Irina Zahharenkova

Irina Zahharenkova is one of the most distinguished keyboard players of her generation in Estonia. She performs as a pianist, harpsichordist and fortepiano player. Beginning her musical studies at the age of four, Irina studied piano at the Georg Ots Tallinn Music School and later at the Estonian Academy of Music and Theatre as well as the Sibelius Academy.

Irina Zahharenkova has won prizes at numerous competitions, including the Johann Sebastian Bach Competition in Leipzig (2006), the Alessandro Casagrande Piano Competition in Terni, Italy (2006), the George Enescu International Piano Competition in Bucharest, Romania (2005), and the Premio Jaén International Piano Competition in Jaén, Spain (2004).

She has appeared at festivals in Estonia, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, Finland, France, Romania and Norway, among others. As a soloist, she has performed with several orchestras, including the BBC Ulster Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchester National de Lorraine, the Israel Symphony Orchestra, the North Carolina Symphony, Sinfonietta Rīga, the Plzeň Philharmonic Orchestra, the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra and the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra.

In 2020, Irina Zahharenkova received the Annual Award of the Estonian Cultural Endowment’s Music Endowment for her high‑level international concert activity and her brilliant and distinctive interpretations of the works of J. S. Bach.

Programme

Tue
14.7.

Felix Mendelssohn (1809—1847):

Concerto in D minor for violin, piano and strings (1823)

Wed
15.7.

Toivo Kuula (1883—1918):

Tuijotin tulehen kauan (Long gazed I into the Fire), Op. 2 No. 2 (1904–07, lyrics: Eino Leino)

Wed
15.7.

Leevi Madetoja (1887—1947):

Serenade, Op. 16 No. 1 (lyrics: Eino Leino)

Wed
15.7.

Oskar Merikanto (1868—1924):

Omenankukat (Apple Blossoms), Op. 53 No. 1 (1905, lyrics: Eino Leino)

Thu
16.7.

Franz Liszt (1811—1886):

Liebestraum (Dream of Love) No. 3, S. 541 (1850, arr. for cello and piano by Gaspard Cassadó)

Fri
17.7.

Johann Christian Bach (1735—1782):

Sonata in A, Op. 17 No. 5 for fortepiano (1779)

Sun
19.7.

J. C. Bach (1735—1782):

Sonata in G, Op. 15 No. 5 for two keyboards (1778)

Sun
19.7.

Pyotr Tchaikovsky (1840—1893):

December - Christmas from The Seasons, Op. 37b for piano (1876)

Wed
22.7.

Ethel Smyth (1858—1944):

Sonata in A minor, Op. 5 for cello and piano (1887)

Wed
22.7.

Camille Saint-Saëns (1835—1921):

Danse macabre, Op. 40 (1874, transcription for violin and piano)

Thu
23.7.

Ethel Smyth (1858—1944):

Variations on Bonny Sweet Robin for flute, oboe and piano 'Ophelia's Song' (1927)

Fri
24.7.

Pyotr Tchaikovsky (1840—1893):

Valse - Scherzo in C, Op. 34 (1877; arr. for violin and piano by composer)

Fri
24.7.

Witold Lutosławski (1913—1994):

Dance Preludes for clarinet and piano (1954)

Fri
24.7.

Excerpts from the Work The Short-Tempered Clavier by musical satirist P. D. Q. Bach

Fri
24.7.

Excerpts from the Work The Short-Tempered Clavier by musical satirist P. D. Q. Bach

Sat
25.7.

Jean Sibelius (1865—1957):

Mazurka, Op. 81 No. 1 for violin and piano (1915)

Sat
25.7.

Jean Sibelius (1865—1957):

Rondino, Op. 81 No. 2 for violin and piano (1917)

Sat
25.7.

Alfred Schnittke (1934—1998):

Sonata No. 2 for violin and piano 'Quasi una Sonata' (1968)