Biography

Praised by critics as “a grand pianist” (Il Cittadino, Italy) and a “master of piano” (Music Magazine ‘Auditorium’, Korea), Marianna Prjevalskaya performs as a recitalist and concerto soloist, and captivates audiences with emotional intensity, maturity, richness and beauty of tone.

Since her solo debut with orchestra at age nine, Ms. Prjevalskaya has appeared with major orchestras such as the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, National Lithuanian Symphony Orchestra, Rzeszow Philharmonic Orchestra, Korean Symphony Orchestra, Granada Symphony Orchestra, Galicia Symphony Orchestra and Sendai Philharmonic Orchestra, and collaborated with renowned conductors such as Rumon Gamba, Ion Marin, Roberto Trevino, Clemens Schuldt, Carlos Prieto, David Danzmayr, Stamatia Karampini, Tadeusz Wojciechowski, Max Bragado, James Ross.

As a recitalist, Marianna performed in the US, Europe, and Japan at prestigious venues such as the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Accademia Santa Cecilia in Rome, Teatro Goldoni of Florence, Minato Mirai Hall in Yokohama, Auditorio Manuel de Falla in Granada, Palau de la Música in Valencia, Palau de Les Arts Reina Sofia, Orpheum Theatre in New Orleans, Weill Hall and Steinway Hall in New York. Her debut at Carnegie´s Weill Hall with Rachmaninoff´s Variations on a Theme of Chopin and the entire Book II of Préludes by Debussy was praised by musical critic Frank Daykin as “one of the major piano recitals of the season” and “a stunning display of mature pianism”. He also complimented “her sensitivity to harmonic color and her natural glorious romantic rubato.” (New York Concert Review, New York). Praises for her refined tone as well as depth of musicianship continued echoing in subsequent reviews: Spanish critic Santi Riu complimented Marianna as a “virtuoso, impetuous, passionate and mature pianist of great musicality” and described her “rich sound range full of sensitivity that enabled her to create contrasting and attractive ambiances, as well as colors, shades, lights and shadows.” (Diario Segre, Spain), and Tim Smith was “consistently impressed by Prjevalskaya´s beauty of expression“ and asserts that she is a “pianist who has moved well beyond the hone-the-technique phase and can concentrate entirely on making music” (The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore).

Marianna´s first victory at a piano competition was at the age of fourteen at Marisa Montiel Piano Competition in Linares, a southern town in Spain, where in addition to the first prize, she was awarded a special prize for musicality. Since then her performances have won her top prizes at over 20 competitions, including: the 2014 New Orleans International Piano Competition, the 2013 World Piano Competition in Cincinnati, the 2013 European Piano Competition in Normandy, the 2012 Panama International Piano Competition, the 2011 Jaén International Piano Competition in Spain, the 2010 Sendai International Piano Competition, the 2008 Jose Iturbi International Piano Competition, the 2007 Paderewski International Piano Competition, and the 2003 Dudley International Piano Competition, among many others.

Ms.Prjevalskaya also appeared at important festivals in Europe and in the US, such as Norwich and Norfolk Festival in the UK, Salzburg Festival, Festival Russo in Rome, Divertimento Festival in Poland, Bologna Festival, Texas State Piano Festival, Bearcat Piano Festival in Cincinnati and X Groba Festival in Ponteareas in Spain. Her choice of repertoire goes through a deep internal gestation: avoiding merely flashy works, Marianna favors programs that show the depths of musical expression. Her performances were broadcasted by numerous radio stations across the USA, as well as by the Lithuanian, Polish Television, and Spanish Television and Radio2 Clásica. Her first CD album was released by Naxos in 2012 and features works of Scarlatti, Haydn, Schumann and Zárate. Her recent album dedicated to Rachmaninoff was released in 2016 by Fanfare Cincinnati, and was praised by critics in the US and in Spain. Jaime Pantín writes in the Spanish music magazine Codalario that “her polyphonic transparency is astonishing, and her execution is of impeccable precision, clarity, virtuosity and beauty of sound.” Gary Lenco from Audiophile Audition magazine praises her for “intelligent virtuosity” and considers that “she certainly displays her capacity to make tone, evoking any number of erotic possibilities in the music, rife with harmonic color. She indulges in a rubato natural both to Chopin and Rachmaninov”. And Tim Smith writes in Baltimore Sun that “she tackles both [works] with disarming technical assurance, all the while revealing a keen ear for subtleties of tempo and dynamics. Each work becomes a poetic novel, the “chapters” filled with fascinating detail and leading up to a richly satisfying summation”.

Born to a musical family, Marianna benefited from early lessons with her mother from age six, her principal mentor for more than eleven years. She continued her studies at the Royal College of Music in London with Irina Zaritskaya and Kevin Kenner. In 2003 Marianna moved to the United States where she joined the Toradze Piano Studio at Indiana University. She also holds Artist Diploma and Master of Music from the Yale School of Music, where she studied with professor Boris Berman, as well as a doctorate from Peabody Institute of Music where she studied with professor Boris Slutsky. In addition to her concert career, Dr. Prjevalskaya is a devoted piano teacher; she joined the Sunderman Conservatory of Music for the spring semester of 2016 and taught for six years at Peabody Preparatory Program and at the Nelly Berman School of Music in PA. She performed and offered master classes in Colorado, Iturbis Festival, Musical Arts Summer Program and Festival in Requena, at InterHarmony International Music Festival in Italy, and at the New Orleans Piano Institute, and served as an adjudicator at the Open Piano Competition in London, Albacete National Piano Competition in Spain, Santa Cecilia Hazen Prize in Segovia, at the New Orleans International Piano Competition in 2016 and at the MTNA in Nashville 2022. Dr. Prjevalskaya currently serves as Visiting Assistant Professor in the Department of Music at East Tennessee State University.

Beyond her musical life, Marianna is interested in photography and art painting.