Two young musicians from Italy will be performing in Grahamstown tonight in a special piano duo recital hosted by the Grahamstown Music Society titled Spina & Benignetti Piano Duo – Four Hands… Two Pianos.
Eleonora Spina and Michele Benignetti, who have achieved great distinction as soloists, chamber musicians and teachers, and as a piano duo since 2013, will perform on Thursday July 27 at 19.30, NELM, 25 Worcester Street.
Their programme includes Mozart’s Fantasia in F minor , Rachmaninov’s Six pieces (op. 11), Lombardi’s Valse (composed in 2006) and Samuel Barber’s Suite (op. 28).
Tickets, available at the door, are R90 (adults), R70 (pensioners), R50 (tertiary students). Admission is free for GMS members and schoolgoers.
About the artists
Eleonora Spina and Michele Benignetti are two compelling, talented young musicians that come from strong and varied backgrounds as soloist and chamber musicians.
Their acclaimed recording of Brahms’s complete works for two pianos for Brilliant Classics Records (2015) has been praised by audiences and critics alike: the most popular classical music magazines in Italy and France (Amadeus, Musica, Suonare News, Le Pianiste…) awarded this recording with the highest rating in 2015. The Italian critic Luca Segalla says: “…Eleonora Spina and Michele Benignetti, with utmost care and attention to sound, precisely execute the contrapuntal game of variation no. 4, carving out a finale which makes one feel as if he’s listening to an orchestra…” (Luca Segalla for “Musica” Magazine, September 2015). The latest album, “Lifetime” on the Sheva Collection’s label has been released in January 2017.
Eleonora Spina and Michele Benignetti’s partnership as a piano duo began in 2013 and immediately received positive acclaim. In June 2014 they obtained the prestigious “Diplôme Supérieur d’Exécution” at the Ecole Normale de Musique “Alfred Cortot” in Paris, with the mention “à l’unanimité”. They won many international prizes in competition including First Prize Pietro Argento Competition, Best Chamber Music Performance Award of the London Piano Masters at the Royal College of Music in London, First Prize and Brahms Special Prize at the Virtuoso Grand Prize, First Prize A.M.A. Calabria International Competition and First Prize Concours Musical de France.
Both musicians graduated from some of the most important European music institutions such as the Ecole Normale de Musique “A. Cortot” in Paris, Codarts University of Performing Arts in Rotterdam, Hochschule fur Musik in Graz, the Conservatory of Music “G. B. Martini” in Bologna, and the Conservatory of Music “G. Cantelli” in Novara. They are also prize-winners in solo competitions including 2014 Yamaha Music Foundation Competition and 2007 Scriabin International Piano Competition in Paris.
Their musical education has been marked by studies with renowned Professors including Enrico Pace, Chantal De Buchy, Aquiles Delle Vigne, Franco Scala, Roberto Plano, Nelson Delle Vigne – Fabbri and Walter Bozzia. Their interpretation has been influenced by many masterclasses that they have attended in Europe such as Royal College of Music in London, with Stefanina Passamonte, Roustem Saitkoulov, Hiro Takenouchi and Jan Loeffler; Conservatory of Music “G. Cantelli” of Novara, with Professor Alberto Miodini and International Academy and Festival “March Music Days” in Ruse, Bulgaria with Genova & Dimitrov Piano Duo.
In the coming concert seasons Michele and Eleonora are invited for a tournée in South Africa; they’ll also participate in the renowned concert series “Jeunes Talents” in Paris, and in many festivals both as soloists and chamber musicians playing a sparkling repertoire ranging from Schubert Piano Quintet to Bartok’s Sonata for Two Pianos and Percussion. In Italy they’ll perform for the Società dei Concerti in Milan and the Ravello Concert Society, just to name a few.
Michele and Eleonora are currently studying at the Hochshule fur Musik in Graz under the guidance of Professors Gil Garburg and Sivan Silver.
They have been appointed professors at the Conservatory of Music and Dance in Soissons and at the Conservatory of Music and Theatre of Saint Quentin, where they live. They are also invited to teach at the Summer International Academy of Colombes, in Paris.
LISTEN TO THEM HERE
Izumi Hall, Osaka, JAPAN – May 2017
