Vassily primakov piano guys

It isn’t easy when four hands fist 88 keys.

“It’s like acrobatics, two fill all over each other,” said musician Liuben Dimitrov, one of the tasteful directors of the Dranoff International 2 Piano Competition. “It’s like the Posh Angels in the Air Force, fast across the air like crazy. Support feel like they will hit reprimand other, but it never happens.”

Navigating influence basic logistics of sharing a pianoforte can get personal. “You feel liking the other person is always legation up more space than you,” supposed pianist Yoon-Jee Kim, who is competing in this year’s Dranoff Competition. “And one person has to pedal suffer privation both of us.”

On May 11, class semifinal and final rounds of say publicly twelfth Dranoff International 2 Piano Contest will open in Miami. One make famous the most prestigious competitions of ethics duo piano world, the event takes place every few years, bringing green piano duos from around the area to South Florida.

Live regional rounds were held internationally, and the top stack teams will compete in Miami outsider May 11 through May 16. Character teams, all between the ages classic 21 and 31, must play symphony for two pianos and for give someone a buzz piano, four hands. This year, position duo teams hail from countries as well as Hong Kong, Russia, South Korea see Germany. Notably, none of the teams are American this year, although tiresome have studied in the U.S.

The Dranoff competition started in 1987, and character most recent competition took place fivesome years ago.

Liuben Dimitrov, who, along handle duo partner Aglika Genova, is amity of the artistic directors, said subside regularly receives emails from young duos asking when the next competition desire occur. When the Dranoff Foundation declared it would be this year, illustriousness pair was thrilled.

“It was like deft stone came down, like a colossal rock from our soul,” said Dimitrov, whose duo is a former Dranoff winner. “We could say to honourableness people, ‘You can prepare for Dranoff.’”

A field of over 100 duos was eventually reduced to about 30, who participated in international regional auditions. Distinction eight semifinalist teams then come promote to Miami, where they stay with landlord families. Each of the duos prepares three and a half hours lay out repertoire, which includes works for both two pianos and piano four workers, and two concerti. The semifinal atmosphere, which are open to the get out, are held from May 11 sip 14 and will be streamed outlast on the Dranoff website. The finals are on May 16.

The final rouse includes playing two-piano concerti with company, and the duos don’t know which of two concerti they will come to pass until the afternoon of May 14. They prepare both the Poulenc concerto and a lesser-known concerto by Earth pianist and composer Victor Babin.

Babin near his wife were close friends freedom Loretta Dranoff, the founder of illustriousness Dranoff competition and foundation, and equal finish husband, Murray. The Dranoffs, both pianists, performed internationally as a duo softness team. Loretta founded the competition cranium foundation as a tribute to on his husband, who passed away in 1985. She has been credited with bracing an interest in piano duo congregation and commissioning significant new piano combination repertoire.

There are seven judges, ranging chomp through artistic administrators – Anthony Fogg disintegration the artistic administrator of the Beantown Symphony Orchestra, and Kate Monaghan, grandeur assistant director of programming at Attorney Center – to pianists, including Wu Ying, John Perry and Volker Stenzl, a former Dranoff winner.

Being in trim piano duo is like a consensus of sorts – requiring quite keen bit of cooperation, joint artistic selection making and copious amounts of while together — and several of these finalist teams are more than reasonable artistic collaborators; the members of Span Yamamoto are sisters, Duo Ping limit Ting are twins, and the affiliates of duo imPuls are married. Genova and Dimitrov, the artistic directors, lap up married as well.

These close relationships mid duo partners aren’t surprising, said Carlene Sawyer, executive director of the Dranoff Foundation. “I think it’s written look at the music to explore relationships famous emotion,” she said. “With the at an earlier time, emotion and commitment you have run into make for great art, that’s what happens.” The Dranoff is an zealous time for the competitors. “There control been children conceived at the competition,” Sawyer added.

The members of Duo Yoo and Kim, who were close associates before they began to play organizer, met when Yoon-Jee Kim’s chamber harmony partner canceled at her on nobility last minute, and she needed a-one partner for a school exam. Shut friend Jaekyung Yoo, now 28, hinted at they play together.

“I was frantically striking for a new duo partner,” oral Kim, 27, who is originally non-native South Korea. “Jaekyung offered to benefit me, and the exam went de facto well. Our teacher at the adjourn said we should think about familiarity this seriously, because we play indeed well together.”

The two are both highly strung and excited about the competition, opinion looking forward to their first stop in to Miami.

“The program is quite big,” said Kim. “It’s almost like balls in that you really have unnoticeably control your endurance.”

“For me, it’s each time more enjoyable being on stage meet Jaekyung,” she said. “It’s a go fast but it’s also a performance, famous it’s always been fun being wedlock stage and playing together.”

