ABOUT VENETA
Known for her exceptionally creative and exciting projects, pianist Veneta Neynska is one of the most emotionally engaging and intellectually captivating pianists of her generation. Her fine and thoughtful interpretations of short pieces in the Brevitas solo album, elegant series of black-and-white musical videos and profound renderings of Franz Schubert’s complete piano sonatas are among the many fascinating pianistic endeavors Veneta has offered her appreciative audience.
Reaching out for inspiration to both traditional and contemporary visual arts, literature, architecture and poetry, Veneta Neynska’s music-making has been described by her audience as “sensational”, “graceful and full of nuances’, “outstanding”, “deep and profound”, “beyond magical” and more. Part of her interpretations can be found on her YouTube channel, gorgeously shot by her longterm artistic companion Jassen Haralampiev. The videos contain music by Franck, Mendelssohn, Debussy, Liszt, Chopin, Vladiguerov, Schubert-Liszt and are presented as a one-shot, black-and-white films offering the viewers an extremely intimate experience as close to a live a performance as possible.
Veneta Neynska’s curious mind and adventurous nature have inspired her to explore rare concerto repertoire and perform exciting pieces such as Clara Schumann’s A minor Concerto, as well as pieces for piano and orchestra by two of J.S. Bach’s sons – Carl Philipp Emanuel and Johann Christian. The Polish performance of Alexander Tansman’s Second Piano Concerto has sparked an interest in a wide variety of Polish music. Although Veneta is a fine interpreter of Chopin’s music (hear Chopin’s Nocturne op. 9, No. 1 here), pieces by Karol Szymanowski, Juliusz Zarębski, Ignaz Friedman and Henryk Górecki are at the core of her “no-Chopin” Polish program presented at the prestigious Piano Extravaganza festival in her native town of Sofia.
A graduate of her native city’s music school with the highest achievement award of a National Diploma, Veneta has continued her education under John Perry at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music in Los Angeles, CA and afterwards with Joan Havill at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, UK. Major influences on her development as a musician have been extensive work with Bulgarian pianists Gina Tabakova and Vesko Stambolov along with masterclasses with prominent musicians such as Imogen Cooper, Jerome Lowenthal, Alexei Nasedkin, Dominique Merlet, and others.
An interesting fact in Veneta’s biography is that her piano teacher John Perry’s music family tree traces back her lineage all the way to Beethoven. This is the likely reason Beethoven’s music has a special place in Veneta’s heart for she has performed his music throughout her career. Ever since being a laureate of the Beethoven Intercollegiate Competition and a First Prize winner at the Beethoven Hradec Competition, Veneta has performed a large portion of his solo piano and chamber music. Beethoven’s Triple and Third Concertos are also part of her repertoire, presented with the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra in the Czech Republic, as well as Fourth Concerto which she had the pleasure of performing together with the Shumen Philharmony, conducted by Konstantin Ilievsky.
In addition to launching the extremely successful “Concerts with History” series, Veneta is also a frequent guest artist to the “ClassicArt” ensemble chamber series. Her innovative recital program, “Chances & Choices,” explores musical and literary interpretations of the themes of fate and will, and has been presented in Germany, UK, Ireland, Sweden and Switzerland, as well at the prestigious “Sofia Music Weeks” festival.
A passionate advocate for the musical legacy of fellow Bulgarian composer, pianist, and architect Dimitar Nenov, Veneta Neynska has extensively researched his life and works. Together with director Jassen Haralampiev, she created the critically acclaimed musical documentary Dimitar Nenov and the Dimensions of Elegance. Supported by the National Culture Fund, the film features the only surviving recording of Nenov, who is widely regarded as the most significant Bulgarian pianist of all time.
Veneta’s long-term dedication to promoting Nenov’s works has led her on an extensive tour of various cities across Bulgaria, where she presents a cineconcert dedicated to the composer. This program will soon be showcased in New York and major European cities. Veneta has also made a rare recording of Nenov’s piano music, and the album The Architect’s View will be released on the CRD label in 2026 to mark the 125th anniversary of Dimitar Nenov’s birth. The album includes the composer’s masterpiece Theme and Variations and his devilishly difficult Toccata, recorded for the first time by a female pianist.