Artists of Montjoie Musicale 2017/2018

XIN WANG / piano & artistic director

 Xin Wang established herself in spite of her young age as one of the leading pianists of the inner Mongolia China. She came into public attention when she won a special prize at the national Piano Competition China with the age of seven and has since gone on to give piano concerts an recitals in concert halls all over China. She studied with Jolio Largacha and Gabriel Rosenberg in Cologne and Nurnberg. During her study she got a scholarship of the DAAD. Xin Wang has won numerous honors and prizes including the piano competition Lengano Italy, the piano competition Bettona Italy and many others. She is regularly a welcome guest at diverse well-known concert places in Europa and Asia like Berliner Philharmonie, Schloss Elmau in Germany, Qintai Concert Hall in Wuhan, Concert Hall in Xiamen, Henan Art Center in Zhengzhou, Concert Hall in Ningbo, Poly Grand Theatre in Hohhot and many others. As a soloist Xin Wang appeared with many famous orchestras, among them Wuhan Philharmonic Orchestra, Sinfonieorchester Aachen, Kammerphilharmonie St. Petersburg and Berliner Camerata under the baton of famous conductors like Kazem Abdullah, James P. Liu, Juri Gilbo, Eduardo Strausser and Fuad Ibrahimov. She is a regular guest at international festivals such as Skrjabin Piano Festival Grosseto Italy, Piano Festival „federi musica“ Neapel Italy, International Piano Festival Salerno Italy, „IBLA Claasic“ Sicilia Italy, Piano Festival Orbetello Italy, „Friday Nights with Yury Revich“ Wien Austria, International Art Festival Kotor Montenegro, International Music Festival Deià Spain, Festival „Palau March Museu“ Palma Spain, „Festival de musique classique a Pompignan“ Toulouse France, Palais Sommer Dresden Germany, „Monschau Klassik“ Germany, „International Piano Festival Wuhan" China and many others. As a passionate chamber musician she regularly works with colleagues like Echo-Klassik prize winner Yury Revich or Alexandre Debrus in China and Europe. Xin Wang is founder and artist director of the international piano festival in Geilenkirchen Germany and jury president of the international piano competition "Euregio Piano Award". She is often inivited as a jury member in many international piano competitions such as Campillos Spain, „Isidor Bajic Piano Memorial Competition“ Novi Saad Serbia, „Neue Sterne“ Wernigerode Germany, „Mauro Paolo Monopoli Prize“ Barletta Italy, „Notes in Harmony“ Bettona Italy, „Academy Award“ Rom Italy, Asian Youth international piano Competition Hongkong, and many others. Since 2012 she teaches as a guest professor at different music universities in China and gave several master classes in China and Germany with prestigious teachers from well known music universities in Europe.

FLORIAN KOLTUN /piano & artistic director

The German pianist and music manager Florian Koltun studied with Ilja Scheps at the music university in Cologne. Since 2013 he has worked with Tomislav Baynov at the University of Music Trossingen. He had Masterclasses also with prestigious teachers like B. L. Gelber or G. Rosenberg. His active concert work started at the age of 14 when already calling attention to himself by winning several first prizes at the German competition Jugend musiziert as well as the national Bach Competition in Köthen. He is first prize winner of several international piano competitions, like the piano competition in Caraglio / Italy, the international piano competition for young pianists in Luxembourg, the Henri Herman Concours in Maastricht / Netherland or the international piano competition “Notes in harmony” in Bettona / Italy. Florian Koltun is regularly a welcome guest at diverse well-known concert places in Germany, Belgium, Netherland, Italy, France, Spain or China. He performed recitals in prestigious places such as the Alte Oper Frankfurt, Berliner Philharmonie, Thürmer-Saal Bochum or Schloss Koethen. He is artistic director diffrent concert series and festivals in Germany (Heinsberg, Aachen, Windeck, Geilenkirchen, Boltenhagen and Monschau) and gave several masterclasses at different music universities in China and Europe since 2012. From 2015 until 2017 he was teaching piano at the music university Cologne.

