Ruben Dalibaltayan (Armenia, Croatia)
Teresa Trevisan (Italy)
Siavush Gadjiev (Russia, Italy, Slovenia)
Cristina Marton - Argerich (Romania, Germany)
Leopoldo Lipstein (Argentina, Germany)
Daniel Rivera (Argentina, Italy)
Tatjana Ognjanovič (Slovenia)
RUBEN DALIBALTAYAN was born in Yerevan, Armenia. After completing music school in the class of Anahit Shahbazyan, he moved to Moscow to pursue his musical education in the Gnesin Music Academy under the mentorship of professor Arthur Berngardt. Ruben obtained his Master’s degree at the Moscow State Conservatory under the guidance of professor Valery Kastelsky. His professional and personal formation has been greatly influenced by a number of outstanding musicians such as Boris Berlin, Lazar Berman and Alexis Weissenberg, who gave Ruben his personal international prize in 2001. Winner of ten prestigious international piano competitions in Armenia, China, Croatia and Italy, Ruben quickly established himself in the international music scene, an accomplishment that didn’t go unnoticed by prominent performers and critics alike. The prize awards he collected at the Second China International Piano Competition in Beijing (China), the Svetislav Stančić International Piano Competition in Zagreb (Croatia) and at the Aram Khachaturyan International Piano Competition in Yerevan (Armenia) expanded his recognition as an “intelligent and subtle pianist, whose performance always reveals something new and consistently interesting” according to Lazar Berman’s testimony. Ruben’s concert tours include numerous countries of Europe, Asia and America. The performances range from solo recitals and concerts with Symphony orchestras to participation in chamber ensembles – a piano duo with his wife Julia Gubajdullina and the well-known trio “Amadeus” to be mentioned. Ruben is an active member of the SONEMUS organisation (Sarajevo’s Organisation for New Music). His repertoire encompasses music from baroque to present days. With more than 20 concerts in his program and a special emphasis on the Romantic period Ruben performs a wide range of musical works. In collaboration with the Croatian Radio he has recently recorded the entirety of the piano opus of the famous Croatian composer Blagoje Bersa. The pianist also gives special attention and dedication to the promotion of the works of Armenian composers, an interesting and original music inseparably linked to the culture of his native country. Ruben began his pedagogic activities at the Sarajevo Music academy in 2000 and has been serving since 2005 as a Professor of piano at the Zagreb University Music Academy. During the last ten years he raised a large number of young pianists who went on to become finalists and prize winners of more than 50 international competitions. These competitions include most notably the International Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw, the Robert Schumann International Piano Competition in Zwickau, the Zhuhai International Mozart Piano Competition in Zhuhai, China, the Shura Cherkassky International Piano Competition in Milan, the International Piano Competition for Young Musicians in Enschede, Netherlands, etc. As part of his pedagogical work Ruben holds master classes and seminars on a regular basis in Croatia and abroad. He is also frequently invited to serve as a jury member at various international music competitions. His noteworthy projects include the founding of the piano summer school in Makarska (Croatia) in 2005, together with Julia Gubaidullina. The seaside piano master course has since evolved into one of the most prominent events for young pianists in the region.
