Génia (stylized as GéNIA; born in

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...

) is a

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

-based virtuoso concert

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

and composer. Génia was born in

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

into the Horowitz family of musicians and scientists. Her repertoire ranges from classical music to contemporary works and her own compositions.

Education

Génia started her studies at the age of four with her great-grandmother, the

and

pedagogue Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken as ...

Regina Horowitz (sister of pianist

Vladimir Horowitz Vladimir Samoylovich Horowitz; yi, וולאַדימיר סאַמוילאָוויטש האָראָוויץ, group=n (November 5, 1989)Schonberg, 1992 was a Russian-born American classical pianist. Considered one of the greatest pianists of all ...

and wife of the Soviet economist

Evsei Liberman Evsei Grigorievich Liberman (russian: Евсей Григорьевич Либерман, , uk, Овсій Григорович Ліберман; 2 October 1897, – 11 November 1981) was a Soviet economist who lived in Kharkiv, Ukrainian SSR, U ...

). Génia continued her studies with pianist and teacher Sergei Yushkevitch at the Kharkov Institute of Arts. In 1999, Génia graduated from

Guildhall School of Music The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...

earning the Premier Prix. She went on to graduate from

Trinity College of Music Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance is a music and dance conservatoire based in London, England. It was formed in 2005 as a merger of two older institutions – Trinity College of Music and Laban Dance Centre. The conservatoire has ...

in 2000, studying with Professor Joan Havill and Douglas Finch where she was runner-up in the TCM Associate Soloist Competition and awarded the Founders Prize for Excellence. In the same year she was awarded the Silver Medal Award from the

Worshipful Company of Musicians The Worshipful Company of Musicians is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. Its history dates back to at least 1350. Originally a specialist guild for musicians, its role became an anachronism in the 18th century, when the centre of ...

and the Dame Myra Hess Award.

Career

Her first significant break was being selected as an artist for the Park Lane Young Artist Series, making her London debut in 1998 where she was described by The Times as "an outstanding musician". She later went on to tour the UK, Europe, and the United States performing with the Symphony Orchestra of the National Philharmonic Society of Ukraine and Cyprus State Orchestra and playing at the Windsor Festival. Génia has extensively toured the UK, Europe, and the United States. Her London appearances include

Wigmore Hall Wigmore Hall is a concert hall located at 36 Wigmore Street, London. Originally called Bechstein Hall, it specialises in performances of chamber music, early music, vocal music and song recitals. It is widely regarded as one of the world's leadin ...

Barbican Centre The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhi ...

South Bank Centre Southbank Centre is a complex of artistic venues in London, England, on the South Bank of the River Thames (between Hungerford Bridge and Waterloo Bridge). It comprises three main performance venues (the Royal Festival Hall including the Natio ...

St Martin-in-the-Fields St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. It is dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. There has been a church on the site since at least the mediev ...

Olympia London Olympia London, sometimes referred to as the Olympia Exhibition Centre, is an exhibition centre, event space and conference centre in West Kensington, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, London, England. A range of internation ...

and Cargo. She appeared as a soloist on the soundtracks for the award-winning films "Bookcruncher" and "Paradise Grove". Her recordings and interviews have also featured in various broadcasts on

BBC Radio BBC Radio is an operational business division and service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a royal charter since 1927). The service provides national radio stations covering th ...

1, 3, 4, 5 and BBC 4

Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...

. She has received critical acclaim for her live performances and contemporary classical releases for

Black Box In science, computing, and engineering, a black box is a system which can be viewed in terms of its inputs and outputs (or transfer characteristics), without any knowledge of its internal workings. Its implementation is "opaque" (black). The te ...

and

Nonclassical Nonclassical is a British independent record label and night club founded in 2004 by Gabriel Prokofiev, grandson of Sergei Prokofiev. History Nonclassical has released fourteen albums, each following a concept of recording new contemporary cl ...