YURY REVICH / violin

In his twenties, violinist Yury Revich is already a multi-faceted artist of incredible depth and maturity. Winner of an ECHO Klassik 2016 “Newcomer of the Year” award, “Young Artist of the Year 2015” at the International Classical Music Awards and “Young Musician of the Year” by the Beethoven Center Vienna, he is one of the most expressive and versatile musicians of his generation. Yury made his debut at Carnegie Hall in 2009 and La Scala in 2013 and his concerts since then have included performances at the Berlin Philharmonie, Berlin Konzerthaus, Vienna Musikverein, Zurich Tonhalle, Vienna Konzerthaus, Leipzig Gewandhaus and Tchaikovsky Concert Hall Moscow amongst many others while his recordings to date are featured on labels such as Sony Classical and Odradek as well as a recording with ARS records for which he won his ECHO Klassik Award. An artist of immense diversity, Yury enjoys a wide range of musical interests. An avid interpreter of Baroque, he frequently collaborates with harpsichordist Olga Fillipova, and is a dedicated chamber musician collaborating with renowned artists such as Daniil Trifonov. During his studies at the Vienna Conservatory, Yury founded the quartet “Quatuor du Soleil” whose performances encompass music from the Baroque through to contemporary works. He also lives out his creativity in the film medium and has studied directing, acting and has already produced a short film of his own. 2015 saw the launch of Yury’s new international concert cycle in Vienna entitled "Friday Nights with Yury Revich" with artists such as Paul Badura-Skoda and Alexey Igudesman and many other celebrity appearances. Yury has also created his own “Kunst & Klassik kuratiert von Yury Revich” concert and art series at the Belvedere in Vienna. In addition to performance, Yury is a passionate advocate for many charitable and philanthropic causes. He co-organized a concert in Vienna in 2011 for the victims of the Japanese tsunami, he also organized the First Austrian Gala Charity "All for Autism" in 2015 and the concert for the UNICEF Project "Water for school children in Syria" in 2017. Born into a musical family, Yury started playing the violin at age 5. At the age of 7, he entered the Central Music Academy of the Moscow Conservatory as a student of Galina Turchaninova. Between 2005 and 2009, he studied under Viktor Pikaizen before moving to the Vienna Conservatory in 2009, where he currently studies with Pavel Vernikov. He is an Ambassador for the Amadeus Vienna International School and professor at the WOM academy in Santander, a unique organisation which aims to promote classical music as a basis for generating musical and cultural excellence throughout Spain. Yury plays on a 1709 Stradivarius, generously loaned to him by the Goh Family Foundation.

ZAGREB SOLOISTS / chamber orchestra

(artistic director Sreten Krstic - violin)

Founded in 1953 as a Radio Zagreb ensemble under the artistic leadership of the renowned cellist Antonio Janigro, Zagreb Soloists gained reputation as one of the world’s most outstanding chamber orchestras. Besides their conspicuous work with Maestro Janigro Zagreb Soloists have also collaborated with concert-masters  Dragutin Hrdoljak, Tonko Ninic, Andelko Krpan, and Borivoj Martincic-Jercic. Since 2012 the ensemble performs under the leadership of Sreten Krstic who is also the leader of the Munich Philharmonic. Since their inception the Zagreb Soloists gave over 4000 concerts on all continents and in many prestigious venues such as the Musikverein (Vienna), Concertgebouw (Amsterdam), Royal Festival Hall (London), Berlin Philharmonic Hall, Tchaikowski Hall (Moscow), Santa Cecilia (Rome), Carnegie Hall (New York), Opera House (Sydney), Victoria Hall (Geneva), Teatro Real (Madrid), Teatro Colon (Buenos Aires), etc. They have regularly performed at the major music festivals such as those in Salzburg, Prague, Edinburgh, Berlin, Bergen, Barcelona, Istanbul, Prades Ossiach, Dubrovnik and elsewhere, playing with numerous distinguished soloists, for example – Henryk Szeryng, Alfred Brendel, Christian Ferras, Pierre Fournier, Leonard Rose, James Galway, Jean-Pierre Rampal, Aldo Ciccolini, Katia Ricciarelli, Lily Laskin, Zuzana Růžičková, Mario Brunello, Isabelle Moretti, Guy Touvron and many others. Zagreb Soloists’ performing repertoire entails baroque, classicist, romantic and contemporary music, with particular attention given to Croatian composers – both of those who represent the musical heritage and those of the younger generation. They recorded more than seventy albums for companies like Vanguard House, EMI, ASV, Eurodisc, Melodia, HISP-vox, Pickwick audite, cpo and Croatia Records. In June 2014 the ensemble has also released a compact disc with works by Boris Papandopulo, performing with pianist Oliver Triendl – the project which united both local and international music criticism – giving the CD highest rates and numerous commendations. One of the most notable recent recordings is the album with works by Ernesto Cordero, featuring prominent soloists such as the violinist Guillermo Figueroa and the guitarist Pepe Romero (Naxos 2010) that subsequently nominated for the Latin Grammy Award. Among the awards and accolades received by Zagreb Soloists are First Prize at Mar del Plata ‘Concertos of the 18th Century’ album, Pablo Casals Medal, Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge Medal (for a contemporary music performance), Vladimir Nazor Award, Milka Trnina Award, Josip Štolcer Slavenski Award for the best performance of a work by a Croatian composer, Varaždin Baroque Evenings awards Ivan Lukačić, Villa Manin Award, UNESCO Award, The City of Zagreb Award, Silver CD label of Croatia Records, Order of Merit, several Croatian Music ‘Porin’ (including the he Lifetime Achievement in 1994) , the Croatian Musical Youth Silver Medal, Nomination for the Latin Grammy, Orlando Grand Prix for outstanding artistic contribution to the entire Dubrovnik Summer Festival.

