The Uzbekistan pianist Evgenia Rubinova stood in for Grimaud at very short notice… She played the first movement cadenza splendidly however, coming fully into her own more expressive conception of the piece. This is certainly not how Grimaud would have played it but Rubinova’s rendition was satisfying in its own terms, reminding me in parts of older pianists like Clara Haskil, or even Arrau….
…Jurowski conducted the A minor fugato section with great finesse and precision and both soloist and conductor brought the concerto magnificently to its jubilant coda with its ‘irresistable’ ‘light touch’ (Tovey).
George Hamilton, Independent, 31 May 2008
The Uzbekistan pianist Evgenia Rubinova stood in for Grimaud at very short notice… She played the first movement cadenza splendidly however, coming fully into her own more expressive conception of the piece. This is certainly not how Grimaud would have played it but Rubinova’s rendition was satisfying in its own terms, reminding me in parts of older pianists like Clara Haskil, or even Arrau….
…Jurowski conducted the A minor fugato section with great finesse and precision and both soloist and conductor brought the concerto magnificently to its jubilant coda with its ‘irresistable’ ‘light touch’ (Tovey).
Geoff Diggines, Musicweb-international, 25 May 2008
A young musician who understands a composer’s intentions and successfully conveys that responsibility to an audience, communicating without resort to those intrusive self conscious physical demonstrations, is a delight indeed. So it is with Evgenia Rubinova, a pianist fully in command of the technical difficulties, but not one to let us know where they are, or even allow us any interest in them over the sheer concentration on the music. Her performance of Chopin’s 1st Piano Concerto was enthralling, from her first entry after that long orchestral anticipation, through the slow movement pauses with which she held our breath with astonishing gentleness, to the light exhilaration of a finale that can sound a heavy peasant dance under some hands. I last heard her in Leeds almost two years ago, and my admiration then has increased tenfold. More than only a pianist, she is an artist with penetrating musical insight and a self effacing calm that holds her listeners – not so much in the palms of her own hands, powerful and beautiful though they are, but more so within the composer’s spirit.
Patric Standford, Yorkshire Post, 5 April 2008
Evgenia Rubinova is good at crowd control, as stretches of Kreisleriana demonstrated – the proverbial pin, had one been dropped, would have been heard. The Schumann and Scriabin works made up part two of Rubinova’s recital and found her in scintillating and vivid form. The first half was not quite as consistently successful, which is not to disregard the thoughtfulness and relish that Rubinova brought to Chopin’s Fantasy. If there was some splashy playing this was compensated for by Rubinova generating an of-the moment maelstrom of emotion; if some ornaments were rather ‘crushed’ and the twice-recurring march-like episode, while ideal in tempo, found the right-hand more dominant than the left (they should be equal), this was communicative music-making. Brahms’s Opus 116 Piano Pieces grouped as ‘fantasies’ – the overall title of this recital – found Rubinova both heroic and sensitive and demonstrating a poise and harmonic clarity that grew in generosity across the seven intermezzos and capriccios: the Intermezzo that is number five of the sequence (Andante con grazia ed intimissimo sentimento) found Rubinova essaying this music with a big heart, as she did the next-up Andantino teneramente.
Schumann’s fantastical cycle of eight pieces after E.T.A. Hoffmann is music that leaps off the page (or should do) and which is tempered by romance; it has a most attractive champion in Rubinova, whose shapely, poetic and fiery playing is at-one with Schumann’s impetuous and vulnerable expression. Her playing here had a melt-in-the-mouth quality, and a simple eloquence (more said with less), which compelled attention; real depth of feeling was evident in ‘Sehr langsam’ (No.6) as was some scintillating virtuosity (but not mere display) in the succeeding ‘Sehr rasch’. And, as on her recording of Kreisleriana, she produced a memorable veiled and distant pianissimo in the opening number; good to hear the same effect achieved live. That recording, on EMI’s laudable Debut series (3 53234 2), is very recommendable and also collects the Chopin and Brahms works played at this recital. In comparison with those (fine) dedicated studio performances, Rubinova has ‘moved on’ a little in her responses and showed she can add spontaneity to her already considered view of the music.
(Rubinova takes part in Brahms’s “Ein deutsches Requiem” in the composer’s arrangement of the orchestral parts for two pianos, on EMI 3 66948 2.) The Scriabin was ‘new’, therefore, and ended the advertised recital in both concentrated and expansive style, Rubinova enjoying Scriabin’s hot-house style and delivering an elemental account. Two Chopin preludes were played as encores, the last of the 24 was coruscating if not especially tragic, the doom-laden bell effect at the close rather thrown away, and the E major Prelude, for all Rubinova’s quiet majesty, doesn’t really ‘work’ when divorced. A glittering and authoritative account of the fourth piece of Rachmaninov’s Moment musicaux (Opus 16) brought this memorable recital to a resounding close.
