"Sublime Passion, Haunting Beauty" - Sophia Agranovich in Recital at the Watchung Arts Center

Pianist Sophia Agranovich, an esteemed interpreter of music of the Romantic Era, will perform a recital in the sophisticated Heinz W. Otto Gallery of the Watchung Arts Center on Saturday, May 21 at 8 PM. A Musician’s Reception follows the concert.

The program will feature Franz Liszt’s epic Après une Lecture du Dante: Fantasia quasi Sonata - inspired by Victor Hugo’s poem ‘After a Reading of Dante’ (‘Divine Comedy’), the exquisitely poetic and passionate 3 Sonneti del Petrarca, the nostalgic and dazzling Hungarian Rhapsody # 14, as well as other works

Internationally acclaimed soloist, chamber musician, recording artist and educator, Sophia Agranovich is “a bold, daring pianist in the tradition of the Golden Age Romantics…A tigress of the piano” - Fanfare. Her performances are captivating audiences by the “orison of uncommon beauty” - Audiophile, “the extraordinary dramatic urgency”, “the ideal balance she achieves between the intellectual and the emotional” - Fanfare, “interpretation that dares to be different”, “magnificent shading and superior musicianship” - American Record Guide.

A Steinway Artist, Ms. Agranovich had performed in the USA, Europe, Israel, and Canada. Among her venues are Avery Fisher Hall, Bruno Walter Auditorium and Paul Hall at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, Merkin Concert Hall, Steinway Hall, and Bargemusic, all in New York City; Salle Cortot in Paris, Ehrbarsaal in Vienna. Ms. Agranovich has collaborated with prominent musicians and with members of the major orchestras.

Sophia Agranovich’s discography received outstanding reviews and includes “Romantic Virtuoso Masterpieces” (works by Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Schumann, Scriabin - 2010), “Franz Liszt - Bicentennial Tribute” (“Un Sospiro”, “La Campanella”, Rhapsodie Espagnole, Sonata in b minor - 2012), “Passion and Fantasy” (Beethoven: “Appassionata”, Chopin: Fantaisie and Sonata in b minor - 2014), Brahms-Paganini Variations books I and II, Schumann: Symphonic Etudes, Schumann-Liszt: “Widmung” - 2014, Schubert: ‘Wanderer’ Fantasie and Chopin: 4 Ballades - 2015, Schumann: Carnaval and Fantasie - 2016. Recently Ms. Agranovich was awarded a Silver Medal from Global Music Awards, and her recordings were broadcast in Brazil on Universidade FM 106.9 “Company of the Music”, in Canada on CKWR ‘Women in Music’, and in New York on WWFM ‘Piano Matters’ and WQXR ‘Reflections from the Keyboard’ with David Dubal.

A native of Ukraine, Sophia Agranovich won the Ukrainian Young Artists Competition at 10, being the youngest participant. Her concerts were broadcasted on national TV and radio stations since she was 6. Her teachers were Anna Stolarevich and Alexander Edelman, peers of Vladimir Horowitz in the class of Felix Blumenfeld. At 15, Ms. Agranovich entered the Juilliard School in New York where she studied with legendary professors Sascha Gorodnitzki and Nadia Reisenberg. Ms. Agranovich earned Bachelor and Master Degrees from Juilliard, holding a full scholarship and a Teaching Fellowship and won a First Prize in the Bergen Philharmonic Competition. Ms. Agranovich was working towards her Doctorate in Music Education at the Columbia University, but deferred that pursuit to raise a family.

Sophia Agranovich is an esteemed pedagogue, lecturer, master class clinician, adjudicator, and is a recipient of numerous teaching awards. Her students are consistently winning top prizes in regional, national and international competitions and are performing at prestigious venues. Ms. Agranovich is a voting member of NARAS, listed in ‘Who’s Who in America’ and ‘Who’s Who in the World’, active member of various professional music organizations, listed in Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in the World, a voting member of NARAS, Artistic Director of the classical music series at the Watchung Arts Center, and Program Chair of the Music Educators Association of New Jersey.

For more information, visit www.sophiagranovich.com.

Tickets are $16 in advance, $20 (18 for WAC members, $10 for students) at the door.

Tickets may be purchased online at watchungartscenter.eventbrite.com. To obtain more information about upcoming performances, classes and workshops, and monthly art exhibitions, please visit WatchungArts.org or call 908-753-0190.

The Watchung Arts Center, located at 18 Stirling Road in Watchung on the Watchung Circle, is a multi-disciplinary arts facility serving Watchung, the surrounding communities and the Tri-State Area.