Sophia Agranovich, a multi-award-winning pianist, recording artist, educator, and artistic director, is internationally celebrated for her breathtaking virtuosity and profound sensitivity. Fanfare describes her as “a bold, daring pianist in the tradition of the Golden Age Romantics…A tigress of the keyboard,” and OneWorld Music Radio praises her as “one of the most accomplished classical pianists of her day.” Her performances captivate audiences with “an orison of uncommon beauty” (Audiophile) and are praised for their “interpretation that dares to be different,” “magnificent shading and superior musicianship” (American Record Guide).
A Steinway Artist, Ms. Agranovich has performed in USA, Europe, Israel, and Canada. Recently she played solo concerts at the Pennautier Festival and Juan-les-Pins in France where she premiered compositions dedicated to her by Françoise Choveaux, and was invited to China and Brazil. Some of her prestigious venues are David Geffen Hall, Bruno Walter Auditorium and Paul Hall at Lincoln Center, Carnegie Weill Recital Hall, Merkin Hall, Roerich and Metropolitan museums, Steinway Hall and galleries, Bargemusic, Tenri Cultural Institute, Polish Cultural Foundation, Lambert Castle, Watchung Arts Center, Salle Cortot, Théâtre Na Loba, American Cathedral in Paris, Ehrbarsaal, Gesellschaft für Musiktheater, Kaiser Hall, Sala Baldini, Teatro di Marcello. She also performed at libraries and numerous colleges and universities, such as the New Jersey Institute of Technology, Rubin Academy of Music, National Music Academy of Ukraine and Lviv State Conservatory. Ms. Agranovich has collaborated with Mark Peskanov, Shlomo Mintz, Christopher Collins Lee, Andrew Litton, Alexander Mishnaevsky, Andrew Lamy, Brett Deubner, Gregory Singer, Anatole Wieck, Rupam Sarmah, Lili Haydn, Hamid Saeidi, Kathleen Supove, award-winning Emmy, Grammy, and Billboard top ten musical artists, and members of the major orchestras.
Sophia Agranovich has released 11 solo albums from 2010 through 2023, including 8 on Centaur label. Her albums are charting in top 10 across all musical genres on One World Music Radio and on World Top Radio Airplay Charts. Her discography received outstanding reviews and includes ‘Romantic Virtuoso Masterpieces’ (works by Beethoven, Chopin, Liszt, Schumann, Scriabin), ‘Franz Liszt – Bicentennial Tribute’ (‘Un Sospiro’, ‘La Campanella’, Rhapsodie Espagnole, Sonata in b minor); ‘Passion and Fantasy’ (Beethoven: ‘Appassionata’, Chopin: Fantaisie and Sonata in b minor); complete Brahms-Paganini Variations; Schumann: Symphonic Etudes, Schumann-Liszt: ‘Widmung’; Schubert: ‘Wanderer’ Fantasie and Chopin: 4 Ballades; Schumann: Carnaval and Fantasie; Chopin: Polonaise-Fantaisie and Nocturne Op. 48 No.1, Liszt: complete Sonnetti del Petrarca, ‘Dante’ Sonata, Hungarian Rhapsody No. 14; Chopin: Sonata in B-flat Minor, 4 Scherzi, Polonaise ‘Héroïque’; ‘In Celebration of 250th Anniversary of Beethoven’ (Fantasie Op. 77, Sonatas ‘Pathétique’, ‘Moonlight’, ‘Tempest’): ‘Liszt: Rhapsodies, Études and Transcriptions’ (Hungarian Rhapsodies No. 6 and No. 13, Études d’exécution transcendante ‘Ricordanza’ and ‘Mazeppa’, Schubert/Liszt Ständchen. Erlkönig, Die Forelle); ‘Album Leaf: Piano Works by Felix Mendelssohn’ (Fantasia in F-sharp minor Sonate ecossaise, Albumblatt in A minor, Caprice in A minor, Variations serieuses, complete Etudes, Rondo Capriccioso).