Colin Anderson, classicalsource, 27 October 2006
Evgenia Rubinova, The Venue, Leeds
THIS is the young Tashkentborn pianist who made a startling impression on both judges and audience at the 2003 Leeds Piano Competition, winning the Silver Medal, and now building a justly deserved reputation throughout Europe and, happily, here too in the UK. Her second appearance before Leeds audiences within a fortnight was undoubtedly a second triumph.
She is a remarkably powerful and yet undemonstrative player, commanding the keyboard with easy authority and a quiet, intensely controlled performance. Her repertoire clearly fuels this inner fire both musically and technically; there was nothing in her enterprising recital that did not win our concentration and admiration. The Op. 116 set of Fantasies by Brahms have relatively few performance indications, leaving much to the pianist’s understanding – or lack of it and from the outset Rubinova imposed her understanding well and plausibly, the second and fourth Intermezzi especially capturing sensitive delicacy and quiet melancholy perfectly. Scriabin’s Fantasie was technically breathtaking, as too was the Chorale and Variations by Henri Dutilleux, as exciting as it was clever and rhythmically intriguing. Her superb control and minimal movement brought focus to the contrapuntal fascination of Shostakovich’s E flat Prelude and Fuge.
A quiet, short and atmospheric piece by the Ukranian composer Valentin Silvestrov, an elegy on the death of his wife, haunted by Mozart’s Haffner or Schubert’s singlemovement quartet, was another mark of Rubinova’s power to hold her listeners spellbound.
Patric Standford, Yorkshire Post, 16 December 2005
A night of drama and glamour
…Prokofiev’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in C, which followed, is in happier vein, but full of contrasts. Glamorous Russian soloist Evgenia Rubinova gave a scintillating performance, bringing out with equal skill the work’s soft, delicate lyricism, its heady descents into dissonance, its bristling energy and excitement.
The Huddersfield Daily Examiner, 1 December 2005
Rubinova offers The Emperor a feminine touch; Royal Liverpool Philharmonic/ Philharmonic Hall.
ONE of the music world's mysteries is the identity of the person who named Beethoven's Fifth Piano Concerto 'The Emperor'. It remains, nevertheless, a suitable title. It has the grandeur, strength and majesty to match the title. But does it need a powerful male player to bring all that out? Last night, Russian pianist Evgenia Rubinova tackled the work with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and, in truth, did bring a certain femininity to it. On the concert platform, she comes across as a slight person, beautifully dressed in a flowing black gown.
Her playing has much of the strength in her fingers and wrists – there is no great body movement, no heaving shoulders. The result was a performance that had the right power behind the playing but perhaps lacking some of the work's essential gravitas. Sometimes, when concluding a section, her left arm would drift out as if conducting the orchestra, but that was as much physical body movement as we got. Instead, her fingers pounded the keys in an impressive fashion, occasionally creating a harsh sound in the fast sections.
The romantic slow movement showed her at her best, her delicate touch caressing Beethoven's melody to great effect. She was ultimately able to display her impressive technique in the finale, those hands pounding out the rhythm.
Philip Key, Daily Post, Liverpool, 17 November 2005
Evgenia Rubinova's Bold Strokes
The Russian pianist is larger than life at the Phillips Collection
Some of the huge paintings in the music room of the Phillips Collection are best viewed from a distance, and there were times during the impressive recital that Russian pianist Evgenia Rubinova brought there on Sunday when a little more distance also would have been welcome. Rubinova, a silver medalist at the 2003 Leeds International Competition, plays with enormous power. The opening strokes of the Beethoven C Minor Sonata, Op. 111, tore through the little hall almost too violently to bear up close. The fugue that followed, played with fervent intensity and astonishing control, felt like it was being heard from inside the instrument itself, a not altogether comfortable and sometimes disorienting position to be in. But as peace asserted itself as the sonata's variations unfolded, as the play of light and passion in Dutilleux's “Choral et Variations” and the introspection of Rachmaninoff's “Six Moments Musicaux” played themselves out, intimacy once again became an ally.
Impressive as her strength and technique are, however, Rubinova is not one of those pianists for whom velocity and power are substitutes for brains and musicianship. Her performance of the Dutilleux variations reflected a thoughtful and creative artistic imagination, one that could pay close attention to details while never losing sight of the larger landscape, and her Rachmaninoff, with its focus on color and shape, was sensitive and restrained.
Joan Reinthaler, Washington Post, 18 January 2005
Pianist delivers challenging classics with drama – Young Artists Series performer at Kravis shows flawless technique during presentation of final piano sonata by Beethoven, piece by Dutilleux
The Kravis Center's Rinker Playhouse had the distinction to present the Florida debut of pianist Evgenia Rubinova Tuesday as a part of its Young Artists Series. As anyone of the enthralled audience could attest, the qualification “young” is misleading when characterizing a fully bloomed artist such as Rubinova. Her recital was beyond adjectives from beginning to end. The program started with the Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Opus 111 by Ludwig van Beethoven. The last piano sonata of the German master, it is rarely played in our region, partly because of its technical difficulties. It is, nevertheless, accessible to most audiences and an unforgettable piece when properly played. Rubinova's approach favored theatrical gestures; her Beethoven was full of contrasts of dynamics and moods. While one could take issue with her extended fermatas and rubati, her rhythmic liberties were consistent with her dramatic approach. Her flawless technique made one forget about the daunting difficulties of the second movement, and the double trills she performed with ease sounded like they should: a representation of spiritual transcendence. As a sign of respect for the audience, Rubinova repeated the exposition of the first movement, something rarely heard in performances these days.