ZHAO LING / piano

Born in a pianist family, Zhao Ling was greatly influenced by her parents – Ling Yuan and Zhao Pingguo who are both renowned pianists. She spent her formative years following China’s eminent musicians Guo Zhihong and Zhou Guangren. After her graduation from the Central Conservatory of Music (CCOM) with distinction, she was admitted to University of Music and Performing Arts Munich, Germany where she obtained her Ph.D., and further extended her career as a teaching faculty member for more than a decade. She followed the world renowned master pianists Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, Franz Massinger, Leon Fleisher and Hans Laygraf during her years at Munich. Zhao is now Associate Professor of Piano at Beijing Central Conservatory of Music and Visiting Professor of Tianjing Conservatory of Music. Zhao Ling has been very active on the world stage with a wide-range repertoire. She has given solo recitals in many prestigious concert halls among many major cities in the world, including China, Germany, France, Austrian, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States. On many occasions, she has performed with world’s major ensembles and orchestras, including Bonn Philharmonic Orchestra, Beckham Symphony Orchestra, Beijing Symphony Orchestra, Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, Tianjin Orchestra, etc. Alongside her solo career, Zhao Ling is a dedicated performer of chamber music. She is also greatly in demand as partner to various instrumentalists and singers. Her concert performances and recordings can often be heard in the Bavarian radio, classical music station, WDR3 radio station, Radio Berlin, the North West and other radio stations. German press called her performance “intensively expressive, persuasive, passionate, is the color show with a strong appeal.” She is often invited to the International Piano Festivals, master classes, and serves on the jury of many competitions. She was the winner of numerous honors in the French CZIFFRA International Piano Competition and other important events.

FLORALEDA SACCHI / harp

Floraleda Sacchi is regarded by critics as one of the most interesting and original harpist in the international concert panorama: “Floraleda invents a fascinating chapter of modern history of the harp” (La Repubblica), “the best harp playing ever heard” (American Record Guide) “Floraleda’s harp lends itself particularly well to the minimalist logic” (The Indipendent). Floraleda’s CDs sold thousands of copies, entering top positions of the Classical Chart, which were recorded by Decca, Universal, Deutsche Grammophon and Brilliant Classics. Actually she records for Amadeus Arte, a label she founded in 2011, internationally distributed by Naxos. She won prizes at 16 competitions and performed as soloist in major halls and festivals, such as Carnegie Hall-Weill Recital Hall (New York), United Nations Palace (New  York), Gewandhaus (Leipzig), Konzerthaus (Berlin), Auditorium Binyanei Hauma (Jerusalem), Sala Verdi (Milan), Matsuo Hall (Tokyo), Prefectural Hall Alti (Kyoto), Salle Varèse (Lyon), Gasteig (Munich), Concerts de la Croix Rouge (Geneva), River Concert Series (Washington), Gessler Hall (Vancouver), CBC-Glenn Gould Studio (Toronto), Società del Quartetto Milano, Festival Musica no Museo (Rio de Janeiro), Auditorium della Conciliazione (Roma), Octobre Musical (Cartage-Tunis), Quintai Hall (China), etc. Floraleda appeared as soloist with several orchestras (Neubrandenburger Philharmonie, Camerata Portuguesa, Milli Reasürans Oda Orkestrasi, Orchestra Regionale Toscana, Wuhan Philharmonic, Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma ecc.). She was soloist also with the Orchestra Giovanile Italiana in for the Christmas’ Concert broadcasted internationally by tv. In 2014 she recorded a new concerto by Manuel De Sica with Filarmonica Toscanini published by Brilliant Classics. In 2016 premier a concerto dedicated to her by two Grammy winner composer Claudia Montero. Curious and lively she plays classical music, but she acted widely in electronic music and composed for theatre and cinema.She created the music for Milan Planetarium and for the play “Donna non rieducabile”. The show – which had more than 150 performances (including the European Parliament in Brussels to main Italian theaters) –  was transformed by RAI 2 into a movie presented at the 66th Venice Film Festival and published in DVD by PromoMusic. She regularly gives masterclasses in Europe, the United States and Canada. When 21, she won the Harpa Award (Prague, 1999) for her book on Elias Parish Alvars, a Romantic author for whom she is still considered the reference expert.
She has written several articles appeared on major harp journals (American Harp Journal, Harpa, World Harp Congress Review) contributing to expand and discover Harp repertoire. Born in Como (Italy), Floraleda was inspired to play the harp by Annie Challan’s recordings. She studied at Como Conservatory and perfectionated in Germany, USA and Canada with Alice Giles, Alice Chalifoux and Judy Loman.

