In April 2023 we reported that the Putin police had broken up a Shostakovich and Weinberg recital by Polina Osetinskaya, a pianist who spoke out against the Ukraine invasion.
Since then, Polina has struggled to be heard. When she announced a recital in Barcelona, fellow-pianist Gabriela Montero flew home early to hear her. Gabi tells us it was one of the most memorable recitals she has ever heard:
A few months ago, I first read about Polina Osetinskaya on Slippedisc… I was struck by her immense courage, her resolve and her unquestionable ethical stance. She dared to repeatedly speak out against the Russian invasion of Ukraine while living in Moscow, where she still resides. Her raw honesty and burning desire to become involved and oppose the war came at a high price. All her concerts were cancelled in Russia and she put her life on the line. She dared to speak truth to power and her heroism struck a nerve, in contrast with those in our classical industry who prioritize contacts and work over ethics.
Activism can be a lonely, scary and treacherous road and here was a woman – and a mother, no less – just a few years younger than me, risking it all for truth. The unbearable weight of watching people around her suffer, her passion for the best of her homeland and culture, and a desire to see evil erased from the country she deeply loves, is something Polina and I share. I know and understand that fire within. Here was a girl who shows a determination, spirit and relentlessness to speak out for the many, regardless of the consequences to herself.
I reached out to her last year when I read we’d be in Vienna on the same day. We met for a coffee and shared a bit of our story. I immediately loved her and felt connected. I hadn’t yet heard her play.
I did hear her play this past Friday in Barcelona. Sam and I drove straight from the airport to the Liceu Conservatory to listen to her recital of Bach and Tchaikovsky transcriptions. She should have been playing at El Palau.
Polina gave the most magical, masterful, sensitive, impassioned, pianistically sublime, honest, vulnerable and selfless recital I have ever heard. Her ability to remove herself while being fully present, allowing the music to shine and live through her storytelling of loss, love, pain, strength and hope, was so deeply touching. Just human. Real. Unaffected. The theater of substance. Here was this girl, this brave girl, giving us everything she had as though saying, “I just want you to hear the truth, whether it’s through my words or my music”. I heard her message so clearly, and was deeply moved, astounded, left in absolute admiration of her as a woman and artist.
There are a few living pianists I love: Martha, Babayan, Volodos, Kantorow, Grosvenor, Yunchan, Zimmerman, Yuja, Beatrice and a few others. I could make a long list of the great ones of the past I love and wish I’d heard.
Polina belongs in the pantheon of greats. I heard her courage and selflessness. I heard her love for humankind. I heard her deep sadness, matched by resilience. Her artistry conveys the personal stamp of someone who speaks through musical metaphor. I understand what she’s trying to say.
I told her nothing would make me happier than to see her at the very, very top where she belongs. A Queen, a grand and real artist, a committed one, so true to herself and her convictions.
Polina is a huge star in Russia, but she’s yet to become a star in the West. I told her I would write to every conductor I know and work with and ask them to listen to her and invite her. I’m sure many know of her, but they should all be knocking on her door. I ask that if you’re reading this, please do the same. She should be playing in every major concert hall with every major orchestra and conductor. The whole world should hear her, know her and support her.
I have a very short list of people I look up to. Many of them are human rights activists, and some are artists.
Polina is both.
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