Press
press
18.03.2026
Fortress of internal freedom by Polina Osetinskaya
The boundaries between fiction and life in some artists seem to become emblematic of their existence — the only possible artistic credo.
The biography of the Russian pianist Polina Osetinska discusses the need for freedom, empathy, and opposition to repression. The consequences of her Open appearances in Russia are that, unlike some other artists, she cannot perform in her own country. Her career takes place outside the borders of her homeland, but nevertheless, unlike many others, she decided to continue living with her family in Moscow, thus turning her daily life into a kind of internal emigration.
Even if we do not know the background, her Belgrade recital held on the grand stage of the National Theatre at the Stanley piano presents the following dilemma: whether art represents an escape from reality, or, on the contrary, indicates a cry for freedom. To the writer of these lines it seems that this is the latter, because, interpreting the compositions of Bach, Glinka and Rachmaninoff, Osetinskaya not only bravely redefined all the famous performance canons, but she has completely managed to adapt her own statements to what the soul wants to say — far from all the masks and games of the world. The thesis is not easy to prove, and this presentation will be dedicated to just that.
The concert began with a transcription of the overture of the Christmas Oratorio, with soft piano beats resembling the lightly accented movements of woodwind instruments that should reflect the Arcadia space from which The Pianist was transmitting the good news. Characteristic of her interpretation is a stable meter that grows into metaples and permeates every part of the interpretation of all Bach transcriptions that were in the repertoire, and it is a Chorale Prelude Jesus remains my joy, aria from Cantata no. 127 the soul rests in Jesus ' hands, the Chorale Prelude awake, the voice calls us, the Concerto in a minor according to Vivaldi and the Chacona in d minor from the violin Partita No. 2. In such a way, Ossetian turned this sequence into an uninterrupted melody that moved quite freely through a stably founded metric, which in an unambiguous way indicates the Trinity: artist, ethics / faith, sound.
The Chacona, as a strict variation Ostinato form that reaches monumental proportions, in addition to obtaining in some properties a volume worthy of organ sound, also seemed to be a triumph of the growth of the aforementioned Trinity, which was at the same time facing inward — that is, towards its own center of gravity. The sound, which in the physical sense in the pianist comes from the weight of the shoulders, was imprinted with the fingers in the key precisely in accordance with the intensity of the experience of the Being passing through the landscapes of idealized nature and innocent church song.
The ethereal melodic singing and soft-impressed melodies of Bach's Arias and choral preludes indicate an aesthetic fusion with the postulates of the Russian piano school which insists on binding melodic phrases as human voices. However, the authorativity of the artist, who presents himself to the audience as the undisputed master of sound and all that he needs to express, is simply rejected by Ossetian. Instead of repeating the piano canons of the twentieth century, this artist offers the audience what modern man needs — an intimate confession, a journey through the inner worlds, an escape from Authority, and finally, the freedom of the spirit, and therefore physical freedom.
The second movement began with Mikhail Glinka's Nocturne in F minor, parting, and continued with the selection of Sergei Rachmaninoff's prelude. Glinka's Salon piece brought an uninterrupted melodic line cleansed of every kind of pathos, including the Imperial-authoritative one, which is the position from which the great pianists whose Ossetian successor performed. A selection of Rachmaninoff preludes, especially those better known in which pianists exhibit "muscle" and "Russian strength" such as op. 3 no. 2 in cis Minor and op. 23 br. 5 in G minor, for this artist represented something much more than that. After the first Prelude in cis Minor, the first six preludes from Opus 23 were performed, in F minor, B Major, D minor, D Major, g minor and Es major, which are marching and energetic in character. Then came the nsgli break with prelude op. 32 br. 5 in which the pianist wanted to return to the Paradise space of the first part of the concert, this time with an airy, impressionistic invoice that she presented with many shimmering, flashing tones.
Followed by prelude. 32 br. 12 in a GIS minor in which the sound of bells and lamentable melodiousness definitely marked a discontinuity in relation to the thunder of the piano displayed through the ocean-produced waves of the prelude op. 23 br. 2 in B major. In both cases, however, Ossetian built the confessional tone of interpretation with such ease that the physical force, although present all the time, was so much in the service of the narrative that it would not occur to the listener to contemplate the technical sovereignty of the pianist. We were all actually inside her sound, inside a made-up City made up of mixed lyrics with drama and melodies penetrating experiences so complex that they are hard to explain in words. Her Rachmaninoff spoke of something that was deeply personal and yet, on the other hand, lived many times and across many generations.
After intersecting the program with ethereal interplay from Opus 32, it was followed by a return to opus 23 and Prelude No. 7 in c minor and No. 8 in Es major. The first prelude seemed like a Bach metaples, but still presented in a kind of "Russian key", with a certain weight of sound that does not allow this piece to be treated as a mere technical ethic. Finally, the last Prelude, which is one of Rachmaninoff's most complex writings, is played as sfumato, a quick brush stroke, in the form of an act of final liberation after all the hardships of the journey.
Through the gradual construction of the inner fortress of the spirit, upgraded by the string of Bach's pieces, and then through a painful lyrical cross-section of Rachmaninoff's triumphant overtures with a lament filled with a song, Ossetian discovered that for a true artist, freedom is a subjective event that can elevate and inspire, but also that it hurts a lot and severely. Therefore, her Belgrade performance was not only a concert where uncompromising top-notch pianism was expressed, but it also spoke about the victory of the spirit over the perishable misery of lies and repression.
