{"id":120347,"date":"2025-12-16T10:09:02","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T15:09:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=120347"},"modified":"2025-12-16T13:00:02","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T18:00:02","slug":"interview-pianist-anastasia-rizikov-talks-upcoming-toronto-recital","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2025\/12\/16\/interview-pianist-anastasia-rizikov-talks-upcoming-toronto-recital\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Pianist Anastasia Rizikov Talks About Her Upcoming Toronto Recital"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_120349\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-120349\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-120349\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2025-12-16T100737.356.jpg\" alt=\"Classical pianist Anastasia Rizikov (Photo courtesy of the artist)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2025-12-16T100737.356.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2025-12-16T100737.356-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2025-12-16T100737.356-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/12\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2025-12-16T100737.356-768x402.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-120349\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Classical pianist Anastasia Rizikov (Photo courtesy of the artist)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Canadian-born classical pianist Anastasia Rizikov is bringing a program she\u2019s calling Continuum to Toronto\u2019s Trinity-St. Paul&#8217;s centre on January 10. The concert is subtitled \u201cNot a Piano Recital \u2014 a continuum of human emotion\u201d and incorporates music from Bach to Silvestrov and Fasil Say.<\/p>\n<p>Born in Toronto to Ukrainian parents, Anastasia has made her home in Paris, France, for several years.<\/p>\n<p>We caught up with her to talk about the upcoming Toronto concert and more.<\/p>\n<h2>Anastasia Rizikov<\/h2>\n<p>Anastasia Rizikov was born in Toronto, and began studying music at the age of five at the Nadia Music Academy. She won a string of top prizes at local music competitions in the GTA, including the Markham Music Festival, Yips Music Festival, and North York Music Festival, among several others.<\/p>\n<p>Anastasia also won first prize at both the Canadian Music Competition (CMC) and the Canadian Chopin Competition. The latter led to a gala performance at Koerner Hall. The Glenn Gould Foundation awarded a C1X Yamaha baby grand piano to the \u201coutstanding young pianist Anastasia Rizikov. Ms. Rizikov has the piano on an indefinite loan-basis to aid in her artistic and career development\u201d in December 2012, on the occasion of Glenn Gould&#8217;s 80th Anniversary Year and his GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award. That year, she was also awarded the 2013 Debut Atlantic concert tour.<\/p>\n<p>More prize wins would follow, including 3rd Prizes at 6th Tbilisi International Piano Competition and 63rd Maria Canals International Music Competition, along with special prizes \u201cFor the best foreign performer of a Georgian Composer\u2019s work\u201d (Tbilisi, Georgia, 2017), \u201cSpecial Prize to the youngest semi-finalist\u201d, \u201cSpecial Prize to the best performance of Isaac Albeniz\u2019s music\u2019, and \u201cSpecial Prize to the best performance of Frederic Mompou&#8217;s music\u201d, (Barcelona, Spain, 2017).<\/p>\n<p>She went on to continue her studies at the \u00c9cole Normale de Musique de Paris in France, where she earned her Dipl\u00f4me Sup\u00e9rieur de Concertiste. Anastasia furthered her studies with master classes with a range of prominent pianists, including Sergei Babayan, Vladimir Feltsman, Awadagin Pratt, Arie Vardi, Robert Levin, Ferenc Rados, Anatoly Ryabov, and Oxana Yablonskaya. She has also worked with Andr\u00e1s Schiff, Emanuel Ax, Menahem Pressler, Gabor Tak\u00e1cs-Nagy, and Olga Kern.<\/p>\n<p>Anastasia has performed with orchestras across North America and beyond, including the Northwest Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Plymouth Symphony Orchestra (Michigan Philharmonic), Toronto Sinfonietta, International Symphony Orchestra, Orquesta Sinf\u00f3nica de Baleares \u2018Ciudad de Palma\u2019, National Academy Orchestra of Canada, Sinfonia Toronto, Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Michigan Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra London Canada, Symphony Nova Scotia, Northumberland Orchestra, Orchestre Symphonique de Laval, and the National Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine, among others.<\/p>\n<p>Anastasia Rizikov performs Bach\u2019s Toccata and Fugue in E minor, BWV 914 live in January 2024 by Arpeggio Films at L&#8217;eclaireur Herold in Paris, France:<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/uCcVLLF49ms?