BY KAREN BOSSICK
The program Zlata Chochieva has created for The Argyros seems fitting for the past two years of a world rocked by a pandemic, extreme weather, political upheaval and, now, war.
Titled “Dances of Joy and Sorrow,” her concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 13, was inspired by what she calls “the old saying” that was the epigraph to Schumann’s “Davidbundlertanze”
“In each and every time joy and grief go hand in hand:
“Keep faith in times of joy and meet grief with courage.”
Most of the works I will present in my program are connected by a base or a hint of a dance,” said the pianist. “Manifesting in each work in such different ways, the dance is the bridge between the soul and the world.”
Chochieva, who is making her first appearance in Sun Valley, has been hailed by Gramophone as “the possessor of a comprehensive technique who brings an inner glow to every bar.” She has performed around the world from San Diego to Singapore.
Her 2021 album is “(re)creations”--piano transcriptions by Rachmaninoff, Liszt and Friedman that lend new life to works by J.S. Bach, Mendelssohn, Schubert and Mahler.
Chochieva attained international attention with her recordings of works by Chopin and Rachmaninov. She even serves on the board of Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Ivanovka estate, the summer residence where he composed most of his work between 1890 and 1917. There she champions a festival called “Rachmaninoff’s Evenings in Ivanovka.”
“While they are very different composers, both Chopin and Rachmaninoff share the ability to make the world look and sound much more colorful, genuine, profound, and beautiful,” she said.
Rachmaninoff was a national hero for Chochieva, who was born in Moscow and received her education there. At 27 she moved to Salzburg, Austria, where she studied and taught at the University Mozarteum. She moved to Berlin in 2019 and lives there today.
“Berlin is a bigger city with great energy and which has been home to so many artists,” she said. “It’s also nice to be in touch with the German language and culture, which have always been very attractive to me. I’m pleased to present this program based on works by German composers.”
Tickets to Friday’s performance range from $20 to $40 and are available at https://theargyros.org/calendar/zlata-chochieva/.