The Italian pianist TERESA TREVISAN was born in Palmanova and graduated “cum laude” from the Trieste Music Conservatory “Giuseppe Tartini”. She started her piano studies with Maria Puxeddu going on to learn with Professor Luciano Gante at the Trieste Music Conservatory. Afterward she advanced her studies at the Ecole normale de Musique “Alfred Cortot” in Paris with Aquiles Delle Vigne, becoming then his assistant there. Teresa Trevisan was awarded various recognitions at national and international competitions performing in numerous Italian cities (Venice, Rome, Padua, Milan, Gorizia, Udine) and abroad (Paris, Brussels, Skopje, Bitola, Rotterdam, New York, Hartford, Washington, Salzburg, Ulan Bator, Vilnius, Izmir, Tirana, Novi Sad, Sofia, Cork Konservatorium and Boesendorfer Saal im Mozarthaus in Vienna, Trinity Laban College in London…). Her interest in Chamber Music was born at the courses of the International Menuhin Academy of Gstaad and the International Academy of the Trio di Trieste in Duino. Her performing debut as a piano duo with her brother Filippo was held in 1989 at the Bourg Madame Festival (France). The Rachmaninov Opera omnia recording (for two pianos and four hands) and the Bach Brandenburg Concertos (arrangement for piano duet by Max Reger, revised by Filippo Trevisan for Velut Luna) received a great critical acclaim. In 1998 the duo was awarded the “Morét d’aur” prize. Since 2002 Teresa Trevisan has been playing with the pianist Flavio Zaccaria. Aiming to discover a repertoire of less well-known works, in 2005 they recorded a CD entirely devoted to unpublished works of Max Reger (2005 Velut luna). The Duo Trevisan-Zaccaria was awarded an Honorary Mention at the Web Concert Hall Competition 2006. She recently performed with the Italian cellist Luca Fiorentini in the USA reaching Washington and New York. As a teacher, many of her students have been selected and awarded in some of the most prestigious national and international competitions, such as the Gina Bachauer-Salt Lake, the Isidor Baijc-Novi Sad, the Jeunesses Musicales-Bucarest, the Yamaha Music Foundation of Europe, the Stefano Marizza International Piano Competition-Trieste, the Premio Pianistico Bengalli-Val Tidone, the Concorso Clementi-Firenze-Lastra a Signa,Italy; the Chopin Piano Competition, Radovljica, Slovenia; the “Stefano Marizza”-Trieste; the Premio Pianistico Bengalli-Val Tidone; The International Piano Competition-Osimo; the Adilia Alieva-Svizzera, The Thomas & Evon Cooper International Piano Competition, USA; The Ettlingen International Competition for young Pianists, Germany; the International Piano Competition for young pianists ARTHUR RUBINSTEIN, Poland; the Aarhus International Piano Competition; the Busoni Piano Competition. She is regularly sitting in the Jury of many National and International Competitions. Teresa Trevisan is currently full time piano professor at the Music Conservatory of Trieste after successfully participating in the last State National Competition. She is regularly invited to give piano and piano-duo masterclasses. Among the most recent, the Oulu University in Finland, the Conservatorio Superior de Música” Manuel Massotti Littel” of Murcia in Spain, the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theatre in Vilnius, the Conservatoire Royal de Mons, the Yasar University of Izmir, the Sofia Music Academy, the CIT School of Music in Cork, the Konservatorium Wien, the Trinity Laban College in London and, through a videoconference in the frame of the LOLA project, at the Fort Worth Texas Christian University (USA). Since 1998 she has been the artistic director of the Festival Musiche in Fortezza of Palmanova and the Piano Competition “Filippo Trevisan”.
CRISTINA MARTON - ARGERICH
Born in Romania, Cristina Marton studied in Berlin wih Georg Sava. She also received lessons from Christian Zacharias, Leon Fleischer, Martha Argerich, Dmitri Baskirov, Stephen Kovacevich, Andras Schiff, Radu Lupu and Alfred Brendel. She has won numerous prizes at international competitions such as the "Arthur Schnabel" (Berlin 1994), "Geza Anda" (Zurich 1994), "Clara Schumann" (Düsseldorf 1997), "Mozart" (Salzburg 1999) and the First "Martha Argerich" International Piano Competition in Buenos Aires 1999. As a chamber musician, Cristina regularly perfoms since 1998 with violinist Barbara Doll and since 1995 with her piano duo partner Aglaia Bätzner, winning the First Prize in the Murray Dranoff Two Piano Competition in Miami, USA and the First Prize in the Chamber Music Competition in Caltanissetta. During the past seasons Cristina Marton was invited to perform in several of the most renowned music centers worldwide such the Berliner Philharmonie, Warsaw National Philharmonic Hall, Auditorio Nacional de Madrid, Opernhaus Zurich, Herkulessaal Munchen, Taipei National Hall, Teatro Colon de Buenos Aires, Mozarteum Salzburg, Atheneum Bucharest, Hong Kong City Hall, BAM Theater New York, Playhouse Theater Edinburgh, Frankfurt Alte Oper, Auditorium Conciliazione Roma, etc.
