Laidlaw Live: Sholpan Miller (piano)

Sholpan Miller (piano) Masha McMinn (soprano) Music by Nikolai Medtner (1880-1951) Four Fairy Tales (Skazki), op. 26 (1910–12) 1. Allegretto frescamente 2. Molto vivace 3. Narrante a piacere 4. Sostenuto Eight Poems after Tyutchev and Fet, op. 24 (1911) Words by Fyodor Tyutchev (1803–1873) and Afanasy Fet (1820–1892) 1. Day and Night (Tyutchev) 2. The Willow (Tyutchev) 3. Waves and Thoughts (Tyutchev) 4. Twilight (Tyutchev) 5. Humble yet Valiant (Fet) 6. Beauty (Fet) 7. Dawn in the Garden (Fet) 8. Greeting (Fet) Pianist Sholpan Sharbakova Miller is a versatile artist whose work bridges the traditions of the Russian and European piano schools with contemporary expression. Trained with distinguished pedagogues Grigory Gordon in Moscow and Hamish Milne in London, she continues their legacy with a distinctive artistic voice. She has performed at Wigmore Hall, London’s Southbank Centre, St Martin-in-the-Fields, St James’s Piccadilly, and the Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, and made her orchestral debut at the age of twelve with the Almaty Philharmonic. She later served as Artist-in-Residence with the Astana Philharmonic Orchestra of Kazakhstan. A laureate of international piano competitions, Sholpan graduated from the Gnessin Academy of Music and the Royal Academy of Music, London, where she gained the Academy’s highest performing award, the DipRAM, and was awarded a Semi-Fellowship. Currently in her third year of doctoral studies at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and the University of St Andrews, Sholpan is pursuing a Doctor of Performing Arts (DPerf), focusing on the music of Nikolai Medtner and exploring its dialogue with contemporary art forms through performance and interdisciplinary artistic practice. She now resides in Edinburgh with her two children. Russian-born Scottish soprano Masha McMinn studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland under the renowned Scottish soprano Patricia Hay, later completing her Master’s degree in Wales under the guidance of world-famous tenor Dennis O’Neill, with further coaching from Nuccia Focile and Dame Kiri Te Kanawa. She has appeared at leading operatic festivals including Grange Park, Wexford Festival, Buxton Festival and Glyndebourne, performing roles ranging from Tchaikovsky’s Tatiana (Eugene Onegin) and Prokofiev’s Natasha (War and Peace) to Verdi’s Lady Macbeth, Puccini’s Giorgetta (Il Tabarro), Mimì (La Bohème), and Micaëla (Carmen). After a short pause to raise her children and establish her business (as Director of UKIntegration), Masha has returned to her full singing career, appearing in concert and recital across the UK.