SEASON 2Episode 5: Sonatas
Released August 25, 2025
Garrick Ohlsson and Ben Laude explore Chopin’s multi-movement masterpieces, the Sonatas.
Featuring
Martín García García
3rd Prize, 2021 International Chopin Competition
Martín García García is considered one of the pianists with the greatest international projection. Martín García García has appeared in important venues across Europe, America, and Asia, receiving highly positive reviews from figures like Vladimir Krainev, Dmitri Alexeev, Arcadi Volodos, Dimitri Bashkirov, Joaquín Achúcarro, and Tatiana Copeland (niece of Sergei Rachmaninoff). He has received major global recognitions, including first prize at the 2021 Cleveland International Piano Competition and third place at the 2021 International Chopin Piano Competition. In the latter competition, he also received the special award from the Warsaw Philharmonic National Orchestra for the best concerto performance. He released his debut album “Chopin and His Master” in 2022, a production performed by the artist himself, and his second one, “Even-Tide”, was released on all platforms in 2024.
Yulianna Avdeeva
1st Prize, 2010 International Chopin Competition
A pianist of fiery temperament and virtuosity, Yulianna Avdeeva is the First Prize winner of the 2010 International Chopin Piano Competition, which launched her to international fame for “consistently [leading] the field, in terms of sheer passion and musicianship, not to mention technical security,” in performances that were “full of depth and colour” (The Telegraph). In 2022 the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette praised Avdeeva a “one-woman powerhouse of epic stature.” #YuliannasMusicalDialogues is an engaging online initiative that provides an open space for her followers and piano aficionados. Through regular informal social media posts, she opens up an online dialogue about a selected composer’s life and work, paying special attention to details of notable pieces, deconstructing the art of performance.
Jeffrey Kallberg
Professor of Music, University of Pennsylvania
Jeffrey Kallberg is a known specialist in music of the 19th and 20th centuries, editorial theory, critical theory, and gender studies. Kallberg publishes widely on the music and cultural contexts of Chopin, most notably in his book, Chopin at the Boundaries: Sex History, and Musical Genre (Harvard University Press). His reconstruction of Chopin's first sketch for a Prelude in E-flat minor for the eventual set of Preludes, op. 28, attracted world-wide coverage in the press. His current projects include books on Chopin's nocturnes, on Chopin's things, and an investigation into the links between ideas of landscape and modernism. He serves on the Program Board (“Rada Programowa”) of the National Chopin Institute in Warsaw, Poland.
Critic’s Corner
Jed Distler on Great Recordings of
Chopin’s Sonatas
Jed Distler is a composer, pianist, music writer, and arts presenter based in New York. He is the official Gramophone blogger for the International Chopin Competition.