Muzickilimbo.rs
All materials of the “Press” section →
The biography of the Russian pianist Polina Osetinska discusses the need for freedom, empathy, and opposition to repression. The consequences of her Open appearances in Russia are that, unlike some other artists, she cannot perform in her own country. Her career takes place outside the borders of her homeland, but nevertheless, unlike many others, she decided to continue living with her family in Moscow, thus turning her daily life into a kind of internal emigration.
Even if we do not know the background, her Belgrade recital held on the grand stage of the National Theatre at the Stanley piano presents the following dilemma: whether art represents an escape from reality, or, on the contrary, indicates a cry for freedom. To the writer of these lines it seems that this is the latter, because, interpreting the compositions of Bach, Glinka and Rachmaninoff, Osetinskaya not only bravely redefined all the famous performance canons, but she has completely managed to adapt her own statements to what the soul wants to say — far from all the masks and games of the world. The thesis is not easy to prove, and this presentation will be dedicated to just that.
The concert began with a transcription of the overture of the Christmas Oratorio, with soft piano beats resembling the lightly accented movements of woodwind instruments that should reflect the Arcadia space from which The Pianist was transmitting the good news. Characteristic of her interpretation is a stable meter that grows into metaples and permeates every part of the interpretation of all Bach transcriptions that were in the repertoire, and it is a Chorale Prelude Jesus remains my joy, aria from Cantata no. 127 the soul rests in Jesus ' hands, the Chorale Prelude awake, the voice calls us, the Concerto in a minor according to Vivaldi and the Chacona in d minor from the violin Partita No. 2. In such a way, Ossetian turned this sequence into an uninterrupted melody that moved quite freely through a stably founded metric, which in an unambiguous way indicates the Trinity: artist, ethics / faith, sound.
The Chacona, as a strict variation Ostinato form that reaches monumental proportions, in addition to obtaining in some properties a volume worthy of organ sound, also seemed to be a triumph of the growth of the aforementioned Trinity, which was at the same time facing inward — that is, towards its own center of gravity. The sound, which in the physical sense in the pianist comes from the weight of the shoulders, was imprinted with the fingers in the key precisely in accordance with the intensity of the experience of the Being passing through the landscapes of idealized nature and innocent church song.
The ethereal melodic singing and soft-impressed melodies of Bach's Arias and choral preludes indicate an aesthetic fusion with the postulates of the Russian piano school which insists on binding melodic phrases as human voices. However, the authorativity of the artist, who presents himself to the audience as the undisputed master of sound and all that he needs to express, is simply rejected by Ossetian. Instead of repeating the piano canons of the twentieth century, this artist offers the audience what modern man needs — an intimate confession, a journey through the inner worlds, an escape from Authority, and finally, the freedom of the spirit, and therefore physical freedom.
The second movement began with Mikhail Glinka's Nocturne in F minor, parting, and continued with the selection of Sergei Rachmaninoff's prelude. Glinka's Salon piece brought an uninterrupted melodic line cleansed of every kind of pathos, including the Imperial-authoritative one, which is the position from which the great pianists whose Ossetian successor performed. A selection of Rachmaninoff preludes, especially those better known in which pianists exhibit "muscle" and "Russian strength" such as op. 3 no. 2 in cis Minor and op. 23 br. 5 in G minor, for this artist represented something much more than that. After the first Prelude in cis Minor, the first six preludes from Opus 23 were performed, in F minor, B Major, D minor, D Major, g minor and Es major, which are marching and energetic in character. Then came the nsgli break with prelude op. 32 br. 5 in which the pianist wanted to return to the Paradise space of the first part of the concert, this time with an airy, impressionistic invoice that she presented with many shimmering, flashing tones.
Followed by prelude. 32 br. 12 in a GIS minor in which the sound of bells and lamentable melodiousness definitely marked a discontinuity in relation to the thunder of the piano displayed through the ocean-produced waves of the prelude op. 23 br. 2 in B major. In both cases, however, Ossetian built the confessional tone of interpretation with such ease that the physical force, although present all the time, was so much in the service of the narrative that it would not occur to the listener to contemplate the technical sovereignty of the pianist. We were all actually inside her sound, inside a made-up City made up of mixed lyrics with drama and melodies penetrating experiences so complex that they are hard to explain in words. Her Rachmaninoff spoke of something that was deeply personal and yet, on the other hand, lived many times and across many generations.
After intersecting the program with ethereal interplay from Opus 32, it was followed by a return to opus 23 and Prelude No. 7 in c minor and No. 8 in Es major. The first prelude seemed like a Bach metaples, but still presented in a kind of "Russian key", with a certain weight of sound that does not allow this piece to be treated as a mere technical ethic. Finally, the last Prelude, which is one of Rachmaninoff's most complex writings, is played as sfumato, a quick brush stroke, in the form of an act of final liberation after all the hardships of the journey.
Through the gradual construction of the inner fortress of the spirit, upgraded by the string of Bach's pieces, and then through a painful lyrical cross-section of Rachmaninoff's triumphant overtures with a lament filled with a song, Ossetian discovered that for a true artist, freedom is a subjective event that can elevate and inspire, but also that it hurts a lot and severely. Therefore, her Belgrade performance was not only a concert where uncompromising top-notch pianism was expressed, but it also spoke about the victory of the spirit over the perishable misery of lies and repression.
Muzickilimbo.rs
All materials of the “Press” section →