Acclaimed by Classical Source in a Wigmore Hall review as “a supremely delicate master of her instrument” with “an extraordinary presence,” Olga has performed internationally, from Barbican Hall in London and Salle Cortot in Paris to Carnegie Hall in New York City.

 

She has won numerous international competitions and awards, including the Grand Prix at the Halina Czerny-Stefańska In Memoriam International Piano Competition in Poland and First Prize at the Nikolai Rubinstein International Piano Competition in France.

 

Among her other solo highlights are performances at Bridgewater Hall, Wigmore Hall, the Palermo Classica Festival, the Ulverston International Music Festival, and a tour in Norway, where Olga premiered Blooming - a work for piano, chamber orchestra, and narrator by Kari Beate Tandberg.

 

The piece, based on the book The Unwomanly Face of War by exiled Belarusian Nobel Prize laureate Svetlana Alexievich, highlights an important theme in Olga’s work: raising awareness of the rich culture and history of her native Belarus, whose people suffer unimaginable repression under Lukashenko’s 30-year-old  dictatorial regime. She also seeks to nurture the power of international solidarity in supporting post-colonial countries through artistic collaborations.

 

Olga has a deep passion for astrophysics. Her debut album, Eta Carinae (Luminum Records, 2014), fused astronomy with music by Scriabin and Busoni and was hailed by Gramophone Magazine as “an outstanding debut” and “not a record for the faint-hearted, but rather for those who enjoy dark and menacing regions of the mind.”

 

As a current Artist By-Fellow at Churchill College, University of Cambridge (part of the 3-year residency of her ensemble, the Marsyas Trio), Olga is collaborating with the Institute of Astronomy on a project that explores how groundbreaking ideas and cutting-edge research in astronomy can be communicated through an awe-inspiring interplay of music and science. This continues her ongoing artistic research into how music can give meaning to complex scientific concepts.

 

In her most recent project, Red, Green, Blue, Olga explored the fluid relationship between art, nature, and technology through an interdisciplinary synthesis of historical and contemporary music and artistically interpreted satellite data. The show premiered in a series of concerts in Norway in September 2023, including a performance at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo.

 

Chamber music plays a crucial part in Olga’s career. She is a member of the Marsyas Trio, one of the UK’s leading mixed ensembles. The group champions the vast body of historic repertoire for flute, cello, and piano, bringing to the public lost and forgotten works, particularly by women composers. They continue to develop this genre through commissioning and recording projects, offering audiences a fascinating perspective on socio-political themes. The Trio has been appointed as the FUAM Ensemble in Residence at the University of Leeds.

 

The Marsyas Trio’s latest album, Alternative Readings (Métier | Divine Art Recordings, 2024), in collaboration with award-winning mezzo-soprano Lotte Betts-Dean, showcases visionary music by Michael Finnissy. The record received wide critical praise and was selected as ‘Chamber Choice’ with a 5-star review by BBC Music Magazine.

 

Olga’s second solo album, Et la lune descend (Palermo Classica, 2018), featuring all-Debussy works, received unanimous critical acclaim from publications including The Arts Desk and BBC Music Magazine. International Piano Magazine described Olga Stezhko as a pianist who “communicates that excitement of discovery throughout” and gives Debussy’s works “a subtle, fluent performance, catching their delicious restraint beautifully.”

 

Born in Minsk, Olga was educated in Belarus, Italy, and the UK, where she completed both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees with distinction at the Royal Academy of Music.​

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