Poetry Without Words: Piano Solo Concert with Pavel Nersessian
About this Event
Join us for an evening of Poetry Without Words with pianist Pavel Nersessian. This performance of captivating piano music features the lyrical beauty of Mendelssohn, the refined elegance and intimacy of Fauré, and the dazzling colors and imagination of Ravel. Experience an evening filled with expressive melodies, rich harmonies, and more.
📅 Sunday, October 18, 2026
🕠 5:30 PM
📍 Scandinavian Cultural Center, West Newton, MA
Artist Bio
Pavel Nersessian is widely regarded by musicians, critics and listeners as one of the most refined and inwardly powerful pianists of his generation. He has been touring Russia and neighboring countries since the age of eight and has performed in many of the world’s major cultural centers, including London, Glasgow, Edinburgh, New York, Los Angeles, Paris, Cannes, Leipzig, Vienna, Budapest, Madrid, Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul, Dublin, Munich, Caracas, Rio de Janeiro, Belgrade, Cairo, Kiev, Beijing, Shanghai, and numerous other cities.
A graduate of the Central Music School of the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, Nersessian later continued his education under Professor Sergei Dorensky. He graduated in 1987 with the highest honors and was immediately invited to join the Conservatory faculty. For more than three decades, he assisted Professor Dorensky and worked closely with an extraordinary circle of students, including Nikolai Lugansky, Denis Matsuev, Olga Kern, Alexander Shtarkman, Pavel Kolesnikov. He worked with Alexander Malofeev, Zlata Chochieva, Alexander Kliuchko and many others.
Nersessian has won prizes at major international competitions, including the Beethoven Competition in Vienna, the Paloma O’Shea Competition in Santander, the Tokyo Competition, and the Dublin International Piano Competition, where he received First Prize in 1991. The Irish Times wrote after his Dublin victory: “His performance brought a veritable roar of approval from the audience.” In 2005, he was awarded the title Merited Artist of the Russian Federation.
Beyond the recital stage, Nersessian is deeply engaged in collaborative music-making. By special invitation from the Kirov and Perm Ballet companies, he performed the solo piano part in Balanchine’s Ballet Imperial (to Tchaikovsky’s Second Piano Concerto) at the Kirov, Bolshoi, Châtelet, and Covent Garden theaters. He also appeared in Jerome Robbins’ ballet The Concert, or The Perils of Everybody, set to music by Chopin. His love of opera, cultivated since childhood, naturally draws him to frequent collaborations with singers and instrumentalists alike.
He has worked with ensembles and artists such as the Borodin and Glinka Quartets, the National Symphony Orchestra of Russia, Thomas Sanderling, Tugan Sokhiev, Philippe Cassard, Alexandre Lazarev, Diana Vishneva, Yulia Lezhneva, Valentin Uryupin, Maxim Emelyanychev, Lukas Geniushas and many others. Since 2013, he has served as Professor of Piano at Boston University and has given masterclasses throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, and South America. He is also a regular jury member at major international piano competitions.
Yet it is Nersessian’s artistic ethos that most distinguishes him. His playing is often described as possessing an almost painful intensity of expression, a sense of lived experience brought to the point of physical presence. His performances appeal to the deepest layers of the listener’s unconscious, bypassing social and cultural defenses and speaking directly to something vulnerable and essential.
Marked by intellectual clarity, taste, and restraint from external display, his interpretations create a sense of intimacy and chamber-like refinement. Nersessian belongs to that group of artists for whom personal aesthetic truth matters more than commercial success.
Program
F. Mendelssohn 6 songs without words op. 67
Rondo capriccioso op. 14
G. Bizet Extase Romance sans paroles
G. Faure Three songs without words op. 17
Valse-caprice # 1 op. 30
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G. Fauré Valse-caprice # 2 op. 38
Two pieces from Pelleas and Melisande incidental music
La Fileuse (arr. for piano by A.Cortot)
Sicilienne op. 78 (arr. for piano by the author)
Barcarolle # 2 op. 41
M. Ravel Gaspard de la Nuit
Ondine
Le gibet
Scarbo
... I thought I heard
A vague harmony enchant my sleep,
And beside me a murmur spreading
Similar to the interrupted songs of a sad and tender voice.
— Ch. Brugnot - Les deux Génies.
"Hark! - Hark! — ‘Tis I, Ondine, brushing against your sonorous panes with these drops of water, illuminated by the somber rays of the moon; and here is the chatelaine lady, wearing a moire gown, contemplating the beautiful starry night and the beautiful sleeping lake from her balcony.
"Each wave is a water sprite swimming in the current, each current a path winding towards my palace, and my palace built fluid, at the bottom of the lake, in the triangle of fire, land, and air.
"Hark! - Hark! - My father beats the croaking water with a green alder branch, and my sisters caress with their foam arms the fresh islands of grass, water lilies, and gladioli, or mock the decrepit and bearded willow who fishes with his line."
After singing her song, she begged me to receive her ring on my finger, to become the spouse of an Ondine, and to visit her palace, to become the king of the lakes.
And as I replied that I loved a mortal woman, sulking and upset, she shed a few tears, burst out laughing, and vanished in showers of rain, streaming white along my blue glass windows.
--Translation of Ondine from Aloysius Bertrand’s Gaspard de la Nuit – Fantasies à la manière de Rembrandt et de Callot (1842) translated from French by Gabriel Almeida.
Tickets:
- 🎟 Free for Attacca students
- 🎟 Suggested donation ($25) for Attacca parents
- 🎟 Non-Attacca Adults: $35
- 🎟 Non-Attacca Children: $15
- 🎟 College Students: $20
Reserve your tickets today! Seating is limited — early arrival is recommended.
About the Series
The Attacca Visiting Artist Concert Series brings internationally recognized musicians to the Boston area for collaborative performances, masterclasses, and community engagement. This October concert exemplifies Attacca’s mission to connect artistry, education, and inspiration in a vibrant and inclusive musical environment.
Where is it happening?
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
USD 0.00 to USD 39.19
