ABOUT
Regarded as one of the greatest Brazilian artists, pianist Sônia Goulart has been awarded more than thirty national and international awards.
Born in Salvador, State of Bahia, Ms. Goulart moved with her family to Rio de Janeiro where began her musical studies at age of five. Subsequently, she attended the National School of Music, where she studied piano under Elzira Amabile and graduated with Gold Medal.
Living in Europe for over eight years, Ms. Goulart studied with Bruno Seidhofer, Karl Engel and Stefan Askenase. She has also taken classes with Carlo Zecchi at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, where she was awarded the Summer Festival Best Pianist Prize, and with Yakov Sak at the Franz-Liszt Hochschule in Weimar. Other mentors included Alicia de Larrocha and Mordehay Simoni.
Ms. Goulart performed at sold-out halls in many European countries such as Germany, Austria, Belgium, Spain, France, England, Italy and Switzerland. In Weimar, the newspaper Thuringer Landeszeitungpublished: “The palace hall was completely full; many could not get tickets.”
Appearing as soloist with major orchestras in Europe and South America, Ms. Goulart performed under the conductors Alexander Rumpf, Bernard Conz, Carlo Bagnoli, Felix Prohaska, Hubert Reichert, Jorge Sarmientos, Michael Spierman, Niclas Aeschbacher, Simon Blech, Stephan Gunzenhouser, Eleazar de Carvalho, Roberto Tibiriçá, Marcelo Lehninger, Yeruham Scharovsky and Isaac Karabtchevsky, among others. She has released albums in Germany, France and Brazil, and has appeared on the cover of several European music magazines.
In Brazil Ms. Goulart keeps a very active performing career both as recitalist and chamber music player, and is frequently invited to appear as soloist with the country’s major orchestras.
In the United States, in recent years, Ms. Goulart has performed in Boston, Baltimore, Washington DC, Los Angeles, Buffalo, Grand Rapids and Keene.
Ms. Goulart holds a Doctor’s Degree from the Staatlich Hochschule für Musik und Theatre Hannover, Germany. She has also been piano faculty at Germany’s Musikschule der stadt Marl and at the School of Music at Rio de Janeiro’s Federal University.
Reviews
"Sônia Goulart let us enjoy every note. You know how some musicians play in a sort of “look at me” way? Ms. Goulart is much more of a “don’t look at me… listen to this” musician." Buffalo Rising (Buffalo, USA)
“Goulart’s fleet fingers and commanding expressiveness took the spotlight. The youthful-looking Sônia Goulart graciously returned to add one of Chopin’s engaging waltzes as an encore. The beguiled audience rose with sustained applause as she took her bows.” Ventura County Star (Oxnard, USA)
“Sônia Goulart presented a fascinating atmosphere of magic charms.” Thuringer Neuste Nachrichten (Erfurt, Germany)
“Authentic Chopin pathetism; her passion and gracefulness was presented magnificently in her sense of sound, filled with enormous strength and grandiosity. A real happening!” Neue Westfalische (Bielefeld, Germany)
“Whatever that was made differently would not be better than what Sônia Goulart did. It was true magic.” Westfallen Blat (Bielefeld, Germany)
“She performed a deep and mature Mozart. What is very special is her naturality, which is a pleasure! She plays freely, why not say uncomplicated, in harmony with Mozart.” Neue Estfalische (Recklinghausen, Germany)
“With Blech and the Philharmonic, she played Beethoven (Concerto No.4) completely, with body and soul, specially soul, at the stage of the Municipal Theatre.” O Estado de São Paulo (São Paulo, Brazil)
“The second part of the program was gloriously finished with the Sonata that Sônia plays better than anyone: Chopin B minor Op.58. That was a spectacle of heroic and unappraised virtuosity, from the first to the last measure… It is to play in excelsis!” Diário Popular (São Paulo, Brazil)
“Small hands, great soul.” O Globo (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
“Fingers of high musical tension… Sônia Goulart’s fingers seemed to be made of spiritualized platinum.” O Globo (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
“The Hour of Music was reopened with the great Brazilian pianist Sônia Goulart. She presented pianistic technic not in a mechanical way, but with a sensible temperament and a very creative artistic personality.” Thuringer Tageblatt (Weimar, Germany)
“Great Success for the Brazilian Pianist. Sônia Goulart made the audience raise with a storm of applause. The Brazilian artist expressed her gratitude performing three encores. It has been a long time that, at Atzelsberg’s Castle, in Erlangen, it was not heard such perfect pianistic technic, such enchanting perlé.” Erlangen Volksblatt (Erlangen, Germany)
“Sônia Goulart belongs to a breed of talents exported from South America, among which are famous names such as Martha Argerich. It is an honor for the Brazilian pianist that many listeners have remembered Benedetti Michelangeli (referring to Scarlatti’s Sonatas).” Erlangen Tagblatt (Erlangen, Germany)
“The Brazilian pianist Sônia Goulart left an extremely positive impression on the stage of NDR (Norddeutscher Rundfunk). Virtuosic pieces like Villa-Lobos’ Dance of the White Indian, or Prokofieff’s Sonata come out of her hands with absolute technical easiness. Nevertheless, what is most impressive is her art performing Bach, when Sônia Goulart explores thoroughly the pianistic scale of sound culture and whimsical realization.” Die Welt (Hamburg, Germany)
“Great success for the South American pianist. She is a connoisseur of a variety of musical styles. An interpreter that not only shows excellent technical confidence, but also discernment for sound and deep respect for the Opus.” Badische Neuste Nachristen (Ettlingen, Germany)
“Already at the beginning there were warm applauses because the audience understood that had, on stage, an extraordinary pianist. A recital that will be remembered with great enthusiasm.” Frankfurt Allgemeine Zeitung (Frankfurt, Germany)
PHOTOS
RECORDINGS
