Olga Scheps, Family Review

Classical

Olga Scheps, Family Review

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Olga Scheps is the daughter of two pianists and discovered the instrument for herself at the age of four. In 1992, her family moved to Germany, since then she has earned scholarships from the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben and Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes. Scheps completed her studies with Professor Pavel Gililov in her adopted home of Cologne in 2013, passing her Concert Examination with Distinction. She rounded out her training with Professor Arie Vardi and Professor Dmitri Bashkirov. Scheps has developed her own unique style of keyboard playing, which combines intense emotiveness and powerful expressivity with extraordinary pianistic techniques. Scheps’s principal repertory consists of Classical and Romantic composers and is known for her interpretations of works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Frédéric Chopin, Felix Mendelssohn, Franz Schubert, Franz Liszt, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Nikolai Medtner, and Edvard Grieg. At the same time, she has a particular interest in compositions that are seldom heard in the concert hall, including the posthumous Études of Chopin, Liszt’s rarely performed Malédiction, Olivier Messiaen’s Les Oiseaux exotiques, Antonin Dvorak’s Piano Concerto, and pieces by Anatoly Lyadov. Since 2010, Scheps has been an exclusive Sony Classical artist, beginning with her debut album Chopin, which won an ECHO Klassik award. All her subsequent albums have reached the top ten in the classical charts. Scheps now lives in her adopted home of Cologne, traveling from there to classical music festivals and concert series in many different countries. She performs with worldwide leading orchestras and conductors. She is now releasing her latest album titled Family.
[section label=”Bottom Line”]Bottom Line:  Family is Scheps integrating Joseph Haydn’s Piano Sonata No. 37, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Piano Sonata No. 16, Claude Debussy’s Arabesque No. 1, Ludwig van Beethoven’s Die Wut über den verlorenen Groschen op. 139, Edvard Grieg’s Ketan & Vivan Bhatti Morning Mood Variations, Antonio Vivaldi’s Svetoslav Karparov Four Seasons Variations, and film music arrangements for piano from The Tree of Life, Finding Nemo, Toy Story, Up, Unravel Two, Avatar, and The Blue Planet. “Morning Mood Variation (Arr. for Piano from Peer Gynt Suite No.1, Op. 36 by Ketan & Vivan Bhatti)” opens the album with a gentle mood and displays Scheps’ soothing touch and lyrical approach at the piano. Mozart’s Sonata No. 16 is a beautiful performance by Scheps. The “Allegro” movement is playful as Scheps approaches the well-known melodies assiduously and reverently, never rushing through the note values or over embellishing the phrases. “Siciliana” is a hauntingly beautiful melody that is introspective and relaxing. Scheps’ pacing is stunning in that she plays the space as effectively as she does the theme. “2 Arabesques, CD 74/L.66: I. Andantino con moto “conveys Scheps’ convincing sweeping phrases with well-timed silences and overall sonic and melodic continuity. Overall, Family is a romantic blend of modern and traditional classical music performed with Scheps rhythmic spring, unique touch, and long-lined fluency. The nineteen tracks are relaxed and stylistically attuned to Scheps’ eloquent, perfectly paced romantic style of performing. That’s the short of it!

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