Yuval Admony

Teaching Languages : English, Italian, Hebrew

Teaching Period : Aug.16 (arrival) - 22 (departure)

Pianist Yuval Admony is a Professor of Piano Duos, Piano Solo and Chamber Music in the following establishments. Piano Duos: The Buchman-Mehta School of Music in Tel Aviv University, The Tel Hai International Piano Master Classes in Israel and The Jerusalem Music. Piano Duo Master Classes abroad include the Rimsky Korsakov Conservatory in Saint Petersburg, PTNA - Japan National Piano Teachers Association in Tokyo, KNUA - The Korean National University of Arts in Seoul, Piano Fest in Subotica, Serbia. Piano Solo: Taught at Ramat Hasharon and Givatayim Conservatories, and in international courses such as: Primavera Pianistica in Belgium, Euro Arts in Halle, Germany, Perugia MusicFest in Italy, Poros International Academy in Greece, The Norwegian National Academy of Music in Oslo, The Pacific Rim Festival in the Vancouver Island, Academia Valdarnese, and Trieste Conservatorio di Musica Giuseppe Tartini in Italy, World Piano Teachers Association in Novi Sad in Serbia.

Mr. Admony has been a jury member in National & International Competitions including The America–Israel Foundation, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem Academies Chamber Music and Concerti Competitions, The Concerto Competition in Tel Hai Piano Master Course, Qualified Musicians in the Israeli Defense Force, IBLA GRAND PRIZE in Sicily, Piano Duo Competitions Duettissimo and Take Two in Israel, New Immigrants Competition, and others. His students have been prizewinners in national competitions such as the National Piano Duo Competition and The Glitter of the Baroque, The Pnina Zalzman Competition, audition winners to play with the Israeli philharmonic, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra and award recipients of the American Israeli Foundation. His students participated in Summer Courses in Israel & abroad: Perugia Italy, Vlasti Greece, Castle D’Úrsel Belgium, EuroArts in Germany, Poros Festival in Greece and Piano Fest in Serbia.

Mr. Admony directed for a decade the concert series: Around the Piano hosting leading musicians from Israel and abroad. In 2003 he co-founded and was the Artistic Director of: The 1st International Piano Duo Festival in Israel presenting duos from 10 countries in The Israel Opera House and The Jerusalem Theatre – hosting Israeli Chamber Orchestra. Member of the Music Committee in Israel Ministry of Culture, and Chair of Israel Piano Teachers Association. He is the author of the book: "THE WONDERS OF MUSIC", 4-hand pieces for Teacher & Pupil based on music theory topics (The Scale ~ Tone & Semitone ~ Intervals ~ Chords ~ Chord Degrees ~ Clefs ~ Note Values ~ Grand Finale) along illustrated music fables.

Yuval Admony holds a Masters Degree from the Tel Aviv Academy of Music and an ArtistDiploma from the Royal Academy of Music in London. After his studies, he joined the Mozart European Foundation and performed in chamber music festivals in Krakow, Budapest, Prague, Warsaw and Florence. His live concerts of Enescu’s 2 Piano Quartets in the Slowazki Theatre in Krakow were released with EMF label in Salzburg. Other solo releases: the CD: Towards 2000 recorded by the Israeli Composers League in the Anthology: “Psanterin” –100 years of Israeli composition for piano solo.

In 1996 Yuval formed The Kanazawa-Admony Piano Duo with Japanese pianist (and wife) Tami Kanazawa. Since then, the Duo has been conducting an active career in Israel and abroad. First prizewinner of 5 international piano duo competitions: The 2008 Oslo Prize in Grieg Concours, The 2005 Menuhin Gold Prize in Osaka International Competition, the 2002 IBLA GRAND PRIZE in Sicily, The 2001 Rome Prize and The 2000 Tokyo Competition. Recipients of The Israel Minister of Culture Award for a Permanent Ensemble.

 They have been described in terms of: “heights of virtuosity and fantasy” [BNN Germany], “Astonishing coordination and refined musical taste” [Jerusalem Post] “real artistic sentiment” [Odessa Reporter] and Unity and musicality that is above criticism" [Music Today, Japan]. 

Kanazawa-Admony have performed in over 30 countries. Prestigious halls include Carnegie Hall, New York, Argentina Theatre in Rome, Tokyo Metropolitan Festival Hall, Warsaw National Radio Hall, Budapest Congress Hall, Jerusalem Theatre and others. International Festivals include The Budapest Spring Festival, Baltic Piano Duets Festival in St. Petersburg, The Pacific Rim Festival in Canada, Klavierduo Festival in Germany, Odessa Dialogues, Asian Music Festival, Piano Fest in Subotica, Serbia, Felicja Blumental Festival, Upper Gallilee Festival and The Israel Festival. 

They were broadcast on the radio stations of BBC London, CBC Canada, Tokyo FM, NHK Japan, BNR Bulgaria, Warsaw Radio 2, Budapest National Radio, Radio New Zealand and Israel “Voice of Music”. 

