Polina Osetinskaya started playing the piano at the age of five. At six years old, she performed on stage for the first time. In 1982, she enrolled in the Central Music School at the Moscow Conservatory named after P.I. Tchaikovsky. In winter 1983, she gave her first solo concert in Moscow. At the age of eight, she performed Bach's Concerto in D minor with the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra conducted by Saulius Sondeckis in Vilnius.
In 1987, when Polina was eleven years old, she made her debut in the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory. She performed Mozart's Concerto No. 23 in A major with the Chamber Orchestra conducted by Georgy Vetsikovsky. Polina continued her musical education at a specialized school in St. Petersburg. She completed her external studies at the St. Petersburg Conservatory in 1998 In 2000, she finished her assistantship at the Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory.
Polina Osetinskaya can be heard at Carnegie Hall, the Vienna Musikverein, the Barbican in London, the Teatro Argentina in Rome, major halls in Russia, Germany, Poland, as well as at festivals in Russia, Europe, and America. The pianist has performed with musicAeterna Orchestra, the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, the State Symphony Orchestra of the Republic of Tatarstan, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra, the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia named after E.F. Svetlanov, and the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. Among her stage partners are conductors Teodor Currentzis, Vladimir Spivakov, Laurent Petitgirard, Tugan Sokhiev, Alexander Sladkovsky, Vasily Sinaysky, Andrey Boreyko, Dmitry Liss, Gerd Albrecht, Jean-Pascal Tortelier, and Thomas Sanderling. Polina Osetinskaya is the author of the bestselling book "Goodbye, Sadness," released in 2008 and reissued in 2022 In the book, the author tells about the unusual circumstances of her childhood and her difficult path as a musician.
On the first day of Russia's war against Ukraine, pianist Polina Osetinskaya expressed her position through Instagram: "A dark day in our history. Horror, shame, and disgust. Friends from Ukraine, Kyiv, Odesa - I have no words, I didn't think I would have to experience something like this!" The consequences of this statement did not take long to appear - major Russian concert halls started canceling Osetinskaya's concerts one after another without providing any reasons.
In the 2022/2023 season, Polina Osetinskaya had a triumphant joint tour with Maxim Vengerov in the United States and Canada. Following the tour, the pianist received an invitation to return to the United States for a series of solo concerts, and this summer she successfully completed her solo tour in American cities. Additionally, in the fall of 2022, Polina had sold-out concerts in Latvia and Italy, and among her upcoming engagements for the 23rd year are Spain and Israel, Latvia and Estonia, Romania and China.
In Cyprus, Osetinskaya will give a concert premiering the program "BAROQUE MUSIC IN AUTHOR'S CINEMA."
PROGRAM
Part I
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1759)
1. Italian Concerto for Harpsichord in F major, BWV 971 (1735) I. Allegro II. Andante III. Presto ("The Talented Mr. Ripley," 1999; dir. Anthony Minghella)
2. Orgelbüchlein (Little Organ Book) BWV 599-644 (1712-1717) Chorale Prelude in F minor "Ich ruf zu dir, Herr Jesu Christ" ("I Call to You, Lord Jesus Christ") BWV 639, Weimar, 1713 ("Solaris," 1972; dir. Andrei Tarkovsky)
3. Toccata in E minor for Keyboard, BWV 914 (1705-1714) ("Fingers," 1978; dir. James Toback)
4. Sonata No. 2 in E-flat major for Flute and Basso continuo, BWV 1031 II. Siciliano ("Breaking the Waves," 1996; dir. Lars von Trier)
5. Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor for Organ, BWV 582 (1706-1713) ("The Godfather," 1972; dir. Francis Ford Coppola)
Part II
George Frideric Handel (1685-1759)
1. Suite for Harpsichord No. 4 in D minor, HWV 437 (1703-1706) III. Sarabande ("Barry Lyndon," 1975; dir. Stanley Kubrick)
2. Chaconne with Variations for Harpsichord No. 2 in G major, HWV 435 (1705) ("Autumn Sonata," 1978; dir. Ingmar Bergman) Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
3. Ground in C minor for Harpsichord, ZD 221 ("The Draughtsman's Contract," 1982; dir. Peter Greenaway) Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764)
4. Pieces from Suite for Harpsichord No. 2 in E minor, RCT II (1724)
5. "Le rappel des oiseaux" (The Recall of Birds) ("Four Days in France," 2016; dir. Jérôme Reybaud)
6. "Tambourin" ("The Handmaiden," 2016; dir. Park Chan-wook)
7. "La villageoise" (The Villager)
8. Pieces from Suite for Harpsichord No. 3 in D minor, RCT III (1724)