Tamara Stefanovich
Pianist Tamara Stefanovich has a broad repertory but specializes in rigorous, complex music, both contemporary (Boulez, Stockhausen) and mainstream (Bach). She has appeared widely across the U.S., Britain and Europe, and Japan.
Stefanovich was born in Belgrade, then in Yugoslavia, in 1973. Her parents had no money for babysitters and took her to Belgrade Philharmonic concerts as an infant with a milk bottle: "thus food became an important part of my musical life later on," she quipped to The Cross-Eyed Pianist. Stefanovich began piano studies in Belgrade and then moved to Philadelphia to attend the Curtis Institute. She went on for further studies at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz in Cologne, Germany, where she turned in the direction of contemporary music after attending a workshop on the music of Pierre Boulez by pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard. The two became life partners, and Stefanovich went on to work with and/or premiere works by a variety of contemporary composers, including Boulez, Harrison Birtwistle, and Peter Eötvös. In general, she has favored complex works by the likes of Boulez, Stockhausen, and Szymanowski, and she is one of the comparatively few European pianists to have consistently programmed the piano music of Ives. Stefanovich's career suffered due to sanctions against Serbia following the country's actions in the 1990s; for nearly a decade, she had almost no concert bookings and, she told The Cross-Eyed Pianist, "the question of changing the profession was a daily one. I worked, but my work was not used, and for me, not being useful is close to a sin." The situation improved after the turn of the century, and Stefanovich has performed widely across the U.S., Europe, and Japan, appeared with the likes of the Cleveland Orchestra, the London Philharmonic, and the Israel Philharmonic. She has been accompanist to baritone Matthias Goerne and has performed chamber music with various partners, including the similarly minded violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja. Recitals have taken her to Wigmore Hall and the Royal Albert Hall in London and Suntory Hall in Tokyo, among other world-class venues.
Stefanovich has recorded for the Harmonia Mundi, NEOS, and PentaTone Classics labels, among others. On the latter label, she released the album Influences, featuring music of Ives, Bartók, Messiaen, and Bach, in 2019. The following year, she was heard on a recording of Messiaen's Turangalîla-Symphonie with the Nationaltheater-Orchester Mannheim.
© James Manheim /TiVo
Similar artists
Discography
11 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
-
Visions
Tamara Stefanovich, Pierre-Laurent Aimard
Classical - Released by PENTATONE on 23 Sep 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Left, Alone
WDR Sinfonieorchester, Tamara Stefanovich, Mariano Chiacchiarini, Peter Rundel
Classical - Released by Winter & Winter on 21 Apr 2023
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Wolfgang Rihm, Vol. 39 (Live)
Classical - Released by BR-Klassik on 4 Mar 2022
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Vassos Nicolaou: 15 Klavieretüden & Frames
Tamara Stefanovich, Pierre-Laurent Aimard
Classical - Released by PENTATONE on 20 Jan 2023
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo -
Influences
Solo Piano - Released by PENTATONE on 1 Mar 2019
Gramophone Editor's Choice24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Messiaen: Turangalîla-Symphonie, I/29
Nationaltheater-Orchester Mannheim, Alexander Soddy, Tamara Stefanovich, Thomas Bloch
Classical - Released by Oehms Classics on 18 Sep 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Thomas Larcher: What Becomes
Tamara Stefanovich, Mark Padmore and Thomas Larcher
Classical - Released by harmonia mundi on 21 Apr 2014
24-Bit 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
York Höller: Piano Works
Kristi Becker, Pi-hsien Chen, Tamara Stefanovich
Classical - Released by EDA RECORDS on 27 May 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
New Piano Music (Edition Ruhr Piano Festival, Vol. 17) (Live)
Maki Namekawa, Tamara Stefanovich, Dennis Russell Davies, Roland Pöntinen, Christoph Prégardien, Siegfried Mauser
Classical - Released by Cavi-Music on 16 Jan 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Visions
Tamara Stefanovich, Pierre-Laurent Aimard
Solo Piano - Released by PENTATONE on 23 Sep 2022
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
15 Klavieretüden & Frames
Tamara Stefanovich, Pierre-Laurent Aimard
Classical - Released by PENTATONE on 20 Jan 2023
24-Bit 48.0 kHz - Stereo