Sodi Braide

SODI BRAIDE
Pianist
SODI BRAIDE
"Sodi Braide is (…) prodigiously gifted. His sound is clear, his playing both powerful and fluid, he also possesses an innate
sense of colors and melody.” Mathias Heizmann, Arte.tv.
"Sodi Braide is a born storyteller who transports us, from the very first instants (…) and holds us spellbound from the first to
the last note.” Jerome-Henri Cailleux, La lettre du Musicien.
A cosmopolitan artist influenced by numerous cultures, Sodi Braide likes to explore a large repertoire, of
different styles and periods. Currently living in Paris, he performs recitals and chamber concerts in France
(Radio France, Salle Cortot, Bagatelle Chopin Festival, Serres d’Auteuil Festival, “Flâneries
musicales” Reims festival, Jacobins Cloister in Toulouse, Salle Moliere in Lyon, amongst others). He
has also performed in the United Kingdom (Harrogate, Cheltenham and Cambridge Summer
Music Festivals), Belgium, Italy, Germany, Spain, Luxemburg, Romania and the United States
(notably in the Ravinia “Rising Stars” and the “Dame Myra Hess” concert series).
He was invited to perform in South Africa in 1994, thus becoming one of the first black African pianists
to perform there after the end of apartheid. His Paris debut recital in 2001 was recorded by Radio France
for the “Declic” CD series, sponsored by the French Foreign Ministry, after which he was invited for
extensive tours of Latin America (Mexico, Brazil, Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador).
Born of Nigerian parents in Newcastle (United Kingdom), Sodi Braide started playing the piano at the age
of 3 in Dublin, Ireland. He continued his musical studies in Nigeria until 1988, when he was noticed by
the French pianist Eric Heidsieck during a competition organized by the Musical Society of Nigeria
(MUSON). He was subsequently invited to take part in the televised concert “Classic Aid II” at
UNESCO, Paris, in which artists such as Placido Domingo, Barbara Hendricks and Lorin Maazel
performed also. He then continued his musical studies in France, first of all at the Orleans Conservatory,
then with Jacques Rouvier at the Conservatoire National Supérieur, Paris and with Françoise Thinat at
the Ecole Normale, Paris. He moreover obtained the French scientific baccalaureate.
In order to pursue his musical development, he entered the postgraduate course (Troisième Cycle) at the
Paris Conservatory, studying under Gerard Fremy, and then was admitted into the class of Dmitri
Bashkirov at the Reina Sofia School, Madrid. He was then granted residency at the prestigious Lake
Como Piano Foundation where he took part in masterclasses by internationally renowned musicians such
as Leon Fleisher, Fou Ts’ong, Andreas Staier, Alicia de Larrocha and Charles Rosen, amongst
others.
Sodi Braide has won numerous prizes and awards. He was notably a laureate of the “Natexis Banques
Populaires” foundation, as well as a prize-winner in the international competitions of Pretoria, South
Africa, Leeds and Van Cliburn (Jury Discretional Prize).
Sodi Braide is an avid chamber music performer. He has also performed with orchestras such as the Neue
Philarmonie Westfalen, the Inter Loire Orchestra, the Paris International Orchestra, the Toulouse Tempo
Orchestra and the Caracas National Philharmonic Orchestra.
Sodi Braide took part in the 2003 DVD recording of Saint-Saens’ Carnival of the Animals for LORCOM
productions, with Pierre Arditi as narrator.
His 2006 solo recording of piano works by César Franck for the French label Lyrinx received excellent
reviews in France and other countries.
Sodi’s performances have been broadcast on TV by MEZZO and the BBC.
PRESS ARTICLES
SHIMMERING PIANO
4 p.m.: the Tau Palace Festival Hall, where Sodi Braide was playing, was full. In a packed hall, the pianist
played a program during which one could wonder if the Baroque period sounded romantic on the piano
or if Romanticism had been influenced by Baroque.
After interpreting the Bach choral Nun komm der Heiden Heiland arranged by Busoni, Sodi Braide played the
Prelude and Fugue in E minor, by Mendelssohn. The prelude was marked by strong romanticism, full of
depth and lightness, whereas the fugue started softly. The middle section combined organ-like writing and
a musical conception typical of the 19th century.
The pianist then proposed the piano arrangement of César Franck’s Prelude, fugue and variation. The piece
started with the gentleness of an elegiac and dreamlike lullaby. This gentleness was increased by some
changes in register, for example, the theme was presented at the end of the “prelude” in the top section of
the piano, making it agreeably light. This delicateness gave way to majestic chords, followed by sudden
calm, during the “fugue”. In this section, there was a lot of reference to the deep base notes of the organ.
Sodi Braide uses a great variety of tone between the different voices, especially in the last movement. He
presented a new face of this well-known piece, a new evocation of Franck’s harmonies.
The pianist ended his performance with a masterly interpretation of Liszt’s Second Ballade. As with the
other pieces of the program, he exploited the registration and the colors of his instrument. The full
potential of the piano was used, alternating between turmoil and peace.
In this intense and brilliant concert, Sodi Braide, for our greatest pleasure, showed all his abilities, his
genius and his talent.
Reims "Flâneries" Festival: Raphael Arnault & Cecilia Bazille, L’Union.
Schubert cycle at the Archipel Hall [Paris]: Spring schubertiades
Schubert’s eighteen piano sonatas in six concerts, proposed by six pianists- thanks to this
series, the Archipel hall enabled a better understanding of these works, which are not all well
known. Three different pianists took to the stage each evening, each playing one sonata.
Each concert ended with a different pianist. (…)
The greatest contribution of this festival was the (re-) discovery of Sodi Braide. A prizewinner in the international competitions of Leeds (2003) and Van Cliburn (jury discretional
prize, 2005), regularly invited by several festivals in France (“Flaneries musicales” in Reims,
Serres d’Auteuil festival, Chopin festival in Bagatelle…), this exceptional pianist of Nigerian
origin conquered the audience with his masterly interpretation of the Sonata in C minor D.
958 during the fourth evening. With the Sonata in C major D. 840 during the last concert, he
meditated with the composer in the vast architecture of the first movement and expressed
the infinity of the world through subtle silences in the second movement. He brought us
naturally to the heart of Schubert’s universe, but also into his own universe. His immense
talent, marked by surprising musicality, deserves to be discovered urgently.
Victoria Okada, www.resmusica.com
PRESS REVIEWS OF THE RECORDING " CÉSAR FRANCK: PIANO WORKS"
"Privileged moments of this recording, the organ choral transcriptions by Blanche Selva add
riches to the piano repertory that Sodi Braide highlights with his firm touch and clear
conception. This is a magnificent rendering of Franck's complete piano works."
Jean Roy, Le Monde de la Musique, December 2006.
“Sodi Braide shows an exceptional sense of architecture. His fine, sensitive and virtuoso
playing reinvents the autumn colors of the French composer. And for our greatest pleasure,
the coherence of his program reveals a living and inspired talent. A fortunate discovery.”
Jean-Jacques Millo, Parutions.com, March 2007.
"A style and conception perfectly suited to the music of Franck."
Etienne Moreau, Diapason, November 2006
"Sodi Braide is (…) prodigiously gifted. His sound is clear, his playing both powerful and
fluid, he also possesses an innate sense of colors and melody (…) he is an infinitely sensitive
musician one would wish to listen to, in a quiet room, searching for peace, when the day
disappears (…) A great composer meets a sensitive and gifted interpreter. What more could
one ask for?"
Mathias Heizmann, Arte.tv, January 2007.