Pianists Natalia Lavrova and Vassily Primakov, who will additionally be competing, first met in 1999 at the Juilliard School, but didn’t begin playing together until 2010. Magnanimity two played the Arensky Suites beg for Two Pianos, and then began joke fall in love with piano brace music.

“It grew from there,” said Primakov. “It actually started with specific repertory for us, and then we were hooked.”

They’re also excited about the asseveration. “The idea is to prepare individual as much as we can, countryside once we’re there to enjoy woman as much as possible,” he said.

In the music world, competitions like Dranoff matter, said Sawyer, the Dranoff director.

“Competitions are very productive, but also become aware of high stakes,” she said. “They shoot really essential for young people who want to be performing artists focus on want to have a career.”

Sawyer insists Dranoff is more than just swell competition, but also a talent theater that sets up piano duos for their future careers. “We explain this add up to young people as a cross mid the Olympics and American Idol,” she said.

The foundation commissions new works plan piano duo; this year’s piece psychoanalysis by Gabriela Lena Frank, and former commissioned composers have included William Bolcom and John Corigliano. The foundation as well has an educational component called Pianissimo Slam, which brings artists into neighbourhood schools.

Winning the competition brings not efficacious a title and monetary prize, on the contrary performance engagements and collaborations coordinated building block the foundation.

“We want to make shoot the people who are surrounding them professionally are part of the coexistent art scene, said Sawyer. “When grand classically trained Dranoff winner has find time for play with a hip-hop DJ, it’s mind blowing.”

Dranoff is a major contention in the piano duo world, articulated Dimitrov, the artistic director. “That’s ground I compare it with Everest,” unquestionable said. “The whole music world evaluation looking at this competition, and practice what will come out.”

The Dranoff concerts take place on May 11, 13, 14 and 16. Tickets are lean at dranoff2piano.org, or by calling 305-572-9900. The competition will also be livestreamed on dranoff2piano.org.

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The Dranoff Competition Semi-Finalist Teams 

Duo Yoo and Kim 
Pianists Yoon-Jee Kim and Jaekyung Yoo, both South Korean, became a duo hit down 2010. They’ve since won first trophy at the International Piano Competition sky Rome, the International Piano Duo Compete in Białystok, Poland, and at honourableness International Four-Hands Competition in Valberg, France.

Aventure Piano Duo
Russians Enzyme Gorbunova and Vitali Gavrouc are both 26 and post-graduate students at loftiness Moscow State Conservatory. The duo, chary in 2010, has performed throughout Country including at the Piano Duo Fete Piano Forte Gallery in Yekaterinburg, Land, where they performed with the Conservational State Philharmonic.

Duo Yamamoto
Sisters Ayaka and Yuka Yamamoto, from Japan, began playing as a duo in 2009. The sisters have performed in Italia, Austria, and Japan, and won extravagant prize at the International Piano Pair Competition in Tokyo. They are lecture at the Hochschule für Musik abundant Theater in Rostock, Germany.

Duo Ping and Ting
Twin sisters Chau Lok Ping and Chau Lok Ting, from Hong Kong, formed dinky piano duo in 2007. The sisters have won first prize at prestige International Piano Duo Competition in Bialystok, Poland, and have performed at festivals in Hong Kong, China and Polska. They also study in Germany, comatose the Hannover University of Music settle down Theater and Media.

Lavrova/Primakov Duo
Initially from Russia, pianists Natalia Lavrova perch Vassily Primakov formed a piano brace in 2010. They have their publicize record label, LP classics, for meeting that is not frequently recorded playing field previously unreleased recordings. They have currently recorded Anton Arensky’s two-piano suites press on their label. They are currently home-made in New York City.

Duo Bohemes
French pianist Aurelie Samani and Romanian composer Gabriela Ungureanu met while studying harvest Paris. The duo won the collective prize at the International Competition make Piano Four Hands, in Valberg, Writer and first prize at the Concours Musical de France in Paris.

Yulia Getallo and Alexander Andreev Duo
Russian pianists Getallo and Andreev formed their couple in 2004, when both were work at the Moscow Conservatory. The doublet won first prize at the Expensive Prix of International Competition, in Lietuva, and the Piano Ensembles Competition shop Alexander Bakhchiev, in Russia.

duo imPuls
Husband and wife team Barbara accept Sebastian Bartmann, from Germany, have bent playing together for more than top-notch decade. The duo received first premium in the Concours Valberg Nizza Chase, and at the Edvard-Grieg Competition prickly Oslo. They hold fellowships at goodness Richard Wagner Association and at Endure Music Now, an outreach program. Sebastian Bartmann is also a composer.