When Moscow-born Irina Nuzova first landed in the US she barely spoke English, but she did speak the language of music.
As a teenager, Nuzova’s father, a part-time journalist in Moscow, was perceived by some as having asked one too many questions about anti-Semitism. Threatening letters arrived, and the family, whose relatives were killed during the Holocaust, wasted no time packing.
Following her parents in exile and adjusting to the United States was a challenging and very lonely experience for Nuzova. She was on a fast track as a young pianist, having studied since age five, and had made her debut with the Omsk Philharmonic at age 14. In Moscow, she had attended the famed Gnessin School and Gnessin Academy with Alexander Satz. It was his words which helped her deal with the existential loneliness in her new country.
“He said, ‘You will always have your piano for you.’ As a teen, it drew me closer to my instrument and my profession,” Nuzova recalls.
It was also a difficult adjustment for her parents, who didn’t have work permits or financial support. Her mother, a piano teacher with a music conservatory education, worked at a bakery and walked an hour to and from work to save money. Her father who was also an engineer with about 20 patents pumped gas. Nuzova babysat and quickly learned English.
Her life changed when she received a scholarship to the Manhattan School of Music. She later studied at Juilliard and earned her Doctorate of Musical Arts degree from the Hartt School of Music. Today, Nuzova is a distinguished concert pianist. In Europe, Nuzova has performed at the Amici della Musica Concert Series in Florence; Teatro Massima in Catania, Italy; Hermitage State Museum in St. Petersburg; the Moscow Conservatory, and in the Netherlands. In the US, she has played at many venues, including the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. and at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall.
Nuzova lives in Manhattan with her two children and has two partners: her husband, and her very formidable recital partner, Wendy Warner, one of the world’s leading cellists.
Recently, her first recording with Warner, titled “Russian Music Cello & Piano,” was released on the Cedille Records label. The CD features romantic Russian works including Rachmaninov, Scriabin, Prokofiev and Schnittke, and marks the first time Miaskovsky’s Sonata in A-minor has been recorded in the United States by a US record company. Nuzova takes tremendous pride in playing this seldom performed gem, and looks forward to introducing its beauty to a wider audience. The recording has received rave reviews.
“There’s a Russian expression which says ‘All is not gold that glitters,’ but I think the reverse applies to Miaskovsky’s Second Sonata,” says Nuzova. “I am hoping audiences will be as enraptured with these magnificent works as Wendy and I are. When playing the Myaskovsky’s piece, an image of Russian nature comes to my mind. I remembered a poem by a Russian symbolist Konstantin Balmont, which was translated into English especially for this CD. But, of course, the music speaks for itself. You just have to open your heart and let the music in.”
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Jane Carver is a community member.
