A soulful elevation
Katya Grineva at the Fechin
THE SPRING STORM brewing outside the Fechin House on Wednesday evening appeared choreographed to accompany the music of Russian pianist Katya Grineva as she played selections from Polish composer Frédéric Chopin on the piano installed in the house nearly a hundred years ago by Nicolai Fechin for his daughter Eya. The portraits of daughter Eya, and the artist seemed to watch over the soldout concert.
It was an intimate evening, more like a living room concert with friends than a museum event. In her introduction of Grineva, Christy Coleman, the director of the museum, said, “The world feels really heavy right now, and in these times it is ever more important to do what we’re doing tonight, to listen to beautiful music, it has a way of nourishing the soul and healing anything that hurts inside.”
Grineva did exactly what we needed to “heal what hurts inside, and nourish the soul.” The program began with a soothing Nocturne no. 2 in E flat and carried on, mesmerisingly with her signature fluid and dreamy execution of some of Chopin’s most beloved music. Nocturne in C Sharp Minor op. Posthumous, Nocturne no. 8 in D flat major, Etude no. 13, Etude no. 3 (Tristesse), Ballade no. 1 in G Minor, Scherzo no.2, Andante Spianato and Grande Polonaise Brillante, and two stunning encores of Fantaisie-Impromptu and Waltz no. 7.
It was a poignant evening. The storm clouds outside set up a powerful atmospheric effect, the light cascading through the great window behind Grineva, dancing on the adobe walls, changing from bright white to grey and then dark, culminating in a blustery hail storm as the concert ended.
Photographer Bill Curry conveyed what many in the audience were feeling that night. “Katya was sublime as she played Chopin. In this moment I wept tears of gratitude. It was like a soothing rain upon my weary heart. I was so moved I had to sit. So incredibly poignant, her playing on Fechin’s daughter’s piano with shortened keys. Katya is a rarified human who lives and shares her inner beauty, skill and mastery supreme, through interpretation of another master being. What a moment. Thank you, Katya, for gifting me with this soul elevation.”
When Grineva made her final bow, an emotional Coleman addressed the audience, “Tonight, this feels like a home, not a museum, and you are our family,” she then turned to Grineva and added, “You belong here.”
There are plans to bring Grineva back to the Fechin House in October and possibly adding more performances. All of Grineva’s Taos concerts have sold out quickly. For details visit the museum’s website at https://www. taosartmuseum.org.