Nino Gvetadze started her studies in her birthplace Tbilisi (Georgia) and then studied in the Netherlands with Paul Komen and Jan Wijn. In 2008, the pianist won the second prize, the press prize and the audience prize of the International Franz Liszt Piano Competition in Utrecht. Two years later she received a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award.
Nino Gvetadze travels the world giving recitals and has made solo CDs with works by Chopin, Liszt, Musorgsky, Rachmaninov, Debussy and Brahms. As a soloist she has been a guest with companies such as the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the Kammerakademie Potsdam, the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, the Finnish Joensuu Orchestra, Tapiola Sinfonietta, Amsterdam Sinfonietta, the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, the Residentie Orchestra and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductors with whom she has collaborated are Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Klaus Mäkelä, Jakub Hrůša and Jaap van Zweden. During the 2017 Prinsengracht Concert she performed with the Brodsky Quartet.
Nino recorded CDs for Brilliant Classics, Etcetera and Orchid and Challenge, with whom she recently recorded a new Brahms CD. She forms a critically acclaimed trio with Frederieke Saeijs and Maja Bogdanovic and teaches at the Codarts Conservatory in Rotterdam. She is co-founder and artistic director of the Naarden International Piano Festival and artistic director of the Delft Chamber Music Festival.
Concert Series 2021
Mariam Batsashvili
The pianist Mariam Batsashvili gained international recognition at the 10th Franz Liszt Piano Competition in Utrecht 2014. Her musicianship seems to connect directly with one’s heart and her colours of sound, thoughtful interpretations and stupendous touch move and delight her audiences. As BBC New Generation Artist, she made her debuts at the Cheltenham Festival, with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and with the Ulster Orchestra at the BBC Proms. The summer of 2019 saw the release of her first album for Warner Classics and her second album has already been recorded.
She already gained her first experiences with leading symphony orchestras, including the Dutch Radio Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of James Gaffigan in the Concertgebouw Amsterdam (Liszt Piano Concerto No. 1), the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra under Rafael Payare (Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1) and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under Alexander Shelley (Liszt Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2). She has also given recitals in more than 30 countries – among these China, South Korea, Indonesia, Brazil, South Africa, France, Spain, Norway, the Baltic countries, Benelux and Germany. She has been the guest of many international festivals, such as the Beethovenfest Bonn, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the Piano City festival in Milan and the Piano aux Jacobins festival in Toulouse.
She was nominated by the European Concert Hall Organisation (ECHO) as ‘Rising Star’ for the 2016/17 season, and performed in the most significant concert halls throughout Europe. Last season, she gave performances at the Philharmonic Hall of St Petersburg, the Tonhalle Zürich, the Mozarteum Salzburg and the Wigmore Hall and made her acclaimed debut at the Philharmonie Berlin as part of the series “Debüt im Deutschlandfunk Kultur”.
Special highlights of the 2021/22 season are her recital debuts at the Wiener Konzerthaus, Rheingau Musik Festival, the Edinburgh Festival, the Klavier-Festival Ruhr, the Schumannfest Dusseldorf, the Fundación Juan March Madrid and the De Bijloke Muziekcentrum Gent as well as orchestral concerts with the Orchestra of the Staatstheater Cottbus (Clara Schumann Piano Concerto), with the Filharmonia Opolska (Clara Schumann Piano Concerto and Liszt Piano Concerto No. 1), with the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra (Robert Schumann Piano Concerto) and with the Munich Symphony Orchestra (Tchaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 1).
Born 1993 in Tbilisi, Georgia, Mariam Batsashvili first studied with Natalia Natsvlishvili at the E. Mikeladze Central Music School in her hometown, before continuing at the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt in Weimar with Professor Grigory Gruzman. In 2011 she won First Prize at the International Franz Liszt Competition for Young Pianists in Weimar, and received the prestigious Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli Award in 2015. Mariam Batsashvili is a scholarship holder of the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben and is supported by The Keyboard Charitable Trust. She has been an official Yamaha Artist since 2017.
Lise de la Salle
A career of already over 15 years, award-winning Naïve recordings, international concert appearances – French pianist Lise de la Salle has established herself as one of today’s exciting young artists.
