Voices of Women: Natalia Kazaryan, Piano
General Admission: $50
Senior (65+): $35
Student (6+): $35
Member: Use ID # to receive 15% discount
Come as early as 6:30 PM to purchase a drink and check out the current exhibition.
Acclaimed as “a marvel among marvels … fascinating, elegant” (Nice-Matin), Georgian pianist Natalia Kazaryan has been embraced by audiences across the U.S. and Europe not only for her virtuosic talent and mesmerizing stage presence, but also the ways her recitals transcend traditional programming to celebrate the extraordinary contributions of women composers. By weaving together the old and new, the familiar and unfamiliar, Natalia’s recitals become more than just dazzling performances — they exemplify the possibilities for diverse, balanced programming in classical music.
Join Kazaryan on a journey across more than 100 years of music in the intimate setting of MoCA Westport’s galleries. Immerse yourself in the vivid sounds and vibrant rhythms of the Balinese gamelan in Vivian Fung’s “Kotekan” before surveying vast emotional landscapes in piano miniatures of Johannes Brahms and Lili Boulanger, where every note resonates with the depth of human experience. Grażyna Bacewicz’s Second Piano Sonata, whose music journeys between moments of lush romanticism and fiery modernism, offers an arresting listening experience, while Maurice Ravel’s Le Tombeau de Couperin reaches across time to celebrate the elegance and poise of popular French dances from the 18th century.
Program:
Vivian Fung – “Kotekan,” from Glimpses
Maurice Ravel – Le Tombeau de Couperin
Lili Boulanger – Trois morceaux pour piano
Johannes Brahms – 6 Klavierstücke, Op. 118
Grażyna Bacewicz – Piano Sonata No. 2
From Tbilisi, Republic of Georgia, pianist Natalia Kazaryan has been hailed by The New York Sun for her “prodigious ability,” remarking that she “immediately established an atmosphere of strength and confidence.” She is “a marvel among marvels … fascinating, elegant” (Nice-Matin) and “incredible” (All Classical Portland).
Dedicated to giving equal platform to lesser-known composers in her public appearances, she notably curated and performed a recital of all women composers at the Smithsonian Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C., a performance The Washington Post named “one of the best classical concerts of the summer 2019.”
As a soloist, she has recently performed both major and lesser-known concertos — including those of Florence Price, Clara Schumann, Rachmaninov, Grieg, Prokofiev and Mozart — with the National Symphony Orchestra, the Ann Arbor Symphony Orchestra, the National Orchestral Institute Philharmonic, Harrisburg Symphony, the Alexandria Symphony Orchestra, and other ensembles across the country. Ms. Kazaryan’s acclaimed performance of Price’s Piano Concerto in One Movement, conducted by James Ross, was featured on Front Row Washington (WETA), DC’s classical music radio station.
She is co-founder of Washington Arts Ensemble, a nonprofit dedicated to delivering an unforgettable chamber music experience. Having completed its inaugural season, the groundswell of support for this venture has propelled it well into the future as a touchpoint for many artists who want to connect with this highly unique community. DC Metro Theater Arts best summarized the zeitgeist of this organization: “Economists and policymakers rub shoulders with students, connect over drinks and fine hors d’oeuvres, experience live music together, and meet again afterward to engage with the artists themselves.”
Recent standout performances include Ms. Kazaryan opening Portland Piano International’s return to in-person concerts, which was guest curated by Angela Hewitt; a George Walker Musical Portrait at the Phillips Collection in Washington DC; and appearing in a solo recital on the prestigious Chicago series, Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concerts.
Over the pandemic, Ms. Kazaryan released three EPs to Spotify and Apple Music: Lili Boulanger’s Trois morceaux pour piano; Bacewicz Piano Sonata No. 2; Ravel’s Gaspard de la nuit. All recordings were previously made at her Philadelphia recital debut presented by Astral Artists, which included a special commission by Alexandra Gardner. In 2016, she won Astral’s National Auditions.
She has appeared in the U.S. and Europe at key venues such as New York’s Merkin Concert Hall, Philadelphia’s Kimmel Cultural Campus, Salzburg’s Schloss Mirabell, Monaco’s Théâtre des Variétés, Madrid’s Auditorio Sony, and Paris’ Salle Cortot and Musée Carnavalet. She performs regularly at the Palazzo Tornabuoni in Florence and has participated in the IMS Prussia Cove Master Classes in Cornwall, England.
Ms. Kazaryan began studying piano at the age of six and performed as soloist with the Tbilisi State Chamber Orchestra just one year later. She studied in the preparatory division of the Tbilisi Music Conservatory with Alla Nakashidze. She now holds both a Bachelor and a Master’s degree from The Juilliard School, where she studied under Jerome Lowenthal and Matti Raekallio. She completed doctoral studies at the University of Michigan under Logan Skelton.
The first Juilliard student to participate in the Carla Bruni-Sarkozy exchange with the Paris Conservatoire, Ms. Kazaryan studied piano in Paris with Michel Béroff and chamber music with Valérie Aimard. An active chamber musician, she took part in the Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship, dedicated to collaboration between The Juilliard School, the Paris Conservatoire, and the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien. She later won both a Fulbright Grant and a Harriett Hale Woolley Scholarship to Paris to continue her studies, with a focus on Olivier Messiaen’s Vingt Regards sur l’enfant Jésus.
From 2013-2015, she studied at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid, under Dimitri Bashkirov, and in June 2014 received a “Sobresaliente” Award from the hands of Queen Sofía of Spain for outstanding work and excellence.
Ms. Kazaryan is on the faculty of Howard University in Washington D.C.
MoCA Westport Health & Safety Policy
Click here for the most up-to-date health and safety guidelines.
Refund & Weather Policy
Tickets are transferable to another concert of your choice or other individuals. If a concert is cancelled due to weather conditions, tickets will be valid for the rescheduled date. Please consider the price of unused tickets as a donation. No refunds will be issued.