RATIMIR MARTINOVIC / piano

"The ideal combination of intellect, technique and passion, refinement of touch, perfect technique, concentration and control, exceptional dynamic potential, original ideas and unconventional interpretations" give Ratimir Martinovic, by the critics' words, one of the leading places among pianists of his generation. Born in Kotor (Montenegro), he graduated in 1999 from the class of Kemal Gekić at the Academy of Arts in Novi Sad (Serbia), playing  in one night Bach's "Goldberg Variations", Beethoven's "Hammerklavier Sonata", Chopin's Four Ballades, and Prokofiev's "Toccata", to great critical aclaim. He received his Masters degree, playing an all Bach program. At present, Martinović works as Full professor of piano at the Academy of Arts. He has worked and had advanced studies with well-known pedagogues and pianists such as Karl-Heinz Kammerling, Hiroko Nakamura, Arie Vardi, Sergio Perticaroli and many others. Since his twelfth year he has played in over seven  hundred recitals, chamber music concerts as well as with orchestra in almost all European countries, United States, Mexico, Canada, Argentina, Brazil, South Korea, China, Japan, Thailand, Russia, Ukraine and elswehere. He has played in  New York (Carnegie hall), Rome (Auditorium Parco della Musica), London (St. John Smith Square, St. James Piccadilly), Shanghai (Oriental Art Centre), Seoul (Seoul Art Center),  Prague (Rudolfinum, Smetana hall), Taipei (Hall of the National Theatre), Toronto (Glenn Gould Studio), Zagreb (Lisinski hall), Belgrade (Sava centre, Kolarac hall) as well as in Montreal, Moscow, Lisbon, Prague, Buenos Aires, Barcelona, Salzburg, Vancouver, Kansas City, Heidelberg, Bari, St. Petersbourg, Tokyo, Santa Barbara, Fukuoka, Beijing, Helsinki, Florence, Tubingen, Montpellier, Granada, Vicenza and others. Martinović plays as soloist with orchestras such as the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra, Mexico State Symphony Orchestra , Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra, Vogtland Philharmonic, Thailand Philharmonic, Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra, Plovdiv State Symphony Orchestra, Macedonian Philharmonic orchestra, North Czech Symphony Orchestra, Tchaikovsky Conservatory Chamber Orchestra, Belgrade Philharmonic and Radio-Televison Serbia Symphony Orchestra as well as witch chamber orchestras such as „Viotti“ Orchestra,  Kaliningrad Chamber Symphony, St. Georg’s Strings, Young European Soloists, The Orchestra of the North Shore and many others. Martinović has recorded two CDs with the works by Bach/Tausing, Mozart, Chopin, Brahms, Prokofiev and Bach’s  "Goldberg variations". He is the winner of many domestic and international awards and tributes. After initial successes in piano competitions at very early age, Ratimir Martinović withdrew from the competition scene, devoting  his time to playing concerts and teaching. Martinović is the founder and member of KotorArt Trio, together with violinist Roman Simovic (concert-master of London Symphony Orchestra) and clarinetist Aleksandar Tasic (solo clarinetist of the Verbier Festival Orchestra). He has also played chamber music with cellists Misha Maisky and Kirill Rodin, among others. He is one of the founders of International Festival Kotor Art its Music Director.