She performs in the world’s most esteemed concert halls – Vienna Musikverein, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Berlin Philharmonie, Wigmore Hall, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, and festivals – Kissinger Sommer, La Roque d’Anthéron, Chicago Symphony recital series, Aspen and Ravinia Festivals… In 2014 she becomes the first Artist-in-Residence of the Zurich Opera and performs in New York in the Great Performers Series at Lincoln Center with Vienna Symphony.
Lise de la Salle has played with many leading orchestras: Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester, Orchestre National de France, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Rotterdam Philharmonic, St Petersburg Philharmonic and Tokyo Metropolitan, and collaborated with conductors such as James Conlon, Antonio Pappano, Karina Kanellakis, Marek Janowski and Dennis Russell Davies.
She also takes pleasure in educational outreach and conducts master classes in many of the cities in which she performs.
Among her critically acclaimed CDs features an all-Chopin disc with a live recording of the Piano Concerto 2, Op. 21 with Fabio Luisi conducting Staatskapelle Dresden. In 2011, Naïve issued her sixth recording, released in celebration of Liszt’s Bicentennial. The album received Diapason Magazine’s Diapason d’Or and Gramophone’s Editor’s Choice. Her two latest recordings are released in 2018: Bach Unlimited – a Bach-focused album including the Italian Concerto, Liszt’s Fantasy & Fugue on the Theme B.A.C.H. and the Bach/Busoni Chaconne, and Paris-Moscow – recorded with French cellist Christian-Pierre La Marca.
Imogen Cooper
Regarded as one of the finest interpreters of Classical and Romantic repertoire, Imogen Cooper is internationally renowned for her virtuosity and lyricism. Recent and future concerto performances include the Berliner Philharmoniker and Sir Simon Rattle, Sydney Symphony with Simone Young and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra with Thomas Dausgaard.
Imogen has a widespread international career and has appeared with the New York Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Budapest Festival, NHK and London Symphony Orchestras. Her recital appearances have included Tokyo, New York, Singapore, Paris, Vienna, Prague and the Schubertiade in Schwarzenberg.
Imogen is a committed chamber musician and performs regularly with Henning Kraggerud and Adrian Brendel. As a Lieder recitalist, she has had a long collaboration with Wolfgang Holzmair in both the concert hall and recording studio. Her recent recordings for Chandos Records feature music by French and Spanish composers, Beethoven, Liszt and Wagner.
Imogen received a CBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours in 2007 and was the recipient of an award from the Royal Philharmonic Society the following year. In 1997 she was awarded Honorary Membership of the Royal Academy of Music and in 1999 she was made a Doctor of Music at Exeter University. The Imogen Cooper Music Trust was founded in 2015, to support young pianists at the cusp of their careers, and give them time in an environment of peace and beauty.
Alessandra di Gennaro
Born in 1994 in L’Aquila (Italy), Alessandra began her piano studies at age of four with her father. In 2005 Elena Matteucci welcomed Alessandra to her class at the Conservatorio di Musica Alfredo Casella in L’Aquila, where in 2014 she obtained her Master degree ‘cum laude’. In 2015, thanks to an Erasmus scholarship, she moved to The Hague, where she is now completing her musical education at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Dnen Haag under the guidance of pianist Ellen Corver. In 2019 she obtained her second Bachelor Degree in Classical Piano with a special distinction assigned by the jury for her “artistic personality”.
Alessandra performs regularly classical and contemporary music both as soloist and with chamber music ensembles in major venues in Holland, Italy and abroad and she is invited to prestigious festivals. Some of the most notable are Festival Dag in de Branding in Zuiderstrandtheater The Hague), Serie Klassiek in De Doelen (Rotterdam), Young Music Capital Concerts, Haagse Kunstkring (Den Haag), Kamermuziek Festival Haagse Hout (Den Haag), Prague Summer Music Festival, Festival dei due mondi (Spoleto), La Biennale di Venezia, Incontri musicali (Milano), Hans Abrahamsen Festival (The Hague), Associazione concertistica B.Barattelli, Auditorium del Parco (L’Aquila), Accademia Filarmonica Romana (Rome) and Accademia musicale Praeneste (Rome).
In the last years Alessandra is developing her passion for contemporary music: pretty remarkable are her collaborations with composers like Anna Thorvaldsdottir, Anna Korsun, Kate Moore, Hans Abrahamsen, and with great institutions such as Dutch National Opera Academy, New European Ensemble, Asko | Schönberg Ensemble etc.
