ABOUT
'Unique because there are so few pianists who, while playing, can listen to an audience in such a way that an extraordinary form of communication is created between composer, performer and audience' Pianowereld
Marietta Petkova is a celebrated pianist whose exceptional quality was quickly recognized in The Netherlands and far beyond. Her interpretation of Rachmaninov’s Études-Tableaux is legendary. She’s a pianist who knows how to reach the soul of music, whatever you understand by soul. But that’s what you experience. She leaves the score behind and gets into the psychology of the composer. She searches for the connection between the person who composed the music, revealing an underlying world of sound. That requires a finely tuned sensitivity and emotional maturity that few pianists possess. Whoever attends her concerts is sure to have an exceptional experience. Marietta Petkova knows how to move you to the bone, and how to make even over-familiar pieces sound fresh. Mighty grand pianos like the Steinway melt like wax under her hands.
Marietta Petkova was born 1968 in Ruse, a town on the river Danube in Bulgaria. She took her first piano lessons with Janeta Benun and studied in So a (with Lili Atanassova), Vienna (with Paul Badura-Skoda), Ban (as Resident Artist) and Amsterdam (with Jan Wijn), where, in 1994, she graduated with the highest possible distinction. For ten years, she also studied with the renowned pianist György Sebök, who played a key role in her musical development.
In 1978, at only ten years of age, Marietta Petkova won the Grand Prix of the Bulgarian National Piano Competition. She subsequently was a prize winner and finalist in Italy, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Portugal, Austria and Switzerland (Concours Clara Haskil). In the Netherlands, she won the Eduard Flipse Concours. In 1993, she was awarded the prestigious title of “Lauréate Juventus” by the Fondation Nicolas Ledoux and the Council of Europe.
In 2000, she conquered the Amsterdam public with a memorable Rachmaninov recital in the Concertgebouw. “Grandiose Petkova” and “Pianist Petkova: ideal Rachmaninov” read the headlines in the daily newspapers De Telegraaf and NRC Handelsblad. Her live recordings from Lausanne of Rachmaninov’s 24 Preludes were applauded by the international press.
Marietta Petkova is currently enjoying a thriving career as a soloist and chamber musician. She is known for her authenticity and versatility. “Whether Rachmaninov, Bach, Brahms or Liszt, Petkova is phenomenal” (HP/De Tijd). Marietta is a Steinway Artist and has her own CD series on the Bloomline label.
