A CONVERSATION WITH CLASSICAL PIANO MASTER AND NATURE LOVER KATYA GRINEVA

By Sal Cataldi | June 21, 2024

For internationally acclaimed piano virtuoso Katya Grineva, the Hudson Valley has been the perfect place to marry her two greatest passions – flawlessly performing the classics of eminent Romantic composers like Chopin and Liszt and her love of nature.

Russian-born Katya arrived in the United States in her teens after rigorous study under the auspices of the Moscow Conservatory. A scholarship to the esteemed Mannes School of Music in New York City was the first step in a career that has taken her to all corners of the globe. For the past two decades, Katya has returned annually to perform solo concerts at Carnegie Hall, indeed more than any solo female pianist in the history of the legendary venue. Called “liquid, dreamlike” by The New York Times, Grineva is a rare artist who truly captures the heart with a combination of vulnerability, poignance, and effortless virtuosity. In addition to a steady diet of globe-hopping touring, she has recorded nine well-reviewed albums, including The Complete Chopin Nocturnes and Classical Holiday.

A chance meeting at a concert in Rhinebeck led Katya to purchase her “little house in the forest” in bucolic Shady seven years ago. In 2022, she added a window-filled studio amongst the trees and passing animals to house her century-old Steinway B, one with double doors that open onto a large deck and surrounding green landscape. Soon after, she began playing weekly weekend concerts in what has been dubbed her “Enchanted Piano Temple.” They present a rare opportunity to see a world-class musician in an intimate setting with 20 – 40 attendees. She even invites her concert-goers to immerse themselves in a sound bath by taking turns lying under her Steinway as she performs.

What are Katya’s favorite things about her globetrotting career and life in the Hudson Valley? Find the answers below…