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Magda Amara was born in 1984 in Moscow. She graduated with honours from the Moscow State Conservatory having studied under Sergey Dorensky, and in 2009 undertook postgraduate studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. Her career as a soloist has taken her to Russia’s most important musical centres, as well as France, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, Ukraine, Belarus, Italy, Spain and others. In 2010/11 she made her successful debuts at both the principal Viennese concert halls, the Musikverein and the Konzerthaus. In December 2012 Magda made her debut at the Theater an der Wien as a soloist of the Wiener Virtuosen, a chamber formation of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Magda Amara is an established chamber musician and has worked with members of the Vienna Philharmonic including Franz Bartolomey and the Steude Quartet, as well as Andreas Ottensamer, Matthias Bartolomey, Michael Barenboim and Michaela Girardi. Magda has performed regularly with the Wiener Kammerorchester, the Noord Nederlands Orkest, the National Philharmonic in Kiev and the Cairo Symphony Orchestra, among others. Conductors she has worked with include Stefan Vladar, Andreas Spörri and Joji Hattori. Magda Amara is the winner of several international music competitions, having picked up 1st prizes at the Jeunesses Musicales in Bucharest, the Open Competition in Moscow, and the Ennio Porrino Competition in Cagliari and Perrenoud Foundation Inernational Music Competition. Magda Amara's concerts have been recorded and broadcast by the Austrian Radio and the RBB in Germany. In 2009 Magda Amara was appointed a soloist of the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, an honour reserved to only a few Russian musicians.

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Concert Pianist - Director, Vienna Danube International Competition
Highly acclaimed for her “unique sensual narrative tone”, “precise stylistic approach and dazzling technique”, “charismatic stage presence”, and described as a “major, major, major talent…potential superstar” by Musical America Magazine, sensational pianist Nareh Arghamanyan has shaken the music world and has been praised worldwide by various critics, concert presenters, conductors, and audiences alike.

From Musikverein Vienna to Lincoln Center New York, Nareh dazzles audiences in prominent halls like Wigmore Hall, Philharmonie Berlin, Laieszhalle Hamburg, Herkulessaal Munich, Konzerthaus Vienna, Gewandhaus Leipzig, Ambassador Auditorium Los Angeles, Konzerthaus Dortmund, Tonhalle Düsseldorf, Gardner Museum Boston, Philadelphia Kimmel Center, Petronas Hall Kuala Lumpur, Osaka Concert Hall Japan and others.

Nareh frequently gives recitals in major cities throughout Asia, Europe and North America. She is a regular guest in renowned festivals such as the Lucerne Festival, Colmar Festival, Liszt en Provence Festival, Bregenzer, Mecklenburgischer and Schwetzinger Festspiele, Schleswig-Holstein Festival, Lanaudière Festival, Domaine Forget, Tanglewood, Marlboro, Singapore and Portland Festivals. Among other numerous awards, she has received the Franz Liszt, Georgy Cziffra, Viennese Classic, W.A.Mozart, Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli prizes as well as Rising Star, Herbert-von Karajan, Thyll-Dürr, German Piano and Orpheum awards.

Since 6 years old, Nareh was hailed as a “Prodigy” winning more than 18 international awards and prizes, including 1st Prizes at the 2007 Piano Campus International Competition in France, the 2009 Wörthersee Piano competition in Austria, the 2005 Josef Dichler Piano Competition in Vienna, the 2000 Gina Bachauer piano competition, the 1998 Piano competition in Ukraine, the 1997 Chopin piano competition. But her major breakthrough came at the age of 18, when she won the 1st prize and all special Prizes at the Montreal International Musical Competition in 2008, thus, making history as the youngest winner ever.

