Press
press
05.09.2025
Polina Osetinskaya explores piano’s full power in daring Cleveland recital
Pianist Polina Osetinskaya brings “The Art of Transcription” to Severance Music Center, reimagining orchestral and choral masterpieces for solo piano. Her emotionally rich program features works by Bach and Tchaikovsky, offering a transformative musical journey amid personal and political challenges. Jakob Tillmann
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Piano is her instrument, not the sum total of her musicality.
When Polina Osetinskaya hears groups, even full orchestras, perform, she can’t help but imagine how she herself would play the piece, if she weren’t a pianist. If she were a member of the ensemble or even its conductor.
“It’s really rare when I find an interpretation that satisfies me completely,” said Osetinskaya, by phone from Montenegro, where she was on vacation with her three children. “I often say to myself, ‘I would do it completely differently.’ It’s a question of producing art and being a creator.”
Now comes her chance to put her ideas where her hands are. Friday night at Severance Music Center, Osetinskaya will present “The Art of Transcription,” an unusually creative recital featuring nothing but transcriptions, adaptations for solo piano of works originally conceived for orchestra or other instruments.
She’ll dive deeply into the world of Bach but also into two popular works by Tchaikovsky, rendering to the best of her ability pieces for orchestra, violin, organ, or choir through the prism of a single keyboard. Most will be well known to lovers of classical music, but a few will be rarely heard or even new editions prepared just for her.
“I’m looking into the depths of my potential and the possibilities of the piano,” said Osetinskaya, an acclaimed performing and recording artist who hails from Russia but performs all over the world. “I try to see how big the piano can be, how big of an impression I can make with the piano.”
Bach aficionados, take note. This is not an evening you want to let slide.
In addition to a few relative standards – Busoni’s version of the Chaconne in D Minor, for violin, and Kempff’s take on Chorale Preludes BWV 140 and 147, for organ – Osetinskaya’s program includes a wholly new transcription of excerpts from the Christmas Oratorio, for chorus, and a stunning, one-woman edition of the Concerto in A Minor, an utterly unique work for orchestra and four harpsichords.
“I’m trying to pretend I’m not just one piano – I’m four pianos, plus an orchestra,” said Osetinskaya. “Getting to play this piece by myself is a wonderful opportunity. This is the music that I adore.”
But fans of Bach aren’t the only ones who should be interested. Those who love their Tchaikovsky also would be wise to make their way to Severance Friday.
That’s because, along with Bach, Osetinskaya also plans to perform transcriptions of two of Tchaikovsky’s greatest works for orchestra: A concert suite from “The Nutcracker” and the Scherzo from the “Pathétique” Symphony No. 6.
Just be prepared. “Nutcracker” aside, the recital Osetinskaya has planned is no light-hearted array of favorites, no mere entertainment. It’s a journey, an exploration of the piano a survey of the human experience.
“This is like someone’s whole life, from the very beginning to the very end, with all the ups and downs,” Osetinskaya said. “For me, virtuosity is never the only aim. I want to say something deeper, something that transforms listeners in their own reality.”
As it turns out, Osetinskaya could use a little of that transformation herself. These days, her own reality is one she very much wishes were different.
An outspoken critic of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Osetinskaya said she has been banned from concertizing anywhere in her homeland. This has obliged her to travel abroad more or less continuously, all the while leaving her teenage children at home.
“Times are very difficult for the children as well,” she said, asking non-Russians to understand that “Government is not equal to a country, to the people who live there and are trying to do their best.”
Thank goodness for music. For the moment, the idea of leaving Russia is “very painful,” Osetinskaya said. And so, she has leaned anew into her art, into taking “The Art of Transcription” to fresh ears in the U.S., Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Next on that list: Cleveland.
Her aim, she said, isn’t necessarily to instill new appreciation for the piano’s potential, or to boost her profile. It’s to provide an escape, a few magical moments in which a piano becomes an orchestra and the world’s problems melt away.