As guest duo soloists they appeared with Israel's leading orchestras amongst which; The Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra. The Israel Symphony Orchestra, Rishon Lezion, Israel Chamber Orchestra Tel Aviv, Israel Kibbutz Orchestra, Israel Sinfonietta Beer Sheva, and others. Their CD featuring The Symphonic Poems by Liszt with NAXOS Label, received claim in the music magazines Fanfare and International Piano. Other releases include: Rhapsodies for Two Pianos with Romeo Records Label, Ami Maayani Double Concerto with Fons Music Foundation Label. 

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Ya-Fei Chuang

Teaching Languages : English, German, Chinese
Teaching Dates : July 3 - 6, 2025

Ya-Fei Chuang’s performances have been hailed by the New York Times, Gramophone, Fanfare Magazine, and the Berlin Tagesspiegel. Her mentor, Alfred Brendel, has praised her as “a pianist of extraordinary ability, intelligence, sensitivity and command …”  Commenting on her newly released Chopin/Liszt recording, he stated, “If you want to listen to Chopin and Liszt with different ears, Ya-Fei Chuang's ecstatic performances cannot leave you cold, and her pianism is staggering;” ...

and Remy Franck called it “...masterful...thrilling...phenomenal” (Classical Music Journal).  Reviewing her live recording of the Mendelssohn Piano Concerto No.1, Fanfare Magazine hailed her “delicacy and fluidity of touch ... this version now sits at the top of the pile of Mendelssohn Firsts, alongside Perahia, [Rudolf] Serkin, and John Ogdon.”

Ya-Fei Chuang’s international appearances as a soloist include the orchestras of Berlin, Boston, City of Birmingham, Israel, Malaysia, and Tokyo.  Having performed in over 20 countries, more recently she has appeared in Argentina, Austria, Brazil, England, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Norway, Poland, Taiwan, Tokyo, Boston, Florida, New York, Rhode Island, San Francisco.  She has performed at the festivals of Verbier, Ruhr, Schleswig-Holstein, the European Music Festival (Germany), Bach Festival (Leipzig), the Mozartwoche (Salzburg), the Mozart Festival (Romania), Beethoven Festival (Warsaw and Krakow), Shannon (Ireland), Oulu (Finland), and in the US at Gilmore, Grand Piano Series, Nevada, Newport, Oregon Bach Festival, Ravinia, Sarasota, Tanglewood, and at the Taipei International Music Festival, Taiwan International Music Festival, and Taiwan Maestro Piano Festival. She has performed in the Celebrity Series in Boston, at the Fromm Foundation concerts at Harvard, the Harvard Musical Association, the International Music Sessions in Prussia Cove, England, and with the New York Philomusica.  She performs frequently with the Spectrum Ensemble Berlin, and has appeared in duo performances with Pierre Amoyal, Alban Gerhardt, Clive Greensmith, Kim Kashkashian, Mark Kosower, Gabriel Lipkind, Boris Pergamenschikow, Andreas Schablas, and is a frequent partner of Steven Isserlis and Robert Levin.  She has collaborated in duo and chamber music performances with concertmasters and principal players of the Berlin Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, and Philadelphia Orchestra.

She is equally adept at playing the fortepiano and has performed with leading ensembles on period instruments, including the Academy of Ancient Music, Boston Baroque, Concerto Köln, Handel & Haydn Society, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Philharmonia Baroque. She recently gave a concert at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, on a newly restored 1820s Fritz fortepiano; and she has performed and recorded as soloist the three Mozart double and triple concertos with Robert Levin, Laurence Cummings, and the Academy of Ancient Music in London to great critical acclaim.

Chuang's mastery of the most challenging solo and chamber music repertoire is complemented by her passionate commitment to contemporary music. She has premiered numerous works by international prize winners Thomas Oboe Lee, Alexander Müllenbach, Stanley Walden, MacArthur and Pulitzer Prize winner John Harbison and Pulitzer Prize winner Yehudi Wyner. She has presented contemporary music at many important venues, including in the Berlin Philharmonic Hall, at the Ruhr Piano Festival, in New York, Boston, Salzburg, at Yale University.  She performed contemporary works as a soloist with orchestra for the Fromm Foundation at Harvard University, and she taught at the American Conservatory in Fontainebleau (France), where she performed contemporary music.

Ya-Fei Chuang has recorded for AAM Records, ECM, Harmonia Mundi, Le Palais des Dégustateurs, Naxos, and New York Philomusica Records.  The Klavierfestival-Ruhr has released a number of her live recordings, including a solo recital distributed as a premium by Fono Forum Magazine in Germany.  Her recording of Hindemith chamber works was awarded a special prize by the International Record Review.

Ya-Fei Chuang is University Professor at Mozarteum University in Salzburg. She was visiting professor at the Jacobs School of Music, Indiana University (2022~2023). She was associate professor of the Boston Conservatory at Berklee and has taught a piano performance seminar for nearly two decades at the New England Conservatory. She is a sought-after teacher of master classes throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. Since 2008 she has given an annual two-week master class at the International Summer Academy at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. She has served on the juries of international piano competitions, most recently at the Grieg Competition in Norway, the Beethoven Competition in Vienna and Telekom Beethoven Competition in Bonn.

