Hanna Shybayeva plays Rzewski

Hanna Shybayeva

Pianist Hanna Shybayeva was born in a country that has had many names over the years: Socialist Soviet Republic of Byelorussia, Republic of Belarus, and today known as Belarus. This country is governed by a president known as 'Europe's last dictator.' Political opponents and people who read independent media and 'banned' books were eliminated for years. Today, disappearances, murders, and imprisonments of opposition leaders are still common. Despite protests for years, international media only picked it up in the summer of 2020. Thousands took to the streets demanding fair elections. Protesters faced violence and abuse, with many imprisoned without fair trials.

Shybayeva supports her country by organizing benefit concerts and informative meetings, but she communicates best through her passion: music. She chose to perform Frederic Rzewski's cycle because its technical and emotional richness allows her to express her feelings about the events in her country. Music has always had symbolic importance in Belarusian demonstrations, and Shybayeva integrates some protest songs into the free cadenza at the end of the piece.

Despite its complexity, the piece’s deep emotional layer and sudden musical shifts reflect human nature. Rzewski's work speaks directly to the heart, and everyone can understand it.

About F. Rzewski

Frederic Anthony Rzewski (1938-2021) was an American composer, music educator, and pianist. He wrote his monumental work, "The People United Will Never Be Defeated!" in just two months. The piece, an hour-long theme with 36 variations, spans various musical genres, from serialism to blues and classical to minimal music. The main theme, by Chilean composer Sergio Ortega, emerged during the Unidad Popular coalition in Chile (1969-1973) before Salvador Allende's government fell. Rzewski wrote this piece as a tribute to the Chilean people's struggle against Augusto Pinochet's repressive regime.

Programme

F. Rzewski: The People United Will Never Be Defeated! (1975)

"Blown away. Speechless. Deeply moved [...] when the theme returned to its original form after an hour of intense musical fireworks, there were tears too. After the concert, we almost forgot to applaud. We looked at each other and fell silent. What can you say after such a performance? So, we stammered something like 'incredible,' with faces twisted with emotion" - Job van Schaik, culture editor at Dagblad van het Noorden, on Shybayeva's performance of Rzewski.