SIAVUSH GADJIEV
The pianist Siavush Gadjiev completed his musical education at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow as a student of famous teachers such as Bella Davidovich and Boris Zemliansky. At the Moscow Conservatory he also obtained the Master of Music degree (“Course of Interpretation”) and was invited to teach in the prestigious Central Special Music School of the Moscow Conservatory, intended to train the most musically gifted pupils from the ex Soviet Union as well as from Japan, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Romania, Korea, United States. He taught many highly talented pupils, amongst whom there were winners of the Tchaikovsky competition, Axa Dublin, Schumann, Casagrande and other competitions. Gadjiev develops an educational activity running master classes, seminars and thematic lectures-concerts in Russia, Slovenia, Croatia, Germany, Italy, with particular emphasize on the interpretation of Mozart, Beethoven, Rachmaninov and Prokofiev. He also leads special classes for future pedagogues. Siavush Gadjiev has held recitals in many cities of the ex Soviet Union, Germany, Slovenia, Croatia, Yugoslavia, Italy and the USA. He has also performed with major orchestras and in chamber music ensembles with distinguished European musicians. He is a member of the “Ljubljana Piano Trio”. He was jury member of many international piano competitions, amongst them: “Ferenc Liszt” in Budapest, “Hummel” in Bratislava, “Città di Cantù” and many others. Siavush Gadjiev has held many master classes and keeps having them all over Italy, Slovenia, Germany and the United States. He lives in Italy and teaches at the Conservatory for Music and Ballet in Ljubljana (Slovenia) and in Gorizia, in a private school for young talents, in which he has many students from different parts of Italy and Slovenia, amongst them Giuseppe Guarrera (2nd Prize Winner at the Mottram Manchester International Piano Competition), Alexander Gadjiev (1st Prize Winner Hamamtsu piano competition 2015 and finalist of “Busoni” International Piano Competition in Bolzano) and many others. Currently he is also giving master classes and lectures for Master Degree students at the “Giuseppe Tartini” Conservatory in Triest. Gadjiev is the Artistic Director of the “Giuliano Pecar” International Piano Competition and the “Estate di Gorizia” summer festival. The reviewer and musicologist Renato della Torre defined him in “Messaggero Veneto” as an artist “of great talent, supported by the splendid pianistic technique.” “Gadjiev hypnotized the audience with the Prokofiev’s Seventh Sonata in B flat Major” (“Corriere dell’ Arte”, Turin). “The interpretation of Brahms’ pieces was a musical event which will live in the memory for a long time… Gadjiev demonstrated the great rich traditions of the Russian piano school” (Olga Jovanović, “Promuzika”, Beograd). “The extraordinary pianist Gadjiev performed Schumann’s Quintet like it was sculptured in marble.” (J. Šetinc, “Večer”, Maribor). “The public was impressed by a most perceiving, delicate and philosophical performance. Moments of high intensity and of various sound colours were magically created by the musician.” (Rudolf van der Vecht, “Westfalische Post“, Wuppertal).
LEOPOLDO LIPSTEIN
The argentinians pianist Leopoldo Lipstein travelled through all South-America as a child prodigy. At the age of 17, he won the first award at the "National Argentine Competition of Piano".
He is currently professor at the Robert Schumann University in Düsseldorf and gives regularly masterclasses in Germany, Japan and Argentina.
His students won international piano competitions in Germany, France, Italy, China, Cyprus and perform concerts all over the world.
His most important teachers were Marcelo Tomassini and Aldo Antognazzi in Argentina and Karin Merle and Pavel Gililov in Germany.
Lipstein recorded over ten CDs including solo repertoire as well as chamber music and concertos with orcestra. For the Bavarian Broadcast (Bayerischer Rundfunk) Lipstein recorded the Concertino by Harald Genzmer for Piano and Strings.
In his career Lipstein performed over 500 concerts in Europe, South-America and Asia and is praised by the critics.
The art of interpretation of the Argentine pianist Leopoldo Lipstein belongs to the most remarkable ones in the field of concerts of our days. Things we take for granted today such as a perfect technique and the sence of style, professionality and musical intelligence are - in an unnoticed way- at the service of a sensitive and loving poetry.
Within his wide repertoire he is a specialist in the music of Bach, Beethoven, Chopin and all the spanish and south-american composers.