ANDREJ LAKISOV / saxophone

„Seligkeit per Saxofon!“ So beschrieben die Kritiker den weißrussischen Saxophoisten Andrey Lakisov. Trotz seines jungen Alters zählt der außer gewöhnliche Musiker zu den führenden Saxophonisten seiner Generation und gastiert als mehrfacher Preisträger zahlreicher internationaler Musikwettbewerbe im In- und Ausland. 1983 in Baranowitschi (Weißrussland) geboren erhielt er seine musikalische Ausbildung an staatlichen Konservatorium in Minsk. 2003 setzte sein Studium an der Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler" Berlin bei Prof.  Detlev Bensman fort. In Berlin wurde die Patenschaft für das Junge Talent von dem Mathematiker und Komponist Horst Peter Wilke übernommen, der für Lakisov zahlreiche Kompositionen widmete und diese durch Lakisov auch zur Uhraufführung brachte. Seinen internationalen Durchbruch ermöglichte 2006 der Gewinn des  Yamaha – Wettbewerbs in Mannheim. Es folgten zahlreiche Zusammenarbeit mit Orchestern, Ensembles und Bands wie z.B. Kammersymphonie Berlin, Lauten Company, Junge Musik Berlin und führten ihn auf die großen Bühnen in Europa sowie zu internationalen Festivals. Neben dem klassischen Studium widmete er sich auch dem Jazz und der Weltmusik. Er beherrscht neben verschiedenen Holzblasinstrumenten auch Gitarre, Klavier und hat sich als Sänger in der russischen Dichter- und Liedermacherszene einen Namen gemacht. Er nahm an den großen russischen Liedermacher-Festivals in Bielstein, Wuppertal, München und Bielefeld teil, was seine musikalische Vielfältigkeit endgültig unter Beweis stellt. 2010 gründete Andrey Lakisov zusammen mit Timofey Sattarov das Ensemble Laccasax. Das Ziel dieses Ensembles ist es, das Potential der verschiedenen Einflüsse und Genres auszuschöpfen und in ihren Konzerten zu komprimieren. Das Motto: improvisieren, arrangieren, bearbeiten, komponieren und die Persönlichkeiten beider Instrumente virtuos und voll entfalten. Darüber hinaus spielt Andrey Lakisov in einem festen Duo mit der Pianistin Nadezhda Zelujkina und Ulugbek Palvanov. Neben seiner musikalischen Tätigkeit ist er künstlerischer Leiter der Konzertreihe „Ungezähmte Klassik“ in Berlin.

