Biography
Nadia Shpachenko has distinguished herself through dedicated advocacy for new music, introducing dozens of compositions by leading contemporary figures in world premieres and earning frequent recognition at major U.S. award ceremonies, among them the Grammy Awards.
Ukraine is her birthplace, yet southern California has served as her residence for many years. A New Classic LA critic captured one of her performances by writing, "A marvelous Ukrainian bleakness poured grimly out of the keyboard under Ms. Shpachenko's steady hands."
At the University of Southern California she completed both a master’s degree and a doctorate in music, receiving Outstanding Graduate honors. John Perry, Victor Rosenbaum, and Victor Derevianko numbered among her principal teachers. She has appeared professionally under the name Nadia Shpachenko-Gottesman as well.
Her energetic championship of recent repertoire has led to more than seventy world premieres, encompassing works by George Crumb, Iannis Xenakis, and Missy Mazzoli. Major halls have hosted her recitals, among them Carnegie Hall in New York, Disney Hall in Los Angeles, and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.
Chamber music forms another central pursuit; she has partnered with clarinetist Boris Allakhverdyan and with the Lyris and Argus Quartets, among additional collaborators. Many scores she presents explore unusual timbres or instrumental combinations. She maintains dual distinctions as a Steinway Artist and as a Schoenhut Toy Piano Artist.
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona counts her as a music professor, and she also guides doctoral students at Claremont Graduate University.
Recordings have brought Shpachenko particular acclaim. Her 2013 Reference Recordings album Woman at the New Piano: American Music of 2013 secured three Grammy nominations, while 2019’s The Poetry of Places, issued on the same label, earned two nominations and a win for Best Classical Compendium. The 2018 release Quotations and Homages presents premieres of solo and collaborative works for six pianists, each piece drawing inspiration from earlier music.
Ukraine is her birthplace, yet southern California has served as her residence for many years. A New Classic LA critic captured one of her performances by writing, "A marvelous Ukrainian bleakness poured grimly out of the keyboard under Ms. Shpachenko's steady hands."
At the University of Southern California she completed both a master’s degree and a doctorate in music, receiving Outstanding Graduate honors. John Perry, Victor Rosenbaum, and Victor Derevianko numbered among her principal teachers. She has appeared professionally under the name Nadia Shpachenko-Gottesman as well.
Her energetic championship of recent repertoire has led to more than seventy world premieres, encompassing works by George Crumb, Iannis Xenakis, and Missy Mazzoli. Major halls have hosted her recitals, among them Carnegie Hall in New York, Disney Hall in Los Angeles, and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.
Chamber music forms another central pursuit; she has partnered with clarinetist Boris Allakhverdyan and with the Lyris and Argus Quartets, among additional collaborators. Many scores she presents explore unusual timbres or instrumental combinations. She maintains dual distinctions as a Steinway Artist and as a Schoenhut Toy Piano Artist.
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona counts her as a music professor, and she also guides doctoral students at Claremont Graduate University.
Recordings have brought Shpachenko particular acclaim. Her 2013 Reference Recordings album Woman at the New Piano: American Music of 2013 secured three Grammy nominations, while 2019’s The Poetry of Places, issued on the same label, earned two nominations and a win for Best Classical Compendium. The 2018 release Quotations and Homages presents premieres of solo and collaborative works for six pianists, each piece drawing inspiration from earlier music.
Albums
Spratlan: Invasion — Music and Art for Ukraine
2022
The Poetry of Places
2019
Petit Rêve
2018
Quotations & Homages
2018
Woman at the New Piano: American Music of 2013
2014
Singles