DANIEL RIVERA made his Italian debut in 70th thanks to some very important international competitions. He was awarded in, like the " Ferruccio Busoni", the "Dino Ciani", the "Ettore Pozzoli", the "Rina Sala Gallo", the "Cata Monti", the "Beethoven" in Wien, the "Reine Elisabeth" in Bruxelles, the "Liszt-Bartok" in Budapest and the "Paloma O'Shea" in Santander, achieving three absolute first prizes, two second prizes and several other special mentions. Afterwards he started a prestigious piano concert career, performing in the most important theatres worldwide - among them the Sala Philharmonia in Kiev, the Queen Elisabeth Hall in London, the Park Music Hall in Dallas, the Musikverein in Wien, the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. Nowadays Daniel Rivera is widely renowned and highly esteemed worldwide within the piano concert landscape, considered a pioneer of piano challenges and a performer of programs and works very rarely played; this interest hit the highest spots in 2002, when he presented - in a world premiere performance - his transcription of the "Rite of Spring" by Stravinsky confirming once again his extraordinary technique and interpretative skills. This impressive and worldwide unique transcription captured the interest of Martha Argerich, who personally invited Rivera to the "Progetto Martha Argerich" in Lugano, where he performed in June 2009. Since that time, the link with the legendary Argentinian pianist turned into an intensive artistic cooperation. With Martha Argerich, Daniel Rivera performed in piano duo at the Teatro Ponchielli in Cremona, at the Teatro Lirico in Cagliari, at the Politeama Theatro in Catanzaro, at the Teatro Nuovo Giovanni di Udine, at the Piano Festival of Pietrasanta and Ascoli Oiceno, up the legendary concerts on 19th and 20th October 2012, at the Teatro El Circulo of Rosario (Argentina) - four CDs have been released in June 2014, edited and distributed by IRCO in Buenos Aires - and for the inauguration of the Petrarca Theatre in Arezzo on December 2015, and the prestigious "Greek Theater" of Taormina (Sicily) in August 2019. Still for IRCO Cosentino in Buenos Aires he recorded two CDs with Franz Liszt Opera transcriptions and paraphrases, as well as the 12 Transcendental Studies. Jury member within some relevant international piano competitions, Daniel Rivera is extremely keen of teaching: besides his faculty chair at the "Istituto di Alta Cultura Musicale Pietro Mascagni" in Livorno, at "Academia Strata" in Pisa, at the "Academy of the Arts" in Sarzana and at the "Musica Ritrovata" Academy in Livorno, he is frequently invited to hold several high piano courses and master classes in Italy and abroad, such as at University of Rosario (Argentina), Conservatory of Music in Udine, Parma, La Spezia, Bari, Monopoli, Trieste, Cosenza, the Lemmeninstitut in Leuven, the "Summer Musical Holidays" in Urbino, the International Festival "Dichi d'Acquaviva" in Atri, "Via Francigena" International Arts Festival in Lucca, and the Livorno Music Festival. Born in 1952 in Rosario (Argentina). Thanks to the scholarship gained by winning the first prize "Vincenzo Scaramuzza" organized by the "National Fund for Arts" and the "Argentinian Mozarteum" in 1973 he moved to Italy where - under the direction of Alessandro Specchi - he achieved the Italian Diploma at the Cherubini Conservatory of Music in Florence with 10/10 cum laude grade and the honor mention. Then he completed his studies with Alessandro Specchi and Maria Tipo in Florence and with Ludwig Hoffman in Munich.
TATJANA OGNJANOVIČ's repertoire ranges from baroque to the most modern music, including baptismal performances by Slovenian composers. The concerts route led her across Europe, from Portugal to Russia, the Far East and the USA. In addition to solo recitals, she performed Piano Concertos by Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schumann, Rachmaninov, Skryabin, Prokofiev, Gershwin and Štuhec with various orchestras and conductors. She is a winner of piano competitions in Vienna, Zagreb, Porto, Valencia, Athens and Jaen, and is a three time winner of a special award for best interpretation of a Beethoven's Sonata. She has hosted numerous international festivals: Ljubljana (Ljubljana Festival), Zagreb (Biennale), Osoje (Carinthian Summer), Prague (Prague June), Kuala Lumpur (Piano Festival) and others. In addition, she was a member of the Amael piano trio for nearly two decades, with which she performed throughout Europe and the United States. Since 1993, she has been handing over her knowledge to piano students at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana. As a member of professional juries, she participated in several international competitions, including the Beethoven Competition in Vienna. Ms. Tatjana conducts international piano courses.