Ep. 31: Anna Ovsyanikova

*All Talking Classical podcasts formerly on SoundCloud redirected to Anchor.* In this episode, we'll be hearing from violinist Anna Ovsyanikova. She partners with Julia Sinani for their new disc "Les Saisons Françaises," released on Stone Records on Friday 3rd July 2020. Soaring through the seasons, this album is a beautifully chosen programme of late 19th and early 20th-century French repertoire for solo violin and piano. The disc includes sonatas by Debussy and Ravel, and works by the first female composer to be awarded the Prix de Rome in 1913, Lili Boulanger. Additionally, the album features Poulenc's Violin Sonata, composed from 1942-43. Two versions of the last movement have been included - the original and a rewritten version as a tribute to soloist Ginette Neveu. In this podcast, we discuss how Anna and Julia programmed the album, the importance of collaboration and recording at the Petersburg Recording Studio. We also talk about their mutual love of French chamber music and the relevance of this music for today. In particular, Anna encourages the album's listeners to find an emotional connections to the works, what they get out of the music and why they should be feeling the music in that way. Anna was born in St. Petersburg and is a PhD student at the Royal College of Music. She is exploring the artistic legacies of Mathieu Crickboom so we started by finding out more about her research work. Russian-born pianist Julia Sinani is a recent graduate of the Royal Academy of Music. Both musicians enjoy busy performing careers. Many thanks to: Anna for taking the time to talk. Robert Shone at WildKat PR for bringing this wonderful album to my attention, and helping to facilitate the discussion. Podcast published on 2nd July 2020; interview recorded on 23rd June 2020. Find out more about Anna and Julia here: https://annalondonviolinist.com. https://juliasinani.com/about. Purchase their new album here: https://stonerecords.co.uk/album/les-saisons-francaises.