Ms. Agranovich is a First Place Winner of the The American Prize in Piano Solo, Mykola Lysenko International Competition—former Ukrainian Young Artists Competition, and Bergen Philharmonic Competition. She is a recipient of 3 Gold and 16 Silver Medals from Global Music Awards, 4 Gold awards from One Earth Awards, 2 Best Instrumentalist awards from InterContinental Music Awards, 2 Gold Medals from Prestige Music Awards, Best Classical Solo / Best Classical Album / Hall of Fame from Akademia Music Awards; 6 Best Classical Piano Albums and Best Classical Performance from Clouzine International Music Awards, 2 Best Classical Artist / Best Female Classical Artist / 3 Best Classical Recording / Best Instrumental Recording from Radio Music Awards, Best Classical Recording and Hall of Fame from Indie Music Channel, 12 Platinum / 3 Gold / 2 Instrumentalist of the Year awards from LIT International Music Awards, Best Classical Album from One World Music Radio, Steinway Top Teacher Award, Industry Leader and Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Awards and more.
Her albums and live concerts are broadcast worldwide, most recently in Brazil on Universidade FM 106.9 “Company of the Music”, in Canada on CKWR and Grand101.1 FM “Women in Music”, Berlin, Munich, Rome, New Zealand, Ivory Coast, London, Tokyo, Osaka, Paris, Tel-Aviv, WMNR Fine Arts Radio, NPR WLPR-FM “Art on the Air”, WQXR Greene Space live with Elliott Forrest, on WWFM “Between the Keys” with Jed Distler, WWFM “Piano Matters” and WQXR “Reflections from the Keyboard” with David Dubal.
A native of Ukraine, Sophia Agranovich won the Mykola Lysenko International Competition at ten, being the youngest participant. At thirteen she performed Concerto in E minor by Chopin in Chernivtsi, Lviv and Kyiv. Her concerts were broadcast on national TV and radio stations. Her teachers in Ukraine were professors Anna Stolarevich and Alexander Edelmann, peers of Vladimir Horowitz in the class of Felix Blumenfeld and disciples of Heinrich Neuhaus. At fifteen, Ms. Agranovich entered the Juilliard School in New York City as a student of legendary professor Sascha Gorodnitzki, who himself was a student of Josef Lhevinne (peer of Sergei Rachmaninoff and Alexander Scriabin). While at Juilliard, she also studied with Nadia Reisenberg, a disciple of the St. Petersburg piano school of Leonid Nikolaev and student of Hofmann and Alexander Lambert – student of Franz Liszt.
Ms. Agranovich earned Bachelor and Master Degrees from the Juilliard School, holding full scholarship and a Fellowship teaching Piano Minor at Juilliard. After graduating Juilliard, Ms. Agranovich began working towards her Doctorate at the Columbia University, but deferred that pursuit to raise a family. Ms. Agranovich also studied naturopathy, traditional Indian medicine and traditional Chinese medicine, receiving certifications in Yoga, Pilates, and other holistic disciplines. She taught Yoga and Pilates at the YMCA branch.
Sophia Agranovich is an esteemed pedagogue, lecturer, master class clinician, adjudicator, and is a recipient of numerous teaching awards. Her students often win top prizes in regional, national and international competitions and are playing at prestigious venues and internationally. They had been accepted to Juilliard School, Manhattan School of Music, New York University, Mannes College and other notable universities. Their performances were broadcast on radio and TV, including WWFM “Kids on Keys” and WQXR “Young Artists Showcase”. Ms. Agranovich is an active member of various professional music organizations, listed annually in “Who’s Who in America” and “Who’s Who in the World”, has been featured in American Record Guide, Fanfare Magazine, New York Times, The Whole Note, Broadway World, World Culture Times, Musical America, FOX News, News ABC and other major media and news outlets. She is a voting member of NARAS (GrammysR) and GrammyU mentor, Artistic Director of “Classicals at the Circle” music series at the Watchung Arts Center and a Program Chair of Music Educators Association of New Jersey.