IVAN DONCHEV / Klavier

 
Music critics describe Ivan Donchev as "refined" (Qobuz Magazine, France), "full with temperament" (Darmstadter Echo, Germany), "gifted with impeccable technique and remarkable ability  to  excite" (Il  Cittadino, Italy). The legendary pianist Aldo Ciccolini defined him as "an artist gifted with extraordinary musical and instrumental skills". Ivan Donchev was born in Burgas (Bulgaria) 1981 and began his musical studies at the age of five at “Pancho Vladigerov” National Music School in the class of Julia Nenova. Three years later he gave his first public recital. In 1993 – at the age of twelve – he made his concerto debut with  Burgas Philharmonic Orchestra performing Haydn’s Piano Concerto in D. Two weeks later he won the first prize at the "Svetoslav Obretenov" National Competiton. In 1997 he has been awarded by the city of Burgas with the honorable scholarship  "Talent of the year". Ivan Donchev first came to the attention of the international public and critics at the age of 16, when  he was awarded a special prize by the Chopin Society in Darmstadt. The same year he won the 1st prize at the second Piano International Piano Competition for German and Austrian Music in Burgas and made his debut at the “Gasteig” concert hall in Munich. In his youth Donchev has distinguished himself as a top prize winner of several international competitions like "Svetoslav Obretenov" (Bulgaria), "EMCY" (Dublin), "Carl Filtsch" (Romania), "Città di Monopoli – Gran Prize Ecomusic" (Italy), "Premio Seiler" Palermo (Italy) and "Società Umanitaria" Milan (Italy). He has  performed  as  a  soloist  in  most  of  the  major European cities and concert halls and has regularly toured in Europe, Asia and America. His list of credits include recitals in New York (Merkin Hall), Vienna (Boesendorfer Saall), Moscow (Scriabin Museum), Seoul (Maria Callas Hall), Dublin, Berlin, London, Milan (Sala Verdi), Rome (Festival Liszt & Friends), Florence, Naples, Palermo, Montpellier (Festival de Radio France), 58th  Festival dei Due Mondi in Spoleto, San Sepolcro Symphonia Festival in Tuscany, Apollonia Music Festival in Bulgaria and many  others. He has performed with New York Festival Orchestra, Florence Chamber Orchestra, Taranto Symphony Orchestra, Marchigiana Philharmonic, Bari Symphonic Orchestra, Pazardzhik Philharmonic, Kronstadt Philharmoniker, Jeonju Philharmonic, Discovery Ensemble and many others. Ivan Donchev has performed with many well known conductors such as Albert Schweizer, Ivan Kozhuharov, David Crescenzi, Yordan Dafov, Stefano Trasimeni, Piero Romano, Grigor Palikarov, Giuseppe Lanzetta, Geum No-sang, Il Koo Lee and others. He has received the "Sorrento Classica" prize from the hands of his mentor Aldo Ciccolini and in 2011 they have performed a memorable four hands concert at Fenetrange Music Festival in France. His repertoire covers many of the most relevant piano works, ranging from Bach and Scarlatti to contemporary composer (he is particulary devoted to Liszt’s and Beethoven’s music). Donchev has recorded the world premiere of Vito Palumbo’s Quadro Sinfonico Concertante  (dedicated  to  him  by  the  author)  and  all Tchaykovsky’s piano concertos. In 2011 he has released the complete recording of Liszt’s  "Harmonies  Poétiques  et  Religieuses" for Sheva Collection. The recent recording of Beethoven piano and violin sonatas with violinist Ivo Stankov for Gega new was 5 stars awarded by the prestigious British magazine "Musical Opinion". His  records include broadcasts for RAI 3, Radio France, Radio Classica, BG National Radio and TV. Very active in chamber music, he has obtained his master degree at "Santa Cecilia" Conservatory of Music in Rome and holds BM degrees both in classical and jazz piano. Ivan Donchev regularly gives masterclasses in Italy, Bulgaria, US, South Korea and Japan. He acts as a jury member in international piano competitions and several of his students have received awards and merits. Ivan Donchev currently lives in Rome.

LAURA TRAININI / flute

The italian born musician Laura Trainini began to study flute at age of seven. She studied in the Conservatory "Luca Merenzio" in Brescia, in the Conservatory "Benedetto Marcello" in Venice then later obtained the title brilliantly with honours in flute, at the Conservatory "Bonporti" Trento, under the guidance of Professors Nicola Bighetti and Jessica Dalsant. She attended several courses and master classes with Janos Balint, Giampaolo Pretto, Jose Daniel Castellon, Maurizio Valentini, Glauco Cambursano, Michele Marasco, Mario Caroli, Gabriele Betti, Andrea Oliva and Julien Beaudiment. In 2006 she obtained the Masters Degree in Flute at the Musical Institute "O. Vecchi " in Modena, where she studied with the Professors Michele Marasco, Andrea Oliva and Gabriele Betti for flute and Maestro Luca Vignali and Alberto Negroni for wind chamber music, getting in the final exam the maximum qualificaton. She played in various chamber groups, with harp and piano duo, woodwind quintet and string ensemble in various scenarios of Italy and Mexico, obtaining a number of awards, accolades and successes with the public, critics and media. As soloist she played with Chihuahua Philarmonic Orchestra and Toluca Philarmonic Orchestra. She has had collaborations with various orchestras in Italy and Mexico like the Adria Conservatory Orchestra, the Orchestra of the University of Trento, the Youth Orchestra "L 'Estate Musicale Frentana ", Mexico State Orchestra. She worked as principal flute in the Chihuahua State Philarmonic  Orchestra (Mexico), Orchestra of National Music School in Mexico City, Toluca Philarmonic Orchestra (Mexico), under the guidance of many conductors, as Vittorio Parisi, Silvio Baracco, Armando Pesqueira, Sergio Cardenas, Placido Domingo, Jacob Chi, Liu Peng, Eduard Topchjan. She held the position of principal flute at Chihuahua Philharmonic State Orchestra (2008/2009), Philharmonic Orchestra of Toluca City (2009/2011) and Wuhan Philharmonic Orchestra (2011-present). On May 2011 she won the audition in Wuhan Philharmonic Orchestra for principal flute position, beeing the first foreign musician invited as expert by Wuhan City Government. She has been accepted as Ph. Program in flute performance at University of British Columbia (Canada). She has made recordings for the Mexiquense Radio and Television and Italian Television with music by Teleman, Varese, Debussy, Stravinsky, Ravel. In 2005 she concluded her university studies with honor mention with a Degree in Oriental Languages at the University C'a Foscari of Venice. Beside her job as musician, she is doing projects of cultural exchanges between China and Europe, with the aim to promote western soloists in China and facilitate chinese students acces to western music schools.

