“...a born story-teller, combining a rare delicacy of touch with a remarkable intensity of feeling...”
A prize-winner of the first European Piano Competition “Grand Prix Vlado Perlemuter” in France and the Dinu Lipatti Piano Competition in Bucharest, Mariana Izman has been praised by the press for “being a born story-teller and combining a rare delicacy of touch with a remarkable intensity of feeling” and her ability to “penetrate to the heart of the music with an artistry few are granted”. Based in Holland, she performed recitals in major venues such as Amsterdam’s Muziekgebouw and Concertgebouw (Main and Recital halls), De Doelen in Rotterdam and the Philharmonie in Haarlem. She played as a soloist with the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, the National Orchestra of Belgium, the Romanian National Radio Orchestra and the Residentie Orchestra in The Hague among others.
Her affinity with the music of Robert Schumann is beautifully rendered in her recordings of his major piano works including Kreisleriana, Davidsbündlertänze and Concert sans Orchestre, receiving outstanding critical acclaims. Her most recent CD includes the two piano sonatas by Sergei Rachmaninoff and has been described by the European press as a great accomplishment. She has a strong connection with the French music at the turn of the 20th century, notably Debussy and Ravel, and has performed it in many European countries (including the Ravel Festival in his birth town, Saint-Jean-de-Luz) and the Middle-East.
Her encompassing knowledge of many languages allows her to enjoy great works of literature. As an experienced lieder performer, she frequently presents programs interlaced with poetry and theatre. The notable collaboration with the Romanian actor Ion Caramitru brought her to perform in New York’s Lincoln Center, Boston, Paris and all over Romania. She also performed Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier in Rotterdam’s “de Doelen” with Cesc Gelabert dancing Gerhard Bohner’s abstract choreography. Forthcoming concerts include Schubert’s Winterreise with the German baritone André Morsch and a performance of French songs on a historic Erard piano in Amsterdam’s Muziekgebouw. She performed Schubert’s Winterreise throughought the Netherlands with singers like Mattijs van de Woerd and Henk Neven.
Mariana Izman regularly appears in various chamber music concerts. She played with violinists Vesko Eschkenazy and Tjeerd Top (both concertmasters of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra), the Lendvai String Trio and the Amsterdam String Quartet. Recently performed works were violin sonatas by Mozart, Beethoven, Szymanowski and Franck, Schumann’s piano quintet and piano quartets by Brahms and Dvorak. This year she will perform sonatas by Frank Bridge and Benjamin Britten with cellist Charles Watt. As part of a piano duo with pianist and conductor Pieter-Jelle de Boer, she won the ‘Vriendenkrans’ Competition of the Concertgebouw and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and performed during the famous outdoor Prinsengracht Concert in Amsterdam, attended by 20.000 people.
Mariana Izman was born and raised in Moldova and started her music education at the age of six. At 18 she moved to Holland to continue her studies at the Amsterdam Conservatoire. She studied with Prof. Marcel Baudet and graduated with honours in 2002. She also received coaching from renowned musicians such as Murray Perahia, Emanuel Ax, Mitsuko Uchida and Richard Goode. In 2010 she joined the piano faculty at the prestigious Yehudi Menuhin School in England. She plays on a Steinway Grand Piano, kindly lent to her by the Dutch Musical Instruments Foundation.
October
2017