. Génia also undertakes educational work and regularly holds workshops and master-classes, lectures and individual tuition. She has taught at

Dartington International Summer School Dartington International Summer School is a summer school and festival of music held on the medieval estate of Dartington Hall and is a department of the Dartington Trust. Operation First established at Bryanston School in 1948 (largely throu ...

and COMA Summer Schools,

De Montfort University De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) is a public university in the city of Leicester, England. It was established in accordance with the Further and Higher Education Act in 1992 as a degree awarding body. The name De Montfort University was tak ...

and

Lewis University Lewis University is a private Roman Catholic and Lasallian university in Romeoville, Illinois, United States. The enrollment is currently around 6,800 students. Lewis offers more than 80 undergraduate majors and programs of study, 22 graduate pro ...

and CAPMT (USA). In 2007, Génia created Piano-Yoga, a multi-dimensional method of piano playing, performing and teaching which provides a holistic approach towards playing the piano. Her book on Piano-Yoga was published in 2009. She also her own Piano-Yoga studio from central London as well as giving lessons and hosting courses and retreats worldwide. In 2012, Génia had a series of 6 Piano-Yoga lessons broadcast live on

BBC Radio London BBC Radio London is the Local BBC Radio, BBC's local radio station serving Greater London and its surrounding areas. The station broadcasts across the area and beyond, on the 94.9 FM broadcasting, FM frequency, Digital Audio Broadcasting, DAB, ...

94.9 on

Jo Good Jo Good is a British broadcaster. Career A radio 'anorak' since her early teens, Jo joined the radio industry straight out of school, aged 17. At this point she moved from Alnwick, Northumberland to Manchester. Working first as a travel reporte ...

's show. Since then she has been a regular guest on Jo Good's show. In 2013 she hosted a series of Piano-Yoga certificate courses at

King's Place Kings Place is a building in London’s Kings Cross area, providing music and visual arts venues combined with seven floors of office space. It has housed the editorial offices of ''The Guardian'' newspaper since December 2008 and is the fo ...

in London. In 2014, Génia released two volumes of her own piano compositions: 'Dreams of Today, Thoughts of Tomorrow' which has been played on BBC Radio and at venues such at The Hurlingham Club London, Theatre de la Photographie et L'Image Nice and Kings Place London. Génia's compositions are regularly played on Classic FM. GeNIA has a long term relationship with

Caffè Nero Caffè Nero is an Italian-influenced coffeehouse company headquartered in London, England. Founded in 1997 by Gerry Ford, currently the company runs more than 1,000 coffee houses in eleven countries: the UK, Ireland, Sweden, Poland, Cyprus, Croat ...

, since being nominated as a featured classical artist and her music plays regularly in all their branches worldwide, reaching 20,000 people a day. She was also the first classical pianist to perform at Heathrow Terminal 2 in conjunction with

In December 2014. In 2017, Génia made her debut as a voice over artists as well as appearing as a pianist in the short film '22:22' directed by Charlotte Ginsburg. In 2019 GéNIA released 2 albums. One on her own label, GéNIA MUSIC, titled ‘Babylon’ followed by 'Memory Waves', released under Chapel Music and recorded for Universal Production Music UK. GéNIA’s music has appeared in the highly acclaimed BBC America TV Show Killing Eve, well-known British ITV series Cold Feet and recently in ITV series Sticks and Stones. Since 2021 GéNIA started recording and producing her music, learning recording and production skills, based on her personal experience as a recording artist. During this period she recorded and produced 2 singles, Mon Amour (Home Version) and Vicious Circle, followed by the release of her album 'Voyages français' in 2022, which debuted GéNIA as a producer. During this period she also created the video cours
'Transform Your Practice: A Complete 11 Stage Guide'
The course was designed to help intermediate to advanced pianists maximise their home practice. The course covers practical piano and musical advice, physical exercises, meditations, and breathing exercises designed for pianists to help them be more productive and efficient in their day-to-day practice sessions. The video lasts 4 hours 28 minutes, and is structured as 11 separate stages, with accompanying PDFs and exercises. In 2022 GéNIA founded the charity 'Support Kharkiv Foundation'. The charity was set up to support the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, its surrounding regions and its citizens, as the city has undergone destruction on a huge scale during the war in Ukraine. In September 2022 GéNIA organised a fundraising gala concert in London at The Other Palace, where Ukrainian musicians were joined by the legendary British actors

Bill Nighy William Francis Nighy (; born 12 December 1949) is an English actor. Nighy started his career with the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool and made his London debut with the Royal National Theatre starting with ''The Illuminatus! Trilogy, The Illuminatu ...

and

Chiwetel Ejiofor Chiwetel Umeadi Ejiofor ( ; born 10 July 1977) is a British actor. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a BAFTA Award, a Laurence Olivier Award, an NAACP Image Award, and nominations for an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy A ...

. The proceeds from the concert were sent t
'Support Kharkiv Foundation'
to help children from Kharkiv and its surrounding regions.