Prizewinner in the Cologne International Piano Competition at age 18, Ya-Fei Chuang first performed on television in her native Taiwan at the age of eight and gave her first public solo recital at age nine.  She won first prize at the nationally televised ‘Genius vs. Genius’ Competition at age ten, and as a student of Prof. Rolf-Peter Wille she won first prize at the National Competition (Taiwan) at age eleven. The following year she received unprecedented fellowships and scholarships from several prestigious foundations in Germany and Taiwan that enabled her to pursue pre-college, undergraduate, and masters-level studies at the Freiburg Conservatory (Musikhochschule) with Rosa Sabater and Robert Levin, completing the six-year course of study in four.  During this time she was awarded numerous prizes, including the Basel-Colmar-Freiburg Arts Prize, the Mendelssohn Prize (Freiburg) and Parke-Davis Prize (Germany). She subsequently concluded her German studies with Pavel Gililov, receiving a concert diploma (final degree) at the Cologne Conservatory, and earned a graduate diploma at the New England Conservatory in Boston with Russell Sherman.  Her master class teachers included Leon Fleischer, Gil Kalish, Elisabeth Leonskaja, John O'Conor, John Perry, Menahem Pressler, Karl-Ulrich Schnabel, and György Sebök.

Ya-Fei Chuang is a Steinway artist.

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William Fong

Teaching Language : English

Teaching Period : July 19 (arrival) - 25 (departure)

William’s international career was launched in 1984 when he won the first prize, gold medal and Rosa Sabater prize at the Concurso Internacional de Piano in Jaén, Spain. His concerto début at St. John's Smith Square with the Philharmonia Orchestra followed soon after.  He subsequently added successes in the Busoni, Cleveland, Iturbi, and Scottish International Competitions.

Performances in New York, Moscow and St Petersburg (under the auspices of the Sviatoslav Richter Foundation), and in Europe have drawn critical acclaim and enthusiastic audiences. Invited to China, supported by Arts Council England, William has performed and given master classes in Shanghai. He has also performed in Australia at the invitation of the Chair of the Australian Piano Pedagogy Conference and was the keynote speaker, giving a recital and master classes, at the Institute of Registered Music Teachers of New Zealand conference in Auckland.

William maintains a busy schedule of recitals, master classes, teaching and lecturing both in the UK and abroad, as well as regular commitments to some of the finest international piano summer schools.

A musician of wide interests, William has performed with ensembles such as the Brodsky Quartet and members of Guildhall Strings. He has also collaborated with singers Steve Davislim and James Rutherford and has recorded some fascinating and little known repertoire in the chamber music field. His concerts have been broadcast on television and on radio in Europe and the US. William has performed at all of London's major venues.  His concerts have been broadcast on BBC Radio 3, Classic FM, and BBC television.

A distinguished teacher, William is in demand for master classes and adjudication in the UK and overseas. He is a Professor at the Royal Academy of Music www.ram.ac.uk and Head of Keyboard at the Purcell School for Young Musicians www.purcell-school.org - one of Europe's leading specialist schools for talented young musicians, visiting professor at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and Artistic Director of “Piano Star” – an educational project and festival for young pianists in Romania.

His students’ achievements have included places and scholarships to study at Curtis Institute of Music USA, Universität der Künste Berlin, Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Wien (MDW), the Royal Academy of Music, Royal College of Music, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and Trinity Laban.  His students have also won important international competitions, including Liszt International Competition (Budapest), Weimar Liszt International Competition, Jeunesses Musicales Romania, and Lagny-Sur-Marne International Piano Competition. Students have also established successful careers as recording artists. 

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Victor Chestopal

Teaching Languages : French, English, Italian, German, Swedish, Russian
Teaching Dates : August 21 - 25, 2025

Pianist, musicologist, poet Victor Chestopal was born 1975 in Moscow into a family of musicians, writers, scientists and artists. His first piano lessons, at the age of five, were under the guidance of his mother, Professor Victoria Yagling (1946-2011): a cellist and composer, a former student of Mstislav Rostropovich. At the age of six, Chestopal was enrolled as a pupil at the Gnessin Music School and three years later at the Central Music School of the Tchaikovsky Conservatoire. There, his teachers were Tamara Bobovich, Alexander Mndoyants, Professors Lev Vlassenko and Mikhail Pletnev.

At the age of twelve, Chestopal performed Mendelssohn’s Piano Concerto No. 1 in G minor in Saratov and the following year gave a recital at Moscow’s Rachmaninoff Concert Hall. In 1990 Chestopal won the First Prize at the “Carlo Soliva” International Competition in Casale Monferrato (Italy), and in 1991 played before Pope John Paul II at the Vatican as a soloist in Prokofiev’s First Piano Concerto with the Russian National Orchestra conducted by Mikhail Pletnev.

Chestopal has lived in Helsinki since 1990 and became a Finnish citizen in 1997, graduating with a Master’s degree from the Sibelius Academy in 2001. His studies at the Sibelius Academy were under the guidance of Professors Vitali Berzon and Erik T. Tawaststjerna. During his studies at the Accademia Pianistica “Incontri col Maestro” in Imola (Italy), 1992-1997, and at the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt in Weimar (Germany), 1995-1997, Chestopal was tutored by Lazar Berman. In 2001-2002, Chestopal had an opportunity to play several times for Mstislav Rostropovich.

