SELECTED QUOTES FROM REVIEWS OF BRAGIN'S PERFORMANCES:
- Bragin spent much of her career as a college chemistry professor, but she is a complete artist of the piano. She and Sandra Armstrong Groce, the group's violist, gave an arresting performance of Rebecca Clarke's Sonata for Viola and Piano (1919).
- The Charleston Gazette
- ... her poetic, intense account of the third movement [of Chopinís Sonata No. 3 in B Minor] still resonates deeply. The detailed attention she paid to its unfolding structure suggested some overlap between her two fields [music and chemistry].
- The Washington Post
- ... a fabulous performance ... that had everything: technical security, wit, the communication of sheer joy in playing. It was fully professional in every way except that the player makes her living in chemistry not music.
- Dallas Morning News
- . . . an extraordinarily cohesive Chopin Sonata in B minor - a work some noted pianists don't knit together as convincingly or even play as cleanly as she does.
- The Miami Herald
- The Schumann [Carnaval] got off to a brisk, confident start and never slackened thereafter. Its wealth of controlled capriciousness and melting sensibility were most impressive.
- The Palo Alto TImes
- The recital ended with a brilliant performance of Chopin's Sonata No. 3 in B minor, Op. 58. ... Her [Bragin's} playing was by turns fanciful and tragic, but always concise and expressive.
- The Chemical Heritage Foundation Newsmagazine
- Ms. Bragin's preliminary-round performance of a Haydn sonata was one of the most memorable of the competition: deft, witty and charming. She was never less than a sure-fingered, tasteful pianist.
- The Dallas Morning News
- Her extraordinary polish, note-perfect performance, and overall elegance won her a tie for first prize as well as a special award for best performance of a romantic work.
- The Star-Telegram (Fort Worth)
- Bragin impressed jurors with her technically impeccable performance of Chopin's Sonata No. 3 in B minor.
- The Houston Chronicle
- Bartok's eight improvisations on Hungarian folk songs are seldom heard in the concert hall. One was grateful to Bragin for programming them, and doubly grateful because she plays them so well.
- The Palo Alto Times
- She gave a full, rounded tone to the tolling of the bells in "At the Monastery" from the Petite Suite, and her light touch with the gushers of notes in the Scherzo in A-Flat made it clear why [Vladimir Horowitz] (sic) often used this piece as an encore. [Works mentioned were by chemist-composer Alexandr Borodin. The Scherzo was often played as an encore by Sergei Rachmaninoff, not by Horowitz.]
- The Washington Post
- Chemist Ms. Bragin, who was outstanding in a Haydn performance earlier, continued her exceptional playing in music of Bartók and Debussy. She's [one] who could challenge the professionals.
- The Dallas Morning News
OTHER RELEVANT QUOTES AND SOME INTERVIEW ARTICLES:
(Please note that some interviews had factual errors which the reader would hopefully be able to discern.)
- "Ihr Auftritt am heutigen Tag im Kammermusiksaal der Philharmonie zu Berlin hat mich richtig bewegt (und hie und da auch zu Tränen gerührt). ... Danke." From an email message received after a performance in Berlin.
- An article on amateur pianists and the "fascinating world" of amateur piano competitions appeared in Amanda Holloway, "Best of Show," The Pianist Magazine, February-March 2005, pp. 16-18.
- Joan Stephenson, "Chemists Making Music," Chemistry, Winter 2004, pp. 14-18. Chemists and music may seem an odd duo, indeed. But music has a home in the brains of many chemists and other scientists, including individuals who perform at world-class levels. In this article, the authors explores the link between pursuits that seem a million miles apart. Chemistry is a tabloid published by the American Chemical Society. The issue in pdf format may also be obtained here.
- "Winner Seeks to be 'Missionary' for Music," The Herald-Dispatch, Huntington, WV, April 16, 2003. Since 1987, The Herald-Dispatch has been recognizing outstanding people of the Tri-State with its annual Citizen Awards, which honor citizenship, volunteer efforts, business innovation, athletics and the arts. The Award for the Arts was created in 2001 and recognizes contributions to the arts or accomplishments in the field of arts in the Tri-State. The first recipient was wildlife artist Chuck Ripper; Bragin was the second.
- "Faculty Members Participate in 'Mostly American' Concert," The Parthenon, April 17, 2003.
- "Free Pianist Concert Draws More than 100 Attendees," The Parthenon, Vol 104, No. 68, February 25, 2003.
- "Cultural Offerings Abundant in Area," Editorial, Herald-Dispatch, Huntington, WV, 2003 February 22.
- "C&EN Talks with Victoria Bragin: Van Cliburn Award winner and science educator balances excellence in piano and chemistry," Chemical and Engineering News, Volume 80, Number 49 (December 9, 2002).
- "Bravo Vicki!" The Friday Morning Music Club Newsletter, Vol. 37, No. 1. page 1 (October 2002).
- "Professor Picks Up National Award", PCC Courier, 2002 June 27.
- "Victoria Bragin Plays Herself Proud," Editorial, Herald-Dispatch, Huntington, WV, 2002 June 12.
"Barboursville pianist shares top prize in major competition," Herald-Dispatch, Huntington, WV, 2002 June 11.
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