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alentina Lisitsa returned to Oriental’s Old Theater this past weekend and gave a performance — and then some — for the Pamlico Musical Society.

Valentina Lisitsa at Sunday’s Old Theater matinee.

The Ukrainian-born classical pianist — and current New Bern resident — had originally been scheduled to play at Oriental’s Old Theater on December 5. Tickets sold quickly, based on the on the word-of-mouth praise from those who attended Lisitsa’s Oriental concert a year earlier.

Things were set for her return engagement until Lisitsa was offered the chance to record Rachmaninoff with the London Symphony Orchestra. That opportunity — a 6-hour recording session — meant she had to be in London on December 5.

Calendars were consulted and in the end, rescheduling worked out to the Pamlico Musical Society’s benefit: Lisitsa performed not one, but two concerts in Oriental, on Saturday December 12 and a Sunday matinee the following afternoon.

In both, Lesitsa offered a program of Beethoven and Rachmaninoff in stunningly masterful interpretations. Between the selections, she engagingly offered the audience background for the pieces they were about to hear.

In return for several standing ovations, she responded by performing Lizst’s “Hungarian Rhapsody” for the encore.

Valentina Lisitsa, and a rare moment of her hands not being in lightning-speed motion.

A few hours before Sunday’s matinee to a full house, Lisitsa practiced a range of material in an empty Old Theater, and graciously let us take some photos, which you can see on the next page.

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Valentina Lisitsa practicing midday Sunday in advance of that afternoon’s matinee..

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Valentina Lisitsa at a rehearsal at Oriental’s Old Theater, with her husband Alexei Kuznetsoff. The two perform piano duets.

Posted Thursday December 17, 2009 by Melinda Penkava