A prize-winner of several major piano competitions Chestopal has performed all over the world, appearing in concert halls such as the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, Salle Gaveau in Paris, Schauspielhaus in Berlin, Herkulessaal in Munich, the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatoire, Kolarac Hall in Belgrade and Finlandia Hall in Helsinki.

Victor Chestopal has been a guest at many festivals, such as the Festival de Wallonie, Naantali Festival, Janacek May, Brancaster Midsummer Music, Carl Orff Festival, Ascoli Piceno Festival.
Chestopal has appeared as a soloist with such orchestras as the Moscow Philharmonic, the Russian National Orchestra, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Janacek Philharmonic, the National Orchestra of Belgium and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège, the conductors including Mikhail Pletnev, Hugh Wolff, Dennis Burkh, Pierre Bartholomée and Aleksandar Markovic among others.

In the domain of chamber music, Victor Chestopal collaborated with Victoria Yagling (over 20 years), Arto Noras, Michael Flaksman, Xavier Phillips, Pavel Berman, David Grimal, Tokyo String Quartet and other artists and ensembles.

Chestopal has recorded for Melodiya, Russian Disc, Ricercar and Record Production of Radio and Television of Serbia (Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3, with the Serbian Radio and Television Orchestra, conducted by Aleksandar Markovic).

n 2010, Victor Chestopal became a Doctor of Music at the Sibelius Academy. The doctoral degree comprised five recitals dedicated to the cornerstones of the piano repertoire (Bach’s Goldberg Variations; Beethoven’s Grosse Sonate für das Hammerklavier, op. 106; Schubert’s Sonata in B flat major D 960; Brahms’ Sonata No. 3, op. 5; Liszt’s Sonata in B minor, among other works) and a doctoral thesis entitled “Temporal correlation in the Goldberg Variations”.

Chestopal has been active as a pedagogue, conducting master-classes at several European universities and conservatories. Since 2007 he has led annual piano master-classes in Liège, and since 2018 he is a piano professor at the Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles, where he is chairman of the Keyboard section (since 2020). 

Chestopal is invited as a jury member of international piano competitions.

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Roman Zaslavsky

Teaching Languages : English, German, Russian

“Close your eyes, the piano is there”

Pizzicato, Luxemburg

"...a memorable performance of the excellent Russian-Israeli pianist Roman Zaslavsky

...interpreted in the best tradition of Sviatoslav Richter and Emil Giles“

AN Bariloche, Argentina

Born in St. Petersburg Israeli pianist Roman Zaslavsky gained an international recognition after winning the Primer Gran Premio at the renowned “José Iturbi” International Piano Competition in Valencia, Spain.

Since then he performs regularly at the major concert stages around the globe. His tours took him to almost all European countries as well as to Israel, Japan,Columbia, Mexico, Argentina and Brazil. In the past few years, the pianist has given performances also in Asia during his extensive tours in Taiwan and China appearing among others at the National Concert Hall in Taipei, at the Beijing Concert Hall, at the Shanghai Oriental Art Center etc.

Roman Zaslavsky is also a top prizewinner of some other renowned international piano

competitions such as the “Vendome Prize” International Piano Competition in Cologne (the

only winner) and the “3rd Hamamatsu Academy International Piano Competition” in Japan

(second Prize).

Having left St. Petersburg and Russia in 1991 Roman Zaslavsky emigrated to Israel, then moved to Germany. Here he made his debut with the London Symphony Orchestra under the button of Gianandrea Noseda performing then regularly with acclaimed international orchestras in Spain, Italy, Germany, South America in collaboration with Michail Jurowski, Lászlo Kovács, Constantin Trinks, Ligia Amadio and Ruben Gazarian.

In 2017 Roman Zaslavsky was appointed Professor for Piano at the University of Music and

Performing Arts in Vienna.

Roman Zaslavsky’s concert appearances in such concert halls as the Berliner Philharmonie, the Philharmonie am Gasteig in Munich, the Alte Oper in Frankfurt, the Laeiszhalle in Hamburg, the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Tonhalle in Zurich, the Palau de la Música in Valencia, the Auditorio Nacional de Música in Madrid, the Salle Gaveau in Paris, the Oji Hall in Tokyo, the Kitara Hall in Sapporo, the Sala Cecilia Meireles in Rio de Janeiro, the Sala Sao Paolo in Sao Paolo and the Jerusalem Theatre are recognized by international audiences and critics alike. 

The Scottish “Herald” was impressed by his performance calling it ”...A touch of dynamite”, “... flamboyant, swashbuckling”, “...A sensation”. The British press praised him in “Strad” magazine, saying that Mr. Zaslavsky is “... a pianist with exceptional virtuosity”, the Canadian “Toronto Star” wrote that his performance was “marvellous”, German “Badische Neueste Nachrichten” referred to him as “... a virtuoso keyboard lion”.

