Chopin in the City Festival – Svetlana Belsky – Consulate General of the Republic of Poland – February 22, 2019

I saw Svetlana Belsky play the piano as part of the EStrella Piano Duo at a Fourth Presbyterian Church lunch hour concert last year and was very impressed with her skills and wit. So, upon finding out that she would be performing the opening concert of the 3rd Chopin in the City Festival at the Consulate General of Poland, I casually mentioned to anyone who would listen (invoking Rule #1 – “It can’t hurt to ask” and Rule #2 – “It only takes one.”) that it sure would be great to get an invitation to the private event.

And so, having been successful in my quest, I found myself at the concert and reception, having a lovely conversation with a member of the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China, who informed me, my free drink in hand, that he and members of the other consulates in town regularly make the rounds of each other’s events.

It was shortly thereafter that I learned that, despite the attraction of the party-hopping, I was not cut out for the diplomatic service, as the gentleman seemed to lose interest in our discussion after I informed him I knew where his Chicago headquarters were located because I had seen picketers marching outside of it.

The concert itself was wonderful, once it got started after seemingly interminable opening remarks by a woman who seemed to be practicing an Oscar speech as she thanked everyone she had ever met, or hoped to meet, for helping to make the evening possible.

Belsky played beautifully, with energy, grace and skill; a twinkle in her eyes, and the occasional impish grin that she made a part of the music. And her commentary between pieces once again exhibited her wonderful sense of humor. I hope to crash another of her performances in the near future.

EStrella Piano Duo (Svetlana Belsky and Elena Doubovitskaya) – Fourth Presbyterian Church – December 7, 2018

I was expecting two pianos (piano duo versus piano duet), but what I got instead was two women, playing selections from Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream, Rimsky-Korsakov’s Scheherazade, and Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, on one piano, at the same time, hands flying everywhere, occasionally crossing over each others’ hands, and bodies, with such grace and, at times, glorious frenzy, that one had to watch, not just listen, to fully appreciate the experience.

In exploring various combinations, I found four pianists playing two pianos, which I assume would be called a duet duo, or vice versa, and one pianist playing two pianos, whether the pianos be angled, or parallel to each other, including an interesting exhibition by a twelve-year-old girl stretching to use the pedals on both pianos simultaneously.

Speaking of pedals, when I asked the women after the performance how they determined who would play which side of the piano during their duets (it varied), Belsky told me she really likes to use the pedals and that that often affects their decision.

It hadn’t occurred to me watch their feet during the performance, though I did pay attention to who was turning the pages (it also varied, with one incident of an accidental double page turn that was quickly remedied without interruption to the music), so I don’t know if Belsky was pulling my leg. She had displayed a wonderful sense of humor during her introductions to the songs.

Both women in Estrella were born in Russia, so I have no idea why they chose a name that the Urban Dictionary defines as a totally cool Spanish girl (I also should have asked them that), though I concede that they seemed cool, even though their music was hot.