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<h3>Anastasia Rizikov: The Interview<\/h3>\n<p>\u201cI moved to Europe when I was 18. It\u2019s been almost ten years that I\u2019ve been living in Paris,\u201d Anastasia says. \u201cI do consider myself Parisian at this point.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Having begun her career in Toronto, she\u2019s noticed differences between the audiences she encounters now that her music practice is based in Europe.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI feel like the European audiences in general have a broader taste in terms of the kind of classical music that they like to listen to,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<h3>The Program<\/h3>\n<p>She\u2019s carefully chosen the pieces to include in her Toronto concert. They are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>J.S. Bach: Partita in C Minor BWV 826<\/li>\n<li>F. Schubert \/ F. Liszt \u2014 Lieder: Gretchen am Spinnrade &amp; Erlk\u00f6nig<\/li>\n<li>V. Silvestrov \/ A. Rizikov: Farewell, O World, Farewell, O Earth<\/li>\n<li>G. Mahler \/ A. Rizikov: Adagietto from Symphony No. 5<\/li>\n<li>E. Block \/ A. Rizikov: From Jewish Life<\/li>\n<li>F. Say: Black Earth<\/li>\n<li>I. Shamo-Hutsul: Watercolours<\/li>\n<li>M. Skoryk \/ A. Rizikov: Carpathian Rhapsody<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The works were chosen with purpose.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s definitely a very broad, but at the same time personal, journey that\u2019s going on,\u201d Anastasia says. \u201cEach composer and each work represents a very important point either in my personal life, or my upbringing, my cultural background,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n<p>Along with her Ukrainian heritage, her family has Jewish roots, she explains.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut then there\u2019s also Bach on the program,\u201d she says. \u201cBach has always, always been a very important, a key role in my repertoire, in my studies. It was very important to include him in the program.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The title of her recital, Continuum, frames the program as a kind of journey.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI present it as a musical journey that continues on form the 17th century up to the present time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>From its beginning with Bach, the journey continues with the Schubert\/Liszt Lieder. It also recalls student days and her earlier music studies, but she wanted to veer away from the a program full of Chopin studies and pieces like Liszt\u2019s Hungarian Rhapsody, once staples in the concert scene.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese kinds of programs are simply uninteresting for the public\u201d she says. Modern audiences are looking for more than showmanship. \u201cThe audience needs to feel connection with the artist,\u201d she explains. \u201cWhen you play music that is personal to yourself, it translates to the audience. They feel it more intensely.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The program is one she\u2019s just put together. \u201cIt\u2019s a very new program, but in my head it works very well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>On her way to a meeting during the interview, she points out that she\u2019s passing by the offices of Warner Music France as she talks. Rizikov has recorded albums with the Warner Classics label.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Bach and the Schubert I\u2019ve played for a long time, but the rest of the program has been curated spontaneously,\u201d she explains.<\/p>\n<p>Anastasia Rizikov performs Lyapunov\u2019s Etude Transcendante No. 10, Op. 11 \u201cLezghinka\u201d in Salle Colonne in Paris, August 2023:<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5iDGjvnO5-k?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<h3>Making Arrangements<\/h3>\n<p>About half of the program consists of works that she\u2019s arranging for piano herself, including music by Silvestrov, Mahler, Block, and Skyork.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe reason I decided to do a lot of arrangements, on the one hand, I\u2019m so fortunate to be a pianist, because here is no repertoire that I can\u2019t [do],\u201d she explains. But, she wanted to expand on the idea of performing repertoire that was specifically written for the piano.<\/p>\n<p>Valentin Silvestrov\u2019s Farewell, O World, Farewell, O Earth is the fourth movement from his 1999 work Requiem for Larissa, a tribute to his late wife. It was a piece Larissa wanted to expand on pianistically, although it is written as a choral work.