Classical Pianist Polina Bespalko to Perform at Xavier University, 5/1

The Xavier University Music Series will conclude the current season with a solo performance by critically acclaimed classical pianist and X.U. music professor Polina Bespalko on Sunday, May 1, at 2:30 p.m. All proceeds from the concert will benefit the Music Series.

Bespalko has appeared throughout the world, including solo performances with the acclaimed Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra. At her upcoming concert at X.U., she plans to perform selections by Franz Liszt, Johann Sebastian Bach, Franz Schubert, and Pyotr LLyich Tchaikovsky.

"The second half of the concert will consist of a performance of Tchaikovsky's 'Seasons,' which is about the circle of life. It is not very often performed in its entirety." Bespalko said. "I will also perform 'Totentanz' by Liszt, which was originally written for a full orchestra, but is very deep as a solo piano piece."

Described as an "amazing virtuoso" by the late, world-famous pianist Nikolai Petrov, Bespalko has received numerous awards and accolades, including the Silver Medal in the 2001 Wideman Piano Competition and the Grand Prix in the Rachmaninov Concerto Competition in Sicily. The Brazilian newspaper Correio Brasilense lauded her as having a "complex, vigorous, demanding, and energetic attitude at the piano."

https://youtu.be/tK0yrFs8mjc

Bespalko has been performing professionally since the age of 8, and has lived in the United States since 2001. Born in Mozambique, she moved with her family to Brazil before relocating to her parents' homeland of Russia. She earned a Masters Degree at the acclaimed Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow and, later, a Doctorate degree at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM). After graduating from CCM, she accepted a teaching position at Xavier University.

"My international background has been a huge influence on me, musically," Bespalko said. "In Moscow, there are about 150 venues where musical performances change almost every day, so audiences are always exposed to new things. Rather than compete with other musical organizations in Cincinnati, my goal is to work with them to bring Xavier a greater variety and quality of visiting artists than you would not ordinarily see here. I love music so deeply that I cannot separate it from my everyday life, and I am grateful I get to promote the universal language of music."

The Xavier University Music Series will present Polina Bespalko in the Gallagher Theater at Xavier University, 3800 Victory Parkway, Cincinnati, Ohio, on Sunday, May 1, at 2:30 p.m. Tickets range in price from $3 to $20 and can be ordered by calling 513-745-3939 or by visiting www.xavier.edu/musicseries/.

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