Pianist Olga Kern in Cracow
This weekend Cracow guests world-famous pianist Olga Kern with two great Rachmaninoff’s pieces.
Her life’s story fascinated me, and her persistence in pursuing the goals earned my admiration.
I first knew her name during the 13th International Frederic Chopin Piano Competition. She was 20-year old, with dark hair, even childish face and the 1st price at the Rachmaninoff’s Competition in her CV, which started by name Poushetchnikova at that time.
But in Warsaw 1995 she just began her career. After being eliminated before the 3rd stage at the Chopin Competition 1995 and in the preliminary rounds of the 1997 Van Cliburn International Piano Contest, she went home to Moscow and underwent a complete makeover. “I change everything because I want to change my life, because I was really unhappy with my life,” she says.
She changed her surname from Poushetchnikova into Kern, which is derived from her mother’s maiden name, and the image as well, and probably this linked with more musical maturity earned her Gold, shared with Stanislav Ioudenitch, at the 11th International Van Cliburn Piano Competition in Fort Worth, Texas, 2001.
Eight years later we could attend her concert in Cracow announced as a great music event.
The programme included: the 3rd Concerto by Rachmaninoff followed by Overture “Romeo and Juliet” by Peter Tchaikovsky (for the orchestra of course) and Rachmaninoff’s Pagannini Variations again with the pianist.
Both concerts, on Friday and Saturday were sold out and the audience reacted enthusiastically.
Olga Kern plays technically perfect, and as Vladimir Horowitz used to say her fingers really are going. But I think, she plays with much emotional distance.
The Cracow Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Maestro Antoni Wit, also accompanied wonderfully and its own piece by Tchaikovsky sounded really great.
I hope, that we can attend in Cracow other concerts like that in the near future.
Marta Polanska