Music

In September 2010, Génia featured on "Piano Book No.1" - a suite of piano pieces composed by

Gabriel Prokofiev Gabriel Prokofiev (born 6 January 1975) is a Russian-British composer, producer, DJ, and Artistic Director of the Nonclassical record label and nightclub. Early life Gabriel Prokofiev was born on 6 January 1975 to an English mother and a Russi ...

released by

and distributed by

Naxos Naxos (; el, Νάξος, ) is a Greek island and the largest of the Cyclades. It was the centre of archaic Cycladic culture. The island is famous as a source of emery, a rock rich in corundum, which until modern times was one of the best abr ...

in America. 'Suite For Piano And Electronics', Génia/ John Richards, was released in 2007 on the Nonclassical label. It featured re-mixes by dance producers The EarlyMan, Max de Wardener,

kREEPA kREEPA is a group that perform electronic music and musical improvisation founded by John Richards and Hilary Jeffery in 2000. The group performs a type of industrial jazz and electro-noise. Career The group began with recordings of extended ...

, Gabriel Prokofiev, Derailer, Trevor Goodchilde, Germ and

Vex'd Vex'd were an English dubstep duo signed to Planet Mu Records, consisting of Jamie Teasdale and Roly Porter. They often played at early DMZ A demilitarized zone (DMZ or DZ) is an area in which treaties or agreements between nations, mili ...

. In 1999 she released 'Transformations' with the Russian violinist Roman Mints. In 2000 she released 'GéNIA: Unveiled' interpreting the works of 4 Russian women composers spanning 4 generations:

Sofia Gubaidulina Sofia Asgatovna Gubaidulina (russian: Софи́я Асгáтовна Губaйду́лина, link=no , tt-Cyrl, София Әсгать кызы Гобәйдуллина; born 24 October 1931) is a Soviet-Russian composer and an established ...

Galina Ustvolskaya Galina Ivanovna Ustvolskaya (russian: Гали́на Ива́новна Уство́льская , 17 June 1919 – 22 December 2006), was a Russian composer of classical music. Early years Born in Petrograd, Ustvolskaya studied from 1937 to 1 ...

Elena Firsova Elena Olegovna Firsova (russian: link=no, Еле́на Оле́говна Фи́рсова; also ''Yelena'' or ''Jelena Firssowa''; born 21 March 1950) is a Russian composer. Life Firsova was born in Leningrad into the family of physicists Ol ...

, and Lena Langer. In 2014 she released two volumes of her own compositions named 'Dreams of Today, Thoughts of Tomorrow'. In 2019 she released 'Babylon', an album of her own compositions. In 2019 she released 'Memory Waves' an album of solo piano music released under Chapel Music and recorded for Universal Production Music UK. In 2022 she released 'Voyages français' an album of her own compositions inspired by her frequent journeys to France.

Collaborations

Génia commissions works particularly developing the repertoire for piano and electronics, and collaborated with an eclectic range of artists and composers including

Patrick Nunn Patrick Nunn (born 21 July 1969 in Tunbridge Wells, England), is a British composer and educator. Biography Nunn read music at Dartington College of Arts studying under Frank Denyer between 1988 and 1991 taking additional tuition with Louis An ...

Nik Bärtsch Nik Bärtsch (born 3 August 1971) is a Swiss pianist, composer, bandleader, record producerNastos, Michael GAllmusic: Nik Bärtsch Biography accessed May 25, 2018 and author from Zürich. Career Bärtsch studied piano and percussion before ...

John Richards (musician) John Stephen Richards (born 1966 in Bideford, Devon, England) is a British musician and composer working in the field of electronic music. Since 1999, he has predominantly explored performing with self-made instruments and creating interactive e ...

Karen Tanaka Karen Tanaka (born April 7, 1961) is a Japanese composer. Biography Karen Tanaka was born in Tokyo where she started piano and composition lessons as a child. After studying composition with Akira Miyoshi and piano with Nobuko Amada at Toho Gak ...

. In 2003, Génia was involved in ''Contemporary Infrasonic'' at the

Southbank Centre Southbank Centre is a complex of artistic venues in London, England, on the South Bank of the River Thames (between Hungerford Bridge and Waterloo Bridge). It comprises three main performance venues (the Royal Festival Hall including the Nat ...

,Sonic boom , guardian.co.uk
/ref> an experimental project into the effect of

infrasound Infrasound, sometimes referred to as low status sound, describes sound waves with a frequency below the lower limit of human audibility (generally 20 Hz). Hearing becomes gradually less sensitive as frequency decreases, so for humans to perce ...

