Visiting European Pianist Duo to Perform in Namibia

Formed in its home city of Hanover in 1995, ‘Genova and Dimitrov’, a talented pianist duo began their career by winning several major piano duo competitions, including the 1996 ‘ARD Music Competition’ in Munich, the 1997 ‘Murray Dranoff Piano Duo Competition’ in Miami, the 1996 ‘Tokyo Piano Duo Competition’ and the 1995 ‘Bellini Music Competition’ in Italy.

Since then the duo has performed to great public and critical acclaim at many major concert halls across Europe, North and South America, Asia and Africa. The duo has performed in several international festivals including the Schleswig-Holstein, Rheingau, Ludwigsburg, Schwetzingen, Gstaad, MDR Music Summer, the La Roque d fAntheron Piano Festival and Ravello Festivals, the Music Festival of the Hamptons, the Chopin Piano Festival in Duszniki and the Lower Saxony Music Festival. In 2002 Genova and Dimitrov played at the opening of the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, and also performed for the EXPO 2000 world exhibition in Hanover. In addition, the artists have appeared with, among others, the orchestras of the Bavarian, NDR Hanover, SWR Kaiserslautern, Bulgarian National and Bucharest National radio stations, the Stuttgart Philharmonic, the New World and Savannah Symphonies, the NDR Hamburg Radio Choir, Sofia Philharmonic, Beijing Symphony, Moscow Symphony Orchestra, Ukrainian National Philharmonic, the Cape Town and the Durban Philharmonics, Musica Viva Moscow, the Minsk Orchestra and the Polish Chamber Philharmonic, under conductors such as Eiji Oue, Ari Rasilainen, Alun Francis, Toshiyuki Kamioka, Leos Svarovsky, Robin Gritton and Alexander Rudin.Among the 2007/08 season highlights were their appearances with the Pacific Symphony Orchestra under Hannu Lintu in Orange County (Los Angeles), at the Ludwigsburg Castle and Schwetzingen Festivals, at the Al Bustan Arts Festival Beirut, at the Radio WDR Cologne concerts, at the Ghent Opera, in Mexico City, as well as the release of the release of the CD titled ‘Favorite Flavours’.Named ‘Artists of the Year 2001’, Genova and Dimitrov have released eight CDs, including world premiere recordings of piano duo works by Shostakovich, Johann Christian Bach, Clementi, Vladigerov and Casadesus. These releases have won critical acclaim from major international music magazines and radio stations, especially the duo’s recordings with the NDR Philharmonic led by Eiji Oue (concertos by Martinu and Schnittke) and with the SWR Orchestra led by Alun Francis (concertos by Milhaud, Poulenc, and Casadesus). Genova and Dimitrov have appeared in countless radio and TV broadcasts on all continents. In 2005 the duo also served as the youngest jurors of the ARD Competition in Munich. Both artists were born in Bulgaria of Greek origin and both have been playing piano since the age of five, and made their orchestra debuts at the age of nine. Catch Genova and Dimitrov in concert in Windheok at the Windhoek College of the Arts Council Hall on Friday, March 5 at 20h00. Tickets are available at the door for N$40 for adults and N$20 for children. For more information, contact Erina Junius on 061 374 100.