Winner of the Latin GRAMMY® Award, nominated for the ICMA Award, winner of the “Best Recital of the Year" Award by the Association of Art Critics of São Paulo, the William Petschek Prize of the Juilliard School and the First Prize in the International Artists in New York, Sonia Rubinsky is a "profound and refined pianist who leaves nothing to be desired. Her Mozart is articulate, no less singing and clear than that of Perahia or Uchida. Her Scarlatti demonstrates an imperial control of tone. Like her compatriots, the late Guiomar Novaes and Nelson Freire, she has this genius for color which makes her an ideal interpreter of Debussy or Messiaen.”
Born in Brazil to a Polish mother and a Lithuanian father, Sonia Rubinsky began studying piano at the Campinas Music Conservatory with Olga Rizzardo Normanha. She gave her first recital at the age of five and a half, and by twelve, she was performing as a soloist with an orchestra. Her exceptional talent led her to continue her studies at the Rubin Academy in Jerusalem.
At 16, she performed for Arthur Rubinstein in the film Arthur Rubinstein in Jerusalem, earning admiration for her strong artistic temperament. Encouraged by this extraordinary master, she pursued her education at the Juilliard School in New York, where she earned a Doctorate, before launching a career that took her to some of the world’s most prestigious stages: Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Bargemusic, Merkin Concert Hall, Miller Theatre, Hertz Hall in Berkeley, Maison de la Radio, Sala São Paulo, Teatro Municipal de São Paulo, Recanati Hall, Cadogan Hall in London, AGA-Zaal in the Netherlands, among many others.
Her award-winning discography (Latin GRAMMY Award, ICMA nomination, Editor’s Choice...) has been acclaimed by critics (Le Monde de la Musique, Diapason, Gramophone, BBC Music Magazine, ClassicsToday). Her recordings feature a vast repertoire, spanning Bach, Debussy, Messiaen, Scarlatti, and Mozart, as well as contemporary composers such as Almeida Prado, Jorge Liderman, Gabriela Lena Frank. She is also renowned for her complete recordings of Villa-Lobos' solo piano works, now considered a definitive reference. Continuing this work, she is currently recording the complete piano concertos of Villa-Lobos, an ambitious project further cementing her dedication to the Brazilian composer’s legacy.