Zaslavsky's discography contains several releases with EuroArts Music International: in 2012 the first Blu-Ray Audio release “Ingenious Opposites Vol.1” featuring works of Robert

Schumann and Franz Liszt received the international Pizzicato Supersonic Award (2013). The sequel “Ingenious Opposites Vol.2”, released in November 2013 on Blu-Ray Audio highly acclaimed by the "Pizzicato International Journal for Classical Music". Zaslavsky’s release of the filmed studio solo recital with works of Sergei Rachmaninov and Sergei Prokofiev was published on DVD in 2016 and his live recorded piano recital with works of Robert Schumann and Franz Liszt was released on DVD in 2017.

Roman Zaslavsky’s new recording for DECCA Classics dedicated to works of Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms has been released in December 2020.

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Roland Krüger

Teaching Languages : English, German
Teaching Period : August 16 - 20, 2025

First prize winner of the prestigious Concours de Genève in 2001, Roland Krüger performed in many important international venues such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, the Musikhalle (Laeiszhalle) in Hamburg, the Philharmonic Hall of Cologne, the Victoria Hall in Geneva, the Casino in Basel, the Beethoven Hall in Bonn, the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, the Rheingau Musik Festival or the Festival di Ravello in Italy. As a soloist, he worked with orchestras such as Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchestre National de Belgique, Radio-Philharmonie Hannover des NDR, Basler Sinfonie-Orchester and Orchester der Beethovenhalle Bonn under conductors like Fabio Luisi, Dennis Russell Davies, Othmar Maga, Eiji Oue or Marc Soustrot. 

Roland Krüger studied with Prof. Oleg Maisenberg and Prof. Karl-Heinz Kämmerling. From 1999 until 2001 he was one of the very few selected students in the class of Krystian Zimerman in Basel, Switzerland. 

His recordings include Debussy’s 12 Études for Ars Musici as well as solo works by Schubert, Janáček and Bartók for paladino music. For naxos he recorded chamber music by Joseph Merk, Hummel’s transcriptions of Mozart-Symphonies and the complete works for Cello and Piano by Carl Reinecke. 

In 2007, Krüger became professor at the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media where he is currently the Head of Keyboard and the Head of the Solo performance programme. Many of his students have regularly won prizes, for example in Aarhus, Barletta, Dresden (Anton Rubinstein), Hong Kong, Meiningen (von Bülow), at the “Young Pianists of the North” Competition, in Paris (Ile de France), Sendai, Vevey (Clara Haskil), Vilnius (Čiurlionis) or Zwickau (Schumann). 

Roland Krüger has been conducting master classes in Germany, Austria, Finland, China, Korea, Japan, for example at the Sibelius Academy Helsinki, the Mänttä festival, the Toho Gakuen School in Tokyo, the Fryderyk Chopin University in Warsaw, the UdK in Berlin, the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and the Lithuanian Music Academy of Vilnius. He is often invited as a jury member of national (Deutscher Musikwettbewerb, Bundeswettbewerb “Jugend musiziert”) and international (Ciurlionis, Tallinn, ZF Friedrichshafen, Grotrian, San Donà di Piave) piano competitions.

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Roberta Bambace

Teaching Languages : Italian, German, English

Teaching Period : July 25 (arrival) - 31 (departure)

 

Pianist Roberta Bambace graduated with top marks and honours with Maestro Nunzio Montanari from the Conservatorio 'C. Monteverdi' in Bolzano, where she was soon appointed principal piano teacher. She then furthered her studies with Maestro Bruno Mezzena, attending courses on 20th century music at the Ticino Musica International Classic - Lugano (CH). 

She attended Masterclasses with Irvin Gage in Florence on vocal chamber singing and the International Vocal Chamber Music Workshop in Conegliano Veneto with Charles Spencer, concentrating in particular on composers such as Vaughan Williams, Aaron Copland, Charles Ives and F. Poulenc. 

Winner of numerous prizes in national and international piano competitions (including Treviso, Senigallia, La Spezia, Cesena, Livorno, Finale Ligure, Enna, Oporto - Portugal and Sopron - Hungary), she has made several recordings for RAI and other foreign radio-television stations (Germany, Austria and Hungary). 

She has also recorded several CDs for the record labels 'Bottega Discantica', 'Odradek Records' and 'Brilliant Classics'. From a very young age, she has performed extensively as a soloist, with orchestras and in chamber ensembles in Italy and abroad, playing in important halls and theatres for renowned associations and international festivals, always receiving wide public and critical acclaim. 

She recently toured with a series of recitals in India: Goa (Institute Menezes Briganza - Panaji), Pune (Mazda Hall - Poona Music Society), Mumbai (Prithvi Theatre and NCPA Experimental Theatre). She is also invited to hold Masterclasses in Italy (Talent Music Master Courses - Brescia, Villa Magni - Pistoia, Piceno Classica - San Benedetto del Tronto), Spain (Conservatorio Superior de Musica in Vigo, Granada, Cordoba, Tenerife), Turkey (Anadolu University - Eskişehir), Romania (Conservatory of Timisoara). 

