Sofja Gülbaldamova (Deutschland)
The instruments of Bösendorfer have always embodied the very essence of supreme elegance for me. Their sound represents an ideal in which reason and emotion exist in perfect harmony, and the pianos still seem to carry within them the nobility and refined manners of the era in which the company was born.It is a tremendous honor and an equally great joy for me to now be part of the Bösendorfer family—especially since these instruments and their “father,” Ludwig Bösendorfer, played such a significant and important role in the life and work of one of my favorite composers, Ernst von Dohnányi. This “bridge” to him makes me particularly happy.
Celebrated by the press for the “poetic beauty” of her playing and her “striking musicality, imaginative sense of sound, deeply relaxed pianism, and an astonishingly wide range of expression” (Dr. M. Struck, Kieler Nachrichten), Sofja Gülbadamova is among the most outstanding musicians of her generation. She is a prizewinner and laureate of numerous competitions in Austria, France, Spain, Russia, Germany, Belgium, and the United States.
A major focus of the pianist’s work is her recordings dedicated to the Hungarian composer Ernst von Dohnányi. On the Capriccio label, she has released a double CD of Dohnányi’s solo works, as well as the piano concertos with the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz under Ariane Matiakh, and the Variations on a Nursery Song for piano and orchestra under Modestas Pitrenas. The latter recording was selected as Editor’s Choice of the Month (February 2022) by the British magazine Gramophone and was also included in its list of the best releases to date in May 2022. In addition, it was nominated for the International Classical Music Award (ICMA).
In April 2024, the next installment of the Dohnányi edition was released (Capriccio), recorded on the composer’s own Bösendorfer grand piano featuring the semi-circular Clutsam keyboard.
Further recordings have been released on labels such as Hänssler CLASSIC, Danacord, and Querstand.
Sofja Gülbadamova has performed under the baton of conductors including Mikhail Jurowski, Michel Tabachnik, Marko Letonja, Kirill Karabits, Alevtina Ioffe, Marc Piollet, and Antoni Wit, among others.
She has appeared with orchestras such as the Staatskapelle Weimar, the Norrköping Symphony Orchestra, the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra, the Würzburg Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Wuppertal Symphony Orchestra, among many others.
Sofja Gülbadamova has performed at major venues including the Elbphilharmonie and Laeiszhalle in Hamburg, the Berlin Philharmonie, the Konzerthaus Berlin, the Liederhalle Stuttgart, the Kurhaus Wiesbaden, and the Grand Hall of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, as well as in Vienna, Paris, Budapest, London, and Washington, D.C., and at renowned festivals across Europe and both South and North America.
In 2017, Sofja Gülbadamova was appointed Artistic Director of the International Brahms Festival in Mürzzuschlag, Austria.