By Denny Patterson

A highly sought-after world-renowned classical pianist who has performed and collaborated with musicians and orchestras around the world, the flawless and stunningly talented Svetlana Smolina will return to the South Florida Symphony Orchestra (SFSO) on April 26, 2023. This time, she will play Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 for Masterworks V, the orchestra’s grand finale of its 25th anniversary season. 

OutClique caught up with Smolina to talk more about the engagement and what keeps her coming back to the SFSO.

Denny Patterson: Hi, Svetlana! How excited are you to come back and play with the SFSO again?

Svetlana Smolina: I am very happy and excited! This is going to be a special concert because, first of all, it’s the South Florida Symphony’s 25th anniversary season, so I am honored to come back. The orchestra always invites the best musicians, and Sebrina is an incredible maestra, so the level of playing is extraordinary. Plus, I’m playing my favorite piano concerto, and we’ll be performing at The Parker, which I’ve never played at before. This is going to be a very exciting event, and I cannot wait. 

Denny Patterson: Can you tell us a bit more about the piece you’re playing?

Svetlana Smolina: Yes, this is a concerto by Sergei Rachmaninoff, and this is considered to be his most centered masterpiece. He composed it for his United States tour in 1909, and the second performance was conducted by Gustav Mahler. So, for me, this piece represents my culture, and it shows Rachmaninoff as more than a composer, conductor, and pianist. I think this piece truly represents him as a person, which is everything in one. It’s more like a symphony concerto rather than just a piano concerto, and I think Sebrina is going to showcase an incredible interpretation of it because she is always very passionate and bold. You never know what’s going to happen when she conducts, and that’s very close to my style. When Rachmaninoff performed the piece, he said that each piece must have a golden point to where each moment can be a great deal. This concerto has monumental episodes and combinations, and it has a lot of elements in it, so it’s a very special piece. I hope we interpret it as fresh as we can for our audience because this concerto is now played quite often. Vladimir Horowitz started playing it in 1930, and it most likely gained even more popularity after 1996 when the movie Shine came out and received an Oscar. As I mentioned, I think this piece is such a masterpiece, and it represents Rachmaninoff as a musician. 

Denny Patterson: Since you have performed with the SFSO numerous times, what do you enjoy the most about collaborating with Maestra Sebrina and this esteemed group?

Svetlana Smolina: She brings us such magnificent interpretations. She really follows the source, and she likes to meet with you before rehearsals and find out what our own interpretation is. She’s never like, oh, it has to be like this or that. It truly is a collaboration of two musicians on the same level of artistry, and two musicians trusting each other and doing their best improvisations. That is what I really treasure because playing in an orchestra, it’s all about communication, and that communication happens on such a trust level. I am very in tune to what Sebrina feels about music. She’s very close to my musical ideas. We’re almost matching, so we never have to argue (laughs). We could probably play without rehearsals. Sebrina is very passionate, and her feelings and imagination are wild. It is very, very special to perform with her because we can create on stage.

Denny Patterson: For those who don’t know, how did your journey with the piano begin? What drew you to this particular instrument?

Svetlana Smolina: My mom was, and still is, a theory teacher, and she worked at the music school. She would bring me with her after kindergarten, so that’s how I was introduced to the music. Then later on, I decided that I wanted to play piano. I was never forced. It’s always been the love of my life. However, I didn’t take it too seriously at first because I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be a professional pianist. I loved math and science as well, but after I won my first piano competition when I was 13, a big international competition in Italy, that’s when I decided that the stage was going to be my life because of the ecstasy I felt. This incredible, exhilarating happiness of passing your thoughts and ideas to your audience and getting back their energy, which is being elevated with every note you play. It’s really indescribable and euphoric. I don’t want to say drug like because I didn’t try that (laughs), but I think that’s how people would describe it. 

Denny Patterson: What are some future goals you hope to accomplish with your career?

Svetlana Smolina: You know, thanks to COVID, I kind of stopped making long-term goals. I think my goals at the moment are to be the best at every concert, because you don’t know how many we have. I just try to be as prepared as I can. 

Denny Patterson: Before we wrap up, are there any other upcoming projects or anything else you would like to mention or plug?

Svetlana Smolina: Before coming to Florida, I will be in Asia at the beginning of April playing a chamber concert with Kazuhiro Takagi in Osaka, Japan, and I may do a couple concerts and masterclasses in China. In May, I’ll be working as a guest professor for the London Performing Academy, and I’ll be playing at the Philadelphia International Music Festival in June. Then in September, I’ll be going on tour in Brazil, playing in São Paulo and a few other cities, and I’ll be doing another orchestral tour through China with the Dublin Philharmonic in October. So, that is what’s currently planned, and we’ll see what else this year brings!