Bulgaria, Holland, USA… These are the three countries that have played a crucial role in Nadezhda Vlaeva’s career as a pianist. While studying with Prof. Anton Dikov at the Pancho Vladigerov National Music Academy in Sofia, she enrolled in the Conservatory of Amsterdam, Holland. How did she continue her university education in the “land of tulips’?

“I won the Franz Liszt Piano Competition and I was offered a scholarship, so I settled in Holland. But I greatly admired Russian pianist and lecturer Lazar Berman, so while in Holland, I frequently traveled to Germany where he lectured for lessons with him. That is a memorable time for me, a time when the foundations of my performing career were laid. After three years of studies in Amsterdam, I decided to go overseas to see what living and studying in USA was like. To my enormous surprise, I felt at home there, so I went on to study one more year. I settled in New York and have been living there ever since.”

In 2000 Nadezhda Vlaeva made her debut at Carnegie Hall. She has released 5 CDs and is now planning a sixth one. She loves to return to Bulgaria but does not often perform in this country. That is the reason why her fans were so excited about the concert she gave in Studio No. 1 of the Bulgarian National Radio on April 22, in memory of Prof. Anton Dikov. He was her tutor in the course of only three years but left a mark on her career that would last a lifetime. During her brief stay in Bulgaria, the pianist also made recordings at the BNR. The composers and works she chose to leave in the BNR’s archives are: Alexander Vladigerov - Toccata, Sergei Rachmaninoff - Prelude No. 6, Op. 23, Sergei Bortkiewiez – Mazurka No. 1 and No. 2, Richard Wagner – Death of Isolde, a Franz Liszt version.

Besides works by the romantics, Nadezhda Vlaeva also loves to perform pieces by composers who are not widely popular.

“As years go by, I seem to be going back to my roots more and more and have been turning to Russian composers. The spirit of Slavic music is close to my heart. This passion of mine turned my attention to Sergei Bortkiewiez, a composer that is new to me, with works that have not yet been published. He had a difficult life; during the war he sent many of his works but they were never published. His second sonata was discovered only recently and I performed it. With the very first notes I played I felt it touch my very soul. Its power of expression, the nostalgia, the lyricism, the virtuosity of Russian music are all things that have a powerful influence on me. Pianists must “sing” on the instrument. It is this vocalization that holds such an attraction for me and it is a must when one performs works by Russian composers. All this fascinates me. Three months ago I became a Yamaha artist. This means that when I play the company provides the instruments. In January this year I attended an event where a short film about me was screened, and that was when Yamaha made their offer. Of course, that does not mean I am restricted to their instruments only. When I return to New York I will leave for California, where I will give several concerts for the company – brief presentations, combined with lectures and the above-mentioned film.”

This is a forum at which Nadya Vlaeva will play Alexander Vladigerov’s Toccata – a piece that has been part of her repertoire for quite some time. The newly discovered works by Sergei Bortkiewiez are also featured. The film dedicated to the pianist is in fact a 4-minute cartoon video to Bach’s Cantata Overture in the version by Camille Saint-Saëns – a work that has been included in her latest CD. And it was source of inspiration for director Bracey Smith who made the film about Nadezhda Vlaeva. The film’s artist is Neil Dvorak. Its premiere took place at the Lincoln Centre last year and was screened at the Museum of Modern Art. Since then the video has been taking part in different festivals in USA.

The audio features the following works:

-  Sergei Rachmaninoff, Prelude No. 6;

-  Sergei Bortkiewiez, Mazurka No. 1, Op. 64;

-  Sergei Bortkiewiez, Mazurka No. 2, Op. 64.

English version: Milena Daynova