ULUGBEK PALVANOV / piano

Uzbekistan pianist Ulugbek Palvanov began playing the piano at the age of five. In 1981, he started his formal piano studies at the Uspensky Music School and later at the State Conservatory in Tashkent with Tamara Popovich, Anatoli Geckelman and Natalie Zinsadze. He studies with Lev Naumov at the Tchaikovsky State Conservatory in Moscow. In 1997, Ulugbek attended the Hochschule der Künste in Berlin with Klaus Hellwig where he also participated in master classes with M. Perahia, Z. Kocsics and E. Virsaladze. Recently, Ulugbek has received various awards including, fourth prize International Piano Master Arthur Rubinstein Competition in Tel Aviv / Israel, second prize and silver medal at International Robert Schumann Piano Competition in Zwickau / Germany, second prize at Arthur Schnabel Competition in Berlin / Germany, first prize at Steinway Competition in Berlin / Germany, fourth prize at International Piano Competition Busoni / Italy, third prize and special award at International Piano Competition in Porto / Portugal In addition to being the recipient of several prizes, he received the grand prize gold medal at the first International Piano Competition in Tbilissi, Georgia in 1997 where he also received a special award for the best semi-final round and the President Eduard Schevarnadze award. Ulugbek has performed numerous concerts in Europe, Japan, and the United States. As a soloist Xin Wang appeared with many famous orchestras, among them Moscow Symphony Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic, Bozen Chamber Orchestra and Georgian Philharmonic Orchestra. He is a regular guest at international festivals such as  Newport Music Festival, Van Cliburn Foundation USA or Kyoto Music Festival in Japan. As a passionate chamber musician Ulugbek Palvanov regularly works with colleagues like Tschaikowsky Prize Winner David Yonan, Ramon Jaffé  or Andrej Lakisov. He is also Artist Director of diffrent concert seasons in Germany.

DUO MONTI & BIANCO / piano duo

Federica Monti and Fabio Bianco’s partnership began in 2007, with the conferment with honours of the 2nd Level Academic Diploma in “Musical Disciplines” at the “S. Pietro a Majella” Music Conservatory in Naples. Both musicians come from considerable experience both as soloists and as chamber musicians, yet they have discovered in a brief space of time that they are able to unite their musical talents in a highly natural manner. They immediately gained positive approbation at exhibitions, festivals and music seasons, and at national and international concerts. Under the guidance right from the beginning of Valeria Lambiase, instructor in Chamber Music at the Music Conservatory of Naples, they were admitted in 2007 to the class of M° Pier Narciso Masi at the Academy of Music at Florence. From 2007 to 2012 they were winners of multiple National and International Competitions like  "Città di Camerino" Young Musicians’ Competition, "Città di Bacoli" Competition, "Giulio Rospigliosi" Competition, "Riviera Etrusca" (Piombino) Competition and International Piano Competition Roma. Their performances have always been distinguished for their refinement of interpretation, their fervor and freshness, and a brilliance and vigour brought to the language of chamber music which derives not just from musical experience, but also from a profound and intimate union. In June 2009, they received the Biennial DIPLOMA (2007/2009) in Academy Mastery for Musicians with M° Pier Narciso Masi at the Academy of Music of Florence and in the same month they were admitted at the Hochschule fur Musik und Theater in Munich where they are studying with the renowned Tal - Groethuysen piano duo. The Duo Monti & Bianco is regularly invited to perform at Musical Season and international music festivals throughout Italy and Europe, like Naples, Roma, Ravello, Reggio Emilia, Procida, Ischia, Massa Marittima, Belluno, Florence, Piove di Sacco, Pistoia, Sorrento, Gragnano, Trieste, Barletta, Nuoro, Gaeta, Ercolano, Fondi, Lamezia Terme, Formia, Mantova, Munich  Lugano, Marina di Pietrasanta, Mantova, Rogaska Slatina.