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvery time I hear it, and every time I play it, I have chills going down my spine,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p>Mahler\u2019s Symphony No. 5 has a similarly emotional impact. \u201cThere\u2019s a reason why Leonard Bernstein was buried with the 5th Symphony of Mahler,\u201d Rizikov says. \u201cIt\u2019s incredible music.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Arranging symphonic and choral works for piano requires an understanding of the instrument.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have to on one hand to understand he limits of the piano as a percussive instrument,\u201d she explains. \u201cBut, I happen to have a lot of experience playing with orchestras, but also playing with choral ensembles, and conducting,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n<p>The Block and Skoryk works were among the most challenging to arrange. \u201cMy goal in arranging these pieces is to turn something from 2D to 3D.,\u201d Anastasia adds.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIndeed, it\u2019s not a very easy task. The piano cannot sing words, but the music, in the case of this Silvestrov piece, the music is so hauntingly beautiful that I feel like the words aren\u2019t even necessary,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSilvestrov is able to tell a very gut wrenching story. It\u2019s a song of somebody who is leaving this earth, and everybody is saying their goodbyes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The piece also links to her Ukrainian heritage. \u201cMusic is important to play these days from a political standpoint as well,\u201d Rizikov begins. \u201cIt\u2019s very important to bring to light Ukrainian music.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s something she\u2019s been emphasizing in her repertoire for some time. \u201cI\u2019ve always been one to play a lot of Eastern European music, including Russian music,\u201d she says. \u201cI feel like it\u2019s hard to play Russian music these days. It doesn\u2019t sit right with me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Part of her goal is also to play the work of relatively unknown composers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m pretty sure that composers like Shamo, for example, [is someone] that people haven\u2019t heard of.\u201d She points out that Shamo is known largely for a pop song he wrote, \u201cKyieve Mii\u201d (My Kyiv). His main oeuvre, however, lies in the classical realm.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWatercolours I think is a brilliant work,\u201d she says, mentioning the influence of Debussy. \u201c[There\u2019s] nothing quite like it. There\u2019s some colours in this music that I don\u2019t think I\u2019ve ever heard of.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It leads to Skoryk\u2019s piece, which incorporates musical idioms of the Carpathian mountains. She points out also that the Hutsul scale (the Hutsuls being an East Slavic ethnic group of the Carpathian highlands), also known as the Ukrainian Dorian scale, also overlaps with Jewish music. \u201cThey have so much in common.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>She knows Turkish pianist and composer Fazil Say personally, having recorded his <a href=\"https:\/\/open.spotify.com\/track\/1QpORQbJ6m55Ht01yGkHvW\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Four Cities (D\u00f6rt \u015eehir), Op. 41, with cellist Lisa Strauss on the Warner label in 2024<\/a>. It was a piece she\u2019d performed multiple times live.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a very extraordinary individual who likes to combine musical textures,\u201d she says of Say. The work in her concert program, Black Earth, involves playing from inside the piano, creating a sound similar to the Turkish duduk, a double-reeded woodwind instrument.<\/p>\n<h3>A Journey In Concert<\/h3>\n<p>Rizikov is aiming to offer her audience a mix when it comes to concert experiences.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think it\u2019s a concert with a pretty healthy combination of pieces that are very virtuosic, but also, on the other hand, are very spiritual, are very deep and philosophical,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s a bit of everything in this concert.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The concert takes place January 10 at Jeanne Lamon Hall in the Trinity-St Paul\u2019s centre.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Find concert details and tickets [<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.eventbrite.ca\/e\/anastasia-rizikov-continuum-piano-recital-tickets-1968808972636\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HERE<\/a><\/strong>].<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em>Are you looking to promote an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/advertising\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #0e101a\"><u>event<\/u><\/span><\/a>? 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