Having more than 30 various concertos in her repertoire , Nareh has already performed with many of the world’s prestigious orchestras including with Vienna Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Radio-Symphony Orchestra, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Tonhalle Orchestra Zürich, Radio-Symphony Orchestra Frankfurt, NDR Sinfonieorchester Hamburg, Berlin Radio-Symphony Orchestra, Oslo Opera Orchestra , Norrkoping Symphony, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg and Monte-Carlo, Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal ,RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Kyoto Symphony, Toho Orchestra Japan, Malaysian Philharmonic, St.Gallen Sinfonieorchester, Bern Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops, Vancouver, Edmonton, Kitchener-Waterloo, Utah, Columbus and Indianapolis Symphonic Orchestras to name only few.

Many of the world’s esteemed conductors have collaborated with Nareh including Kent nagano Sir Neville Marriner, Alain Altinoglu, Yasuo Shinozaki, Olari Elts, James Gaffigan, Michael Francis, Christian Arming, John Axelrod, Stefan Blunier, Otto Tausk, Otto Kamu, Joji Hattori, Fawzi Haimor, Joseph Quinta, Stefan Solyom, Kevin John Edusei, David Ken Masur, Howard Griffiths, Carl St Clair, Michael Sanderling, Nicholas McGegan, Kazuki Yamada, Xian Zhang, Jean-Marie Zeitouni & Christoph Poppen among others.

Following her successful debut solo album released in 2009 with Canadian Analekta Label, Nareh signed with Pentatone Records in 2011, releasing a CD of solo works by Rachmaninov to a great critical acclaim. Furthermore, she partnered with Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin and Alain Altinoglu to release 2 more CDs containing Liszt’s all piano-orchestral works as well as Prokofiev and Khachaturian Piano concerti to a great acclaim. Her recent CD album features first-time ever recorded Piano Concerto by Franz Danzi with Munich Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Howard Griffiths, released by Sony Classical.

PIANO

Mag. Sugi SHIN was born in South Korea. Her mother taught her already from the age of 4 the piano, so that she already performed at the age of 11 years the "Coronation" by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart together with the Philharmonic Orchestra Jeonbuk.

In the years 1981, 1982 and 1983 respectively received the first prize at the piano competition in Seoul and then went with 16 years at the invitation of the Vice-President of the Musikhochschule Hamburg to Germany where her musical studies with Prof. G. Kahl started. After obtaining the degree of "Diploma for Piano" and the "Diploma for Teachers" in Hamburg in 1990, she continued her studies for the "Master of the Arts" at the University of Music in Vienna with Prof. R. Keller and Prof. H. Ossberger. Sugi Shin gave during their training numerous solo and chamber music recitals in Germany, Italy, Korea and Austria. She received first prize at the Steinway Piano Competition and the LTM - competition. Her studies expanded in master classes with Prof. L. Naumov, Prof. KH Kämmerling, Prof. R. Kehrer, Prof. L. Hoffmann and Prof. O. Maisenberg. She received scholarships from the Oscar-Vera Ritter Foundation, the Hans Breuer Foundation and the Austrian Federal Ministry for Art. In the newspaper (eg Hamburger Evening Journal) her piano playing was "just as lively and vigorous as passionate and emotionally upsetting" and described "thrilling, exciting and dramatic, but finely differentiated". Sugi Shin was honored to be invited by the mayor of Hamburg, Klaus von Dohnanyi to dinner with Vladimir Horowitz.   Since 2007 she regularly conducts a series of concerts in Vienna, where she plays works for solo piano and chamber music in various occupations.

PIANO

Geboren in Lyon.
Abschluss des Conservatoire National de Lyon - Klavier, Cembalo, Harfe und Ballett.
Klavierstudium in Paris bei Eric Heidsieck. Zahlreiche Radio- und Fernsehaufnahmen, sowie Preise bei nationalen und internationalen Wettbewerben - 1. Preise bei Debussy-, Steinway- sowie Mozartwettbewerb in Paris. Leistungsstipendium für ein Studium bei Prof. Paul Badura-Skoda auf der Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst, Wien. Meisterkurse bei Oleg Maisenberg, Avo Kuyumjian, Leonid Brumberg. Konzertfachdiplom mit Magister Titel an der Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien, wo sie seit vielen Jahren Senior Lecturer ist.