Franz Schubert. Piano music for four hands.

On July 27, the piano duo Naily Saripova (Estonia) & Vjatšeslav Novikov (Ukraine-Finland) will perform Franz Schubert’s music for four hands at the Arvo Pärt Centre. The collaboration between the piano duo Novikov-Saripova began in 2005 at the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival in Finland. So far, the duo has mainly dedicated themselves to the works of Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert. In 2013, the piano duo released the album “Mozart-Schubert. Piano Music for Four Hands”, which has been highly appreciated by critics both in Estonia and abroad.

“The sound evidence born from the collaboration between Naily Saripova and Vjatšeslav Novikov has been mapped with three major works that represent milestones in both the duo genre and the entire chamber music landscape. The highly charged interpretation captures the listener’s senses with an exciting sound space, a unique sense of detail, and an inspiring whole” (Mailis Põld 2014).

Pianist Vjatšeslav Novikov was born in Kharkiv, Ukraine, and has lived and worked in Finland since 1989. He studied at the Kiev Conservatory under Prof. Vsevolod Toplin (a student of Heinrich Neuhas). Novikov’s musical career began as a soloist with the Kiev Philharmonic, and he is also a founding member of the Kiev Trio. Novikov has performed with both groups in many parts of the former Soviet Union, but in recent years he has performed as a soloist and chamber musician in Russia, Brazil, Japan, Ukraine, Germany, and Turkey. In November 1996, Vyacheslav Novikov performed in Estonia for the first time in a long time, receiving an equally enthusiastic reception from the audience and critics (“That evening, the hall smelled of genius” – Lilian Semper, Eesti Päevaleht 1998), as is customary in Novikov’s new homeland in Finland (“Novikov belongs to the elite of piano-playing thinkers” – Seppo Heikinheimo, Helsingin Sanomat 1989). All of his piano evenings in Estonia to date have received an enthusiastic reception, and his master classes have been highly appreciated. Novikov is particularly close to the composers of the classical-romantic era – Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin – whose work he interprets with unique poetics and depth.

Pianist Naily Saripova began her piano studies at the Nõmme Music School in the piano class of Nathalie Maasin, and in 1996 she continued her studies at the G. Ots Music School under the guidance of Mailis Põllu. Since 2000, she studied at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre in the piano class of Professor Aleksandra Juozapenaite-Eesmaa, and in 2013, Naily Saripova defended her doctoral degree at the EMTA.

Naily Saripova has successfully participated in several international competitions. In 2002, she won the 3rd prize at the Konzerteum International Piano Competition in Greece; in 2003, she received a diploma at the Val Tidone Competitions – Silvio Bengalli Prize in Italy; in 2004, in a duo with soprano Alfia Kamalova, she won the Estonian Academy of Music Prize and the Estonian Radio Prize at the 8th Estonian Young Performers Competition-Festival Con Brio ’04. In 2015, Naily Saripova released her first solo album “Beethoven Diabelli Variations op 120. Naily Saripova LIVE”.

Programme:

Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
– Rondo in A major D 951
– Variations in A flat major D 813
– Andantino varié in B minor D 823
– Fantasy in F minor D 940
– Lebensstürme in A minor D 947