Alisa Sadikova performs at Ohrid Summer Festival

Russian-American harpist Alisa Sadikova performed at the Ohrid Summer Festival, showcasing a repertoire that included transcriptions of piano works. Sadikova noted that performing piano music on the harp presents a significant challenge due to the differences in handling harmonies and pedals compared to the piano.

The concert program featured Bach’s Toccata and Fugue (transcribed by Belov), Chinese music, Claude Debussy’s Suite bergamasque, Bellini’s variations on themes from the opera Norma, Chopin’s Fantaisie-Impromptu, Manuel de Falla, and Bedřich Smetana’s Vltava.

Sadikova, a graduate of the Juilliard School and currently pursuing postgraduate studies there, is recognized as one of the most awarded harpists today, having won over 20 first prizes in international competitions.