This respect for the audience also was shown in Henri Dutilleux's Chorale and Variations. While most mainstream classical pianists shun from the music of live composers, the fact is that audiences welcome some change from the traditional repertory, as long as the new music is good and well played. In spite of his low profile, Dutilleux is certainly one of today's top composers. His output is rather small, and he avoids the publicity most of his colleagues live on. His music shows that for him quality comes above everything else. Although he uses lots of dissonances, his masterful manipulation of form, combined with the pathos present in many of his works, make his music understandable even for the non-initiated. Chorale and Variations is the final number of his first Piano Sonata and performed independently more often than as a movement. Like the last movement of Beethoven's Opus 111, it is a work where technical difficulties symbolize spiritual transcendence. Rubinova's outstanding reading made an excellent case for the music of the French master. The audience responded appropriately, cheering the performer and her selection. How often do we hear bravos for works written after World War I?
The second part was dedicated to Sergei Rachmaninoff's Moment Musicaux, Opus 16. Although the works are not, by any means, superficial, the set was a welcome departure from the emotionally draining first half of the program. As with everything she touched that evening, Rubinova turned the six numbers into gold. Her approach was, once more, highly theatrical and personal. Her rendition of the third piece, for instance, substituted the bitter sweetness one hears so often with a desolate, almost harsh interpretation. Unusually, the famous Kravis walking standing ovation did not happen: Everybody remained seated, waiting for more. Rubinova obliged, ending a perfect evening of music making with two encores: the Prélude Opus 23 No. 7 by Rachmaninoff and Liebesleid by Fritz Kreisler as transcribed for piano by Rachmaninoff.
Márcio Bezerra,The Daily News, 6 January 2005
Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Royal Albert Hall, London
GERARD SCHWARZ – the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic's music director – always said there were two places for a performer to make his or her musical name: New York and London. The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic's appearance at the Royal Albert Hall was, therefore, timely. In recent years, it's missed out on Proms appearances and the South Bank has become something of a no-go area. Bravo, then, for Classic FM. They booked the hall and the orchestra and, as it happens, it turned into Classic's most successful live event. The hall was full – that means 6,000-plus audience members: the Philharmonic Hall times three. … But it was Evgenia Rubinova's quite incredible performance of Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto which made the evening.
Glyn Mon Hughes, Daily Post, 11 October 2004
I was castigated by a friend the other day. I have a large CD collection – nearly 3,000, of which fewer than a hundred are anything other than classical music: some jazz, some 1960s pop, and some embarrassing presents which I have to keep on my shelves lest their absence be noted by their donors. It showed, I was told, that I am far too narrow in my tastes. I should open my ears to the wonders of … well, I forget which popular beat combination he suggested I try. As far as I'm concerned, you see, they are almost all a waste of time. I would rather listen to the cacophony of an orchestra tuning up than to the finished efforts of almost every pop, rock, soul, call it what you will, “musician”. Some – the Beach Boys or the Beatles, for instance – are perfectly fine as background music, but the idea that any otherwise intelligent person would choose to sit and listen to them while doing nothing else, or even go out of their way to hear them perform live, strikes me as bizarre.
And that, it seems, brands me not just as a cultural snob but as an especially ignorant one at that. Fine. If that's what my passion for classical music, and my inability to see merit in rock, means; fine. But as I was watching this weekend's Leeds Piano Competition (broadcast live on BBC4 and Radio 3), I realised that my response isn't really good enough. There has to be something more than “I like that and I don't like that”.
Out of the six finalists, each of whom played a piano concerto with the Hallé Orchestra in Leeds Town Hall, it was clear to me – and, given the result, to the jury – that there were two competitors head and shoulders above the others: the Finn, Antti Sirala, and the competitor from Uzbekistan, Evgenia Rubinova. The former had won three other competitions, and his performance of Beethoven's Fourth Piano Concerto was excellent: classically styled, and fully in command of the musical argument. But Rubinova's account of Tchaikovsky's First Piano Concerto was all that – and a lot more. It had something to say. It was of the moment – a real performance, which took off and left everything else behind. It took risks.
The result, of course, was the wrong way round. The Finn won. It was no wonder he added Leeds to his three previous competition victories. His playing was the sort of note-perfect playing which juries love: the safe rather than the risky. That was its biggest fault. It lacked what Rubinova's performance had: the spark engendered by real personality and real musical imagination.
Stephen Pollard, The Independent, 22 September 2003
Artur Pizarro of Portugal, the 1990 winner, who was commentating for television,
said either Antti Siirala or runnerup Evgenia Rubinova, 25, of Uzbekistan, was worthy of first prize. He said of Miss Rubinova: “She is beyond competition prizes. She is an amazing artist.”