She currently teaches principal piano at the Conservatorio 'L. Campiani' in Mantua. She is the founder and Artistic Director of the 'Platina International Music Festival' and the 'Platina International Grand Prize' music competition, as well as President of the 'Colere Anima' Cultural Association.

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Rintaro Akamatsu

Teaching Languages : English, Japanese
Teaching Dates : Aug. 10 - 14, 2025

Rintaro Akamatsu began studying the piano and the violin at the age of 2, and the cello at the age of 6. He showed remarkable talent from a very young age. At the age of 5, he made his TV debut, showcasing his skills. By the age of 10, he performed Mozart's concerto with his original cadenza. Since winning the All Japan Student Music Competition in 1990, he has achieved success in several major competitions in Japan.

His first international recognition came in 2000 when he won third prize at the Clara Schumann International Piano Competition, which featured esteemed judges such as Martha Argerich and Nelson Freire. Dr. Joachim Kaiser praised him as "really intelligent and talented" during this achievement.

After graduating from Kobe University, he received unanimous acclaim from the judges who awarded him the Diplôme Supérieur de Concertiste for both piano and chamber music at L’Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris. He excelled in chamber music, receiving full marks from all the judges. He has studied under renowned musicians such as Mikhail Voskresensky in Tokyo, France Clidat and Jean Micault in Paris, György Nádor and Kocsis Zoltán in Budapest, and Nina Patchett and Christian Ivaldi for chamber music.

He has performed with prestigious orchestras such as the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Royal Metropolitan Orchestra, Royal Chamber Orchestra, Danube Symphony Orchestra, and Silesian Philharmonic Orchestra, among others. In addition to performing in major concert halls in Japan, he has showcased his talent in the USA, Russia, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Hungary, Poland, Taiwan, and Colombia. His recordings, including "Due Domenico," "Angel del Piazzolla," "And the Bell Tolls," "Hommage a Invention," "Lascia ch'io Pianga," and "Für Clara," released under King International, have received critical acclaim from various magazines.

Moreover, he serves as a jury member for numerous international piano competitions, such as the "Danubia Talents," "Osaka," "Xabia," "Liszt," "Orbetello," "Monegrarte," and "Scandinavian" International Music Competitions. He has been invited to teach master classes in Japan, Asia, and Europe, and has had the privilege of mentoring over 1,000 musicians throughout his career. His guidance and expertise have contributed to the success of many talented individuals, who have emerged as winners in significant domestic and international competitions.

He has also authored numerous works and contributed serials to newspapers and magazines, providing insights into his experiences, knowledge, and perspectives on music. These written contributions showcase his multifaceted presence in the arts.

Currently, Rintaro Akamatsu is Professor of Osaka College of Music, Senzoku Gakuen College of Music, Utsunomiya Junior College, Budapest International Piano Masterclass. The President of the Japan Liszt Piano Academy. An ambassador for Casio.

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Philippe Raskin

      

Teaching Languages 
_ French, Dutch, English, Spanish, German, Italian

Teaching Period

_ July 14 (arrival) - 20 (departure)

Born in Brussels, Philippe Raskin devoted himself to music at a very early age. His performances have been illustrated as a “model of radiant authority (...), solar, generous, committed and under control (MDM, La Libre Belgique) and plays “with an impressive confidence” (JK, Mundo Clasico). 

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Philippe began piano lessons with Aleksandr Friedland, a Russian conductor, and continued working with Bernadette Malter and Loredana Clini. He developed his artistry furthermore with Emanuel Krasovksy, Vincenzo Balzani, Ralf Gothóni, and Leon Fleisher on the piano in addition with Johannes Meissl and Hatto Beyerle for chamber music. 

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At the age of 16, he began studying at the Royal Conservatorium of Brussels in the class of Jean-Claude Vanden Eynden. In the same year, he obtained his first degree with the highest honours. He then joined the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel (still with Jean-Claude Vanden Eynden) and graduated again with the highest honours, receiving the diploma from H.M. the Queen of Belgium. During the same period, he completed his Master's degree at the Royal Conservatorium of Brussels in piano and chamber music. 

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In 2005 he entered the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofia in Madrid where he worked for four years under the tutelage of Dimitri Bashkirov and Claudio Martínez Mehner. As early as the first year, he received from H.M the Queen of Spain the Sobresaliente Prize at the Pardo Palace. In 2010, Philippe started studying at the Strasbourg Conservatory with Amy Lin for a “Diplome de Spécialisation” where he graduated with the highest honours. In 2012 & 2013, he worked with Leonel Morales.

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Philippe has won several national and international competitions, amongst others: the J.S. Bach Competition, the Gretry Rotary Competition, the Paris International Piano Competition, the Lions Club Competition, and the André Dumortier International Piano Competition. In 2012, he became a prizewinner at the Lyon International Piano Competition and won first prize at the “Spanish Composers” International Piano Competition in Madrid. 

