Shropshire: Classical

Friday 30 January 2026

7:00pm

St Chad, Shrewsbury

Polina Osetinskaya: piano

Bach: Weichnachtsoratorium, BWV248, Simfonia
Bach: Choral prelude Jesus bleibet meine freude, BWV147
Bach: Die Seele Ruht in Jesu Händen from BWV 127
Bach: Choral prelude Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme, BWV140
Bach arr. Noack: Concerto in A minor for four harpsichords, BWV1065
Bach-Busoni: Chaconne in D-minor from Violin Partita No.2, BWV1004
Rachmaninov: Prelude, Op.3, No.2
Rachmaninov: Preludes, Op.23, Nos.1,2,3,4,5,6
Rachmaninov: Preludes, Op.32, Nos.5,12
Rachmaniniov: Preludes, Op.23, Nos.7,8

Please note the amended details for this concert.

Polina Osetinskaya is one of the most distinctive pianists of her generation, renowned for her poetic intensity, intellectual refinement, and boldly curated recital programs. Born in 1975, she was recognized as a prodigy almost immediately: she began piano studies at five, made her recital debut at six, and performed her first concerto at eight. Her early training at the Moscow Central Music School, followed by studies at the St. Petersburg and Moscow Conservatories with Marina Wolf and Vera Gornostayeva, shaped her into an artist of uncommon sensitivity and discipline.

Osetinskaya has since built an international career that spans the world’s leading stages, including the Berlin Philharmonie, the Musikverein in Vienna, London’s Barbican Centre, the Salzburg Festival, and Carnegie Hall. Her repertoire reflects a deep commitment to meaningful artistic storytelling: she often juxtaposes baroque and classical works with contemporary voices such as Arvo Pärt, Valentin Silvestrov, and Leonid Desyatnikov, creating programs that highlight emotional resonance across centuries.

Her extensive discography includes releases on Quartz, Naxos, Sony, Bel Air, and Melodiya, and she is also the author of the bestselling memoir Farewell, Sadness, which chronicles her childhood as a prodigy with candor and insight. Today, Polina Osetinskaya is celebrated both for her technical mastery and for her ability to illuminate the spiritual and psychological depth of the music she performs.

She is plainly a pianist of a superior order. Martin Anderson

Tickets: £25.00 and £22.00; (under-18s and full-time students £12.00 and £11.00) HERE