin banished the ordinary from his music, and opened the door to an emotional ambiguity that continues to intrigue listeners,” writes NPR’s Ted Libbey. “Every piece he produced was a pearl.”

Antonova will play Chopin’s Scherzo #1 in B Minor and his Fantasy in F Minor. In the concert’s second half, she performs 10 of the 24 Preludes Chopin composed in the 1830s as a series of short pieces, each in one of the 24 musical keys. She concludes with a two movement work, Andante spianato et grande polonaise brillante, originally published as a work for piano and orchestra.

Currently a professor at the Eastman School of Music, Antonova is also a legendary teacher, with many successful international pianists among her former students. In addition to her performance, she will teach a Piano Master Class in Fulkerson Hall at HSU at noon on October 1, free to HSU students and the community. “As a teacher,” said Daniela Mineva, “Ms. Antonova is simply magical.”

Natalya Antonova performs an all-Chopin concert on Saturday October 2 at 8 pm in the Fulkerson Recital Hall on the HSU campus in Arcata. Tickets: $8/$3 students and seniors from HSU Ticket Office (826-3928) or at the door. A Guest Artist Series concert produced by the HSU Department of Music.

Media: lead story at Humboldt State Now; Tri-City Weekly, Arcata Eye, Humboldt Beacon, North Coast Journal.