olga stezhko piano
Sunday 15 February 2026, 3pm · St Mary's Church, Haddington
CHOPIN Nocturne in E major, Op.62 No.2
BACH Toccata in E minor
POULENC Mélancolie
DEBUSSY Estampes
BEETHOVEN Sonata in E flat major ‘The Hunt’
RAVEL Alborada del gracioso
SCRIABIN Sonata No.4
BACH Toccata in E minor
POULENC Mélancolie
DEBUSSY Estampes
BEETHOVEN Sonata in E flat major ‘The Hunt’
RAVEL Alborada del gracioso
SCRIABIN Sonata No.4
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Born in Belarus, Olga Stezhko, 'a supremely delicate master of her instrument ... with an extraordinary presence', has created a programme specifically for our Bösendorfer, promising to showcase the full spectrum of its expressive possibilities through pieces by the greatest masters of piano writing:
"I am delighted to be part of the festivities celebrating Haddington’s magnificent Bösendorfer and to present a programme showcasing its incredible sound-colour palette through works by some of the greatest masters of piano writing, reflecting its illustrious history as a concert instrument for many artists at both the Musikverein in Vienna and the Haddington Concert Society." |
Olga Stezhko is an award-winning concert pianist and critically acclaimed recording artist, known for her striking and idiosyncratic programmes that often explore hidden connections between music, science, and history spanning the past four centuries.
Acclaimed by Classical Source in a Wigmore Hall review as “a supremely delicate master of her instrument” with “an extraordinary presence,” Olga has performed internationally, from the Barbican Hall in London and Salle Cortot in Paris to Carnegie Hall in New York City.
Born in Minsk, Olga was educated in Belarus, Italy, and the UK, where she completed both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees with distinction at the Royal Academy of Music. She has won numerous international competitions and awards, including the Grand Prix at the Halina Czerny-Stefańska In Memoriam International Piano Competition in Poland and First Prize at the Nikolai Rubinstein International Piano Competition in France.
She is an Artist By-Fellowship at Churchill College, Cambridge where, as the pianist of the Marsyas Trio, she continues the group’s research into the historical tradition of “musical translation” and their fruitful collaboration with Cambridge-based composers.
Olga’s solo highlights include performances at Bridgewater Hall, Wigmore Hall, the Palermo Classica Festival, the Ulverston International Music Festival, and a tour in Norway, where she premiered Blooming – a new work for piano, chamber orchestra and narrator by Kari Beate Tandberg. The piece, based on the book The Unwomanly Face of War by exiled Belarusian Nobel Prize laureate Svetlana Alexievich, highlights a recurring theme in Olga’s work: raising awareness of the rich culture and history of her native Belarus, whose people suffer unimaginable repression under Lukashenko’s dictatorial regime. More broadly, Olga’s projects aim to nurture the power of international solidarity in supporting post-colonial countries through artistic collaborations.
Olga also has a deep passion for astrophysics. She is working with the Institute of Astronomy in Cambridge on a project that explores how groundbreaking ideas and cutting-edge research in astronomy can be communicated through an awe-inspiring interplay of music and science. This continues her ongoing artistic research into how music can give meaning to complex scientific concepts and why it is essential to engage the general public with the latest discoveries in astrophysics.
Olga’s debut album, Eta Carinae (Luminum Records, 2014), fused astronomy with music by Scriabin and Busoni. It was hailed by Gramophone Magazine as “an outstanding debut” and “not a record for the faint-hearted, but rather for those who enjoy dark and menacing regions of the mind.” Her second album, Et la lune descend (Palermo Classica, 2018), featuring all-Debussy works, received unanimous critical acclaim from publications including International Piano Magazine, The Arts Desk, and BBC Music Magazine.
Acclaimed by Classical Source in a Wigmore Hall review as “a supremely delicate master of her instrument” with “an extraordinary presence,” Olga has performed internationally, from the Barbican Hall in London and Salle Cortot in Paris to Carnegie Hall in New York City.
Born in Minsk, Olga was educated in Belarus, Italy, and the UK, where she completed both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees with distinction at the Royal Academy of Music. She has won numerous international competitions and awards, including the Grand Prix at the Halina Czerny-Stefańska In Memoriam International Piano Competition in Poland and First Prize at the Nikolai Rubinstein International Piano Competition in France.
She is an Artist By-Fellowship at Churchill College, Cambridge where, as the pianist of the Marsyas Trio, she continues the group’s research into the historical tradition of “musical translation” and their fruitful collaboration with Cambridge-based composers.
Olga’s solo highlights include performances at Bridgewater Hall, Wigmore Hall, the Palermo Classica Festival, the Ulverston International Music Festival, and a tour in Norway, where she premiered Blooming – a new work for piano, chamber orchestra and narrator by Kari Beate Tandberg. The piece, based on the book The Unwomanly Face of War by exiled Belarusian Nobel Prize laureate Svetlana Alexievich, highlights a recurring theme in Olga’s work: raising awareness of the rich culture and history of her native Belarus, whose people suffer unimaginable repression under Lukashenko’s dictatorial regime. More broadly, Olga’s projects aim to nurture the power of international solidarity in supporting post-colonial countries through artistic collaborations.
Olga also has a deep passion for astrophysics. She is working with the Institute of Astronomy in Cambridge on a project that explores how groundbreaking ideas and cutting-edge research in astronomy can be communicated through an awe-inspiring interplay of music and science. This continues her ongoing artistic research into how music can give meaning to complex scientific concepts and why it is essential to engage the general public with the latest discoveries in astrophysics.
Olga’s debut album, Eta Carinae (Luminum Records, 2014), fused astronomy with music by Scriabin and Busoni. It was hailed by Gramophone Magazine as “an outstanding debut” and “not a record for the faint-hearted, but rather for those who enjoy dark and menacing regions of the mind.” Her second album, Et la lune descend (Palermo Classica, 2018), featuring all-Debussy works, received unanimous critical acclaim from publications including International Piano Magazine, The Arts Desk, and BBC Music Magazine.