(ultra-low-frequency at or below the bottom of the frequency range audible to the human ear) using a grand piano. In 2018 GéNIA collaborated with the group VOID, who recorded an electronic version of her piece Aphrodite, which was released on her label. In 2022 GéNIA collaborated with the Italian composer, Paolo Cognetti by releasing his piano solo arrangement of the famous Italian folk song 'Bella Ciao'. All the proceeds from this song, the artists are sending to 'Support Kharkiv Foundation' to help the children of Kharkiv and its regions. In 2022 GéNIA collaborated with electronic musician Bradley Russeau premiering at The Other Palace in London, their joint composition dedicated to Kharkiv and its citizens. In 2022 GéNIA collaborated with the legendary British actors

and

by inviting them to participate in the fundraising concert, which she organised in order to raise funds for the children of Kharkiv and its surrounding regions.

Discography

*''Piano Book No.1'', GeNIA/Gabriel Prokofiev, released on CD, Nonclassical (America), 2009 *''Suite For Piano And Electronics'', GéNIA/John Richards, released on CD, Nonclassical, 2007 *''Suite For Piano And Electronics'', GéNIA/John Richards, released on Vinyl, Nonclassical, 2007 *''GéNIA: Unveiled - Music from Russia's Women Composers'', Black Box, 2000 *''Transformations - 20th Century works for violin and piano'', Roman Mints - violin, GéNIA - Piano, Black Box, 1999 *''Dreams of Today, Thoughts of Tomorrow Volume I, ''GéNIA, released on CD and digitally 2014 (composed and performed by GéNIA) *''Dreams of Today, Thoughts of Tomorrow Volume II,'' GéNIA, released on CD and digitally 2014 (composed and performed by GéNIA) *''Remixes and Originals,'' Various Artists featuring GéNIA, released on Vinyl and digitally, Nonclassical, 2014 *''The Art of Remix,'' Various Artists featuring GéNIA, released on Vinyl and digitally, Nonclassical, 2015 *''Nonclassical 001-020,'' Various Artists featuring GéNIA, released digitally, Nonclassical, 2016 *''Someone Like You (Piano Version),'' originally by

Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a reco ...

, released on CD and digitally 2016 (arranged and performed by GéNIA) *''Babylon, Single,'' GéNIA, released digitally 2017 (composed and performed by GéNIA) *Aphrodite (Redux), Single, GéNIA released digitally 2018 (remixed by VOID) *Aphrodite, Single, piano solo, GéNIA, released digitally 2018 (composed and performed by GéNIA) *Aphrodite (Remix), GéNIA, released digitally 2018 (remixed by Nigel Heath) *Babylon (Piano Solo Album), GéNIA, released digitally 2019 (composed and performed by GéNIA) *Memory Waves (Piano Solo Album), GéNIA, released digitally 2019 (composed and performed by GéNIA) *Mon Amour (Home Version) (Single), GéNIA, released digitally 2021 (composed, performed and produced by GéNIA) *Vicious Circle (Single), GéNIA, released digitally 2021 (composed, performed and produced by GéNIA) *Claude (Single), GéNIA, released digitally 2021 (composed, performed and produced by GéNIA) *Jean (Single), GéNIA, released digitally 2021 (composed, performed and produced by GéNIA) *St Paul (Single), GéNIA, released digitally 2021 (composed, performed and produced by GéNIA) *St Michelle (Single), GéNIA, released digitally 2021 (composed, performed and produced by GéNIA) *Lever du Soleil (Single), GéNIA, released digitally 2021 (composed, performed and produced by GéNIA) *Whisper (Single), GéNIA, released digitally 2021 (composed, performed and produced by GéNIA) *Valse à la française (Single), GéNIA, released digitally 2021 (composed, performed and produced by GéNIA) *Where Am I? (Single), GéNIA, released digitally 2022 (composed, performed and produced by GéNIA) *Landscapes of the Mind (Single), GéNIA, released digitally 2022 (composed, performed and produced by GéNIA) *Voyages français (Album), GéNIA, released on CD and digitally 2022 (composed, performed and produced by GéNIA) *Bella Ciao (Single), GéNIA & Paolo Cognetti, released digitally 2022 (performed and produced by GéNIA) *Viva La Vida (Single), GéNIA, released digitally 2022 (performed and produced by GéNIA)

Multimedia

Audio: A collection of interviews with Genia.Audio: BBC artist profile page

References

External links

Génia's official websitePiano_YogaNonclassicalSupport Kharkiv Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Genia Living people Ukrainian classical pianists Ukrainian women pianists Ukrainian women musicians 21st-century classical pianists Year of birth missing (living people) Women classical pianists 21st-century women pianists