“Art exists to make us better, and make a better world,” Osetinskaya said. “I can’t fix everything, but I can try to make the world a better place, at least for a few hours.”
Zachary Lewis, special to cleveland.com
All materials of the “Press” section →
CLEVELAND, Ohio – Piano is her instrument, not the sum total of her musicality.
When Polina Osetinskaya hears groups, even full orchestras, perform, she can’t help but imagine how she herself would play the piece, if she weren’t a pianist. If she were a member of the ensemble or even its conductor.
“It’s really rare when I find an interpretation that satisfies me completely,” said Osetinskaya, by phone from Montenegro, where she was on vacation with her three children. “I often say to myself, ‘I would do it completely differently.’ It’s a question of producing art and being a creator.”
Now comes her chance to put her ideas where her hands are. Friday night at Severance Music Center, Osetinskaya will present “The Art of Transcription,” an unusually creative recital featuring nothing but transcriptions, adaptations for solo piano of works originally conceived for orchestra or other instruments.
She’ll dive deeply into the world of Bach but also into two popular works by Tchaikovsky, rendering to the best of her ability pieces for orchestra, violin, organ, or choir through the prism of a single keyboard. Most will be well known to lovers of classical music, but a few will be rarely heard or even new editions prepared just for her.
“I’m looking into the depths of my potential and the possibilities of the piano,” said Osetinskaya, an acclaimed performing and recording artist who hails from Russia but performs all over the world. “I try to see how big the piano can be, how big of an impression I can make with the piano.”
Bach aficionados, take note. This is not an evening you want to let slide.
In addition to a few relative standards – Busoni’s version of the Chaconne in D Minor, for violin, and Kempff’s take on Chorale Preludes BWV 140 and 147, for organ – Osetinskaya’s program includes a wholly new transcription of excerpts from the Christmas Oratorio, for chorus, and a stunning, one-woman edition of the Concerto in A Minor, an utterly unique work for orchestra and four harpsichords.
“I’m trying to pretend I’m not just one piano – I’m four pianos, plus an orchestra,” said Osetinskaya. “Getting to play this piece by myself is a wonderful opportunity. This is the music that I adore.”
But fans of Bach aren’t the only ones who should be interested. Those who love their Tchaikovsky also would be wise to make their way to Severance Friday.
That’s because, along with Bach, Osetinskaya also plans to perform transcriptions of two of Tchaikovsky’s greatest works for orchestra: A concert suite from “The Nutcracker” and the Scherzo from the “Pathétique” Symphony No. 6.
Just be prepared. “Nutcracker” aside, the recital Osetinskaya has planned is no light-hearted array of favorites, no mere entertainment. It’s a journey, an exploration of the piano a survey of the human experience.
“This is like someone’s whole life, from the very beginning to the very end, with all the ups and downs,” Osetinskaya said. “For me, virtuosity is never the only aim. I want to say something deeper, something that transforms listeners in their own reality.”
As it turns out, Osetinskaya could use a little of that transformation herself. These days, her own reality is one she very much wishes were different.
An outspoken critic of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Osetinskaya said she has been banned from concertizing anywhere in her homeland. This has obliged her to travel abroad more or less continuously, all the while leaving her teenage children at home.
“Times are very difficult for the children as well,” she said, asking non-Russians to understand that “Government is not equal to a country, to the people who live there and are trying to do their best.”
Thank goodness for music. For the moment, the idea of leaving Russia is “very painful,” Osetinskaya said. And so, she has leaned anew into her art, into taking “The Art of Transcription” to fresh ears in the U.S., Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Next on that list: Cleveland.
Her aim, she said, isn’t necessarily to instill new appreciation for the piano’s potential, or to boost her profile. It’s to provide an escape, a few magical moments in which a piano becomes an orchestra and the world’s problems melt away.
“Art exists to make us better, and make a better world,” Osetinskaya said. “I can’t fix everything, but I can try to make the world a better place, at least for a few hours.”
Zachary Lewis, special to cleveland.com
All materials of the “Press” section →