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Philippe has performed many recitals, as part of chamber groups and as a soloist with orchestras all over the world - in renowned concert halls such as the Grand Hall of Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, the Shanghai Conservatory of Music, Musikverein in Vienna, or at the Philharmonie in Berlin. He was also invited by the Chopin Foundation in Warsaw to perform in the birthplace of the composer. Philippe regularly performs with orchestras, notably the Belgian National Orchestra, the Flanders Symphony Orchestra, and the Salzburg Chamber Soloists amongst many others. His chamber music partners include artists such as Clemens Hagen, Jérôme Pernoo, Miguel Da Silva, etc. 

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Philippe also regularly performs contemporary music and has taken part in several world premieres. Many composers have dedicated works to him, including "Stringent & Tremulation" from Belgian composer Jean-Marie Rens, "Piano Sonata" from Turkish composer Serkan Gürkan and "Sonata Der Hunt" from Austrian composer Christoph Ehrenfellner. 

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Philippe is invited each year to be a member of the jury in several international piano competitions including the International “Piano Talents” Competition Milan, the Lyon International Piano Competition and is the artistic director of the César Franck International Piano Competition and the International Music Festival (IMF) Paris. He is also a regular member of the jury at the "MozArte" Competition in Cologne, the "Spanish Composers" Competition in Madrid as well as the Chopin Competition in the United States, the "Cita de Cantu" Competition etc. 

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In 2009, Philippe opened his piano school and also gives many masterclasses in Belgium and abroad. From 2016, Philippe was also the artistic director of the “Resonances Musique de Chambre” Festival in France and began teaching at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. Philippe is also a member of the international piano faculty in Brescia and at the International Academy of Music and Performing Arts Vienna.

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Pascal Nemirovski

Teaching Language _ English, French, Russian

"... A Prokofiev Seventh Sonata boasting perfect rhythmic quality and remarkable balance between virtuosity and musicality: good blood never lies!"

Jacques Doucelin, LE FIGARO

Pascal Nemirovski is recognized as one of the most sought-after piano pedagogues in the world with many of his students winning top international prizes (Leeds, Busoni, Ettlingen, YCA New York, YCAT London, BBC New Generation Artist…) and many of whom are now successful recording artists represented by major Concert Artist Management companies (Harrison Parrott, Askonas Holt, Intermusica, IMG Artists…). Among them Lise de la Salle, Louis Schwizgebel, Daniel Lebhardt, Mario Mora, Roman Kosyakov, Emanuil Ivanov, Edward Leung, Yi Zhong ...

He studied at the Juilliard School with Nadia Reisenberg and Adele Marcus from 1981 to 1984 on a full scholarship (Steinway & Freundlich Fund). Then he continued his studies in Paris with France Clidat and Alexis Weissenberg and started to give concerts and masterclasses in Europe, the United States and Asia.

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Olivier Moulin

 

Teaching Languages : French, English, German
Teaching Period : August 16 (arrival) - 22 (departure)

Hailed by the Washington Post as a « young artist displaying maturity and elegance », French pianist Olivier Moulin studied under Eric Heidsieck and Gery Moutier at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique of Lyon, where he was unanimously awarded first prize with honors. After advanced studies in the same institution, he continued his training in Austria at the Salzburg Mozarteum in the classes of Karl-Heinz Kämmerling and Clemens Hagen, where he obtained a Master of Arts with highest honors. Throughout his studies, he has also benefited from the advices of masters such as Aldo Ciccolini, Yvonne Loriod-Messiaen, Jacques Rouvier, Jean-François Heisser, Sergio Perticaroli…

Prizewinner of international piano competitions, he has been invited to participate in major international festivals : la Roque d’Anthéron, Montpellier and Radio-France, Lille Clef de Soleil, Pianos Folies in Le Touquet, Journées Lyriques in Chartres, Divonne, Sully-sur-Loire, La Vézère, Croisements Festival in China, Virtuosi Festival in Brazil, Festival Internacional de Piano En Blanco y Negro in Mexico, Istanbul’s Lisztomanias, Motley Tulip International Arts Festival in Belarus, Bellapais Music Festival in Cyprus… 

He has performed in prestigious venues in France (Grand Auditorium of Radio-France, Salle Gaveau, Salle Cortot, the Louvre Auditorium, Lyon and Avignon Operas, Cloître des Jacobins in Toulouse, Théâtre des Variétés in Monaco, Arsenal de Metz…), in Europe (Germany, Austria, Belgium, Belarus, Hungary, Spain, Norway, Portugal, Slovakia, Switzerland, Turkey…), Asia (Japan, China, South Korea, India, Indonesia…), and the Americas (USA, Brazil, Mexico). His concerts are regularly broadcasted by radio and television in France and abroad. Olivier made in 2014 U.S. debut at the French Embassy in Washington DC, where he played a recital devoted to Rameau, Debussy, Ravel.

He has also collaborated with several orchestras : Orchestre National de Metz, Ensemble Orchestral de Montbéliard, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Wuhan (China), the Camerata de Coahuila (Mexico)… His passion for chamber music has allowed him to share the stage with many artists such as David Guerrier, the Fine Arts Quartet, soloists of the Philharmonic of Radio-France, Bertrand Chamayou, Jérôme Dorival… He was also invited to Geneva and Chartres by Eve Ruggieri to take part in conference/concerts focusing on the life of Frederic Chopin. His first solo CD, devoted to Franz Liszt, was released in october 2011 for the french label AmeSon/Outhere.

Olivier Moulin is Professor of piano at the Nancy Conservatory of Music (France), and President of the Epinal International Piano Competition. He regularly gives masterclasses in Europe, USA, Mexico, Japan, China … and is invited to serve as a member of the jury of many international piano competitions such as : Istanbul, Porto Santa Cecilia, Scriabin in Grosseto, Sviatoslav Richter International Piano Competition…

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Nikolai Demidenko

Teaching Languages : English, Spanish, Russian

Teaching Dates : July 25 - 29, 2025

Authoritative interpretations of over 50 concerti, specifically those of Beethoven, Chopin, Brahms, Prokofiev, Rachmaninov and Tchaikovsky, have brought Nikolai Demidenko worldwide recognition and critical acclaim. His passionate, virtuosic performances and musical individuality marked him as one of the most extraordinary pianists of this century. 

Nikolai has worked with many renowned conductors such as Yuri Temirkanov, Sir Roger Norrington, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Charles Dutoit, Sir Andrew Davis, among others. Orchestras with whom he has collaborated include the St Petersburg Philharmonic, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Philharmonia Orchestra, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, KBS Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Symphony, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Gulbenkian Orchestra, Seoul Philharmonic, Orquesta Nacional de España, Orchestre National de France and Danish National Symphony Orchestra. In 2016 he became ‘Soloist-in-Residence’ with Queensland Symphony Orchestra. 

In 2019.20 he opened the ORTVE ´s season with his principal conductor Pablo González and concerts with Fort Wayne Philharmonic under Andrew Constantine. He will play recitals in China, Germany, Poland, Switzerland, Turkey and Spain. 

A devoted recitalist and chamber musician, Nikolai possesses a unique ability to take a homogenous view of a recital and to pair different contents without ignoring their style. Throughout his longstanding career, Nikolai has given recitals at some of the worlds’ most important venues including the Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory, Konzerthaus Berlin, NCPA in Beijing, Hong Kong City Hall, Melbourne Recital Center and Sydney City Recital Hall. Nikolai is also a frequent guest of major London based venues including the Barbican, Wigmore Hall, Cadogan Hall, Royal Festival Hall and St. John’s Smith Square. 

Nikolai’s extensive discography consists of nearly 40 CDs. For Hyperion Records he has recorded over 20 albums, including most recently Prokofiev Piano Concertos Nos 2 & 3 with the London Philharmonic Orchestra released in March 2015, Gramophone Editor’s Choice award-winning album of Medtner and Music for two Pianos (with Dmitri Alexeev), Rachmaninov CD awarded BBC Music Magazine Best of The Year and Diapason D’Or, and Scriabin & Tchaikovsky Piano Concertos which won BBC Music Magazine Best of The Year. Nikolai’s Chopin CD released in 2008 for Onyx Classics won the MIDEM 2010 Special Chopin Award for a new recording whilst his Chopin CD for AGPL won the Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik. 

Russian-born pianist Nikolai Demidenko studied at the Moscow Conservatory with Dmitri Bashkirov. He was one of the winners of the Montreal International Music Competition and the International Tchaikovsky Competition. In 2014, he was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Surrey in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the field of Music and the University.

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Naum Grubert

Teaching Languages : English, German, Dutch, Russian

Teaching Period : July 25 (arrival) - 31 (departure)

Naum Grubert was born in Riga. His principal studies were with the famous professor Gutman in Moscow. He was a prize-winner in the Tchaikovsky Competition in 1978, after having won the 2nd prize at the International Piano Competition in Montreal the year before. He toured extensively the Soviet Union and other European countries before he emigrated from Russia and became a Dutch resident.

His many impressive recitals, as well as concerts with among many others the London Symphony Orchestra, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Köln Philharmonic, the Tonkünstler Orchestra Vienna, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Helsinki Philharmonic, the Kirov Orchestra St. Petersburg, the Dutch Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, the Rotterdam Orchestra, the Residential Orchestra, have earned him a reputation of superb musicianship:

“For all his virtuosity, he interprets the music as a philosopher or a thinker…”
Frankfurter Algemeine Zeitung

“Grubert’s lyricism is balanced with his power and intellect”
The Times

He took part at the Lichfield Festival (Great Britain), the Cadaqués Festival (Spain) the Lockenhaus Festival (Austria) and the Gergiev Festival (Holland), among others. Naum Grubert has performed with conductors such as Paavo Berglund, Sergiu Commissiona, Jean Fournet, Horst Stein, Christopher Seaman, Vernon Handly, Matthias Bamert, Ernest Bour, Ed Spanjaard, Vassili Sinaiski, Thomas Sanderling, Valery Gergiev, Claus Peter Flor, Aldo Ceccato, Evgeny Svetlanov, Stanislav Skrovachevsky. His CD-recordings contain works of Schubert, Liszt , Mussorgsky, Rachmaninoff, Schumann, Beethoven and Chopin.

Naum Grubert holds a professorships piano in Amsterdam Conservatory. Among his students are many prizewinners of national and international competitions.

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