She has also been prized in many National Piano Competitions in Italy, such as the “Concorso di esecuzione musicale Rotary club Teramo est” (second prize, 2014) and the “Concorso Nazionale Marco Dall’Aquila” (second prize, 2012).
Carlos Marín Rayo
Carlos Marín Rayo is a Spanish pianist described by specialized press as a “rising talent” and a musician of “powerful technic, refined musicality and surprising musical maturity”. He is currently studying under the guidance of Frank van de Laar at the Conservatorium of Amsterdam and also studies performance on historical fortepianos with Olga Pashchenko. Carlos has also received occasional lessons and seminars with maestros Enrico Pace, Ramón Coll and Eldar Nebolsin, to name a few. At 11 he received the first prize at the Hazen-Arturo Soria Competition and has been since awarded in many occasions, amongst them, first prizes at the “Ciudad de Albacete – Jeunesses Musicales” (2016) competition, “Euterpe International Piano Competition” (2016) in Corato (Italy) and the “Marisa Montiel – Ciudad de Linares” competition (2018). He was recently awarded the 2nd prize, as well as the audience prize and several special prizes at the prestigious Young Pianist Foundation Competition in Amsterdam (2019).
He recently performed together with legendary artist Maria Joao Pires in two concerts at the Belgais Center for the Arts in Portugal.
He has performed extensively in Spain’s most important venues, such as Auditorio Nacional, Teatros del Canal and Fundación Juan March in Madrid and Palau de la Música in Valencia. Additionally, he has performed in major venues of countries like Portugal (Teatro Sao Carlos, Centro Cultural de Belem), The Netherlands (Muziekgebouw Amsterdam, Muziekgebouw Eindhoven, De Doelen in Rotterdam, etc.), Great Britain, Germany, Italy, the United States, Australia, etc.
As a soloist, he has played concerti by Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky, Liszt, Beethoven, Mozart, Saint-Saens, Shostakovich, Stravinsky and more, with ensembles such as the Orquesta Ciudad de Almería, Conservatorium van Amsterdam Orchestra and Joven Orquesta de Córdoba.
He has recorded for TVE, RNE and many local networks.
José Alberto del Cerro
José Alberto del Cerro (Albacete, Spain-1994) began his studies with Gloria Munuera and continued with Dra Pilar Valero in Murcia, where he graduated with honours. He also followed a number of conducting studies with conductors Andrés Salado and Miguel Romea.
José Alberto has won awards at competitions such as Clamo Music Competition, International Berlín Mozart Competition and Juventudes Musicales de Cataluña Competition. As a chamber musician he won the second prize in the VII Alzira National Chamber Music Competition (2017) with violinist Fulgencio Aparicio (Jamse Duo). He is also a member of the Mylö Trio.
José Alberto has played works by Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin and Gershwin, among others, with the orchestra of the Conservatory in Murcia and the Youth Orchestra of Cieza. He participated in the Pro Música Molina de Segura Foundation and in the Neckar-Musik Festival 2017 (Weinsberg, Germany). He also performed in concerts in Belgium, the Netherlands, Italy and Germany.
José Alberto recorded some concerts for Murcia TV, played on the recording of De Falla’s El sombrero de tres picos in an arrangement for piano solo and collaborated on a monographic Chopin CD. He is currently studying for a Master’s degree at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam with David Kuyken.
Mattias Spee
Mattias Spee (1997) started playing the piano when he was five years old. He studied with David Kuyken and Ralph van Raat, and took lessons with Pascal Rogé, Håkon Austbø and Shunske Sato. Chamber music plays an important role in his life. For years he has been part of the Goudsbloemtrio, together with cellist Hadewych van Gent and clarinettist Ana Prazeres, and he forms a regular duo with cellist Chieko Donker Duyvis. In his concert programs Mattias regularly incorporates contemporary music, one of his other great passions. Mattias has won various prizes, including the Princess Christina Competition, the Steinway Piano Competition and the VriendenCultuurPrijs. He gave concerts at home and abroad, among others in Germany, Italy and Taiwan. In addition to his work as a pianist, Mattias also works as a choir accompanist and choir conductor. Mattias plays on a Bösendorfer grand piano from 1979, given to him on loan by the National Musical Instrument Fund.
Satomi Chihara
Fiery and powerful yet precise and controlled – Satomi Chihara combines the seeming opposites through her Japanese discipline and her European sense of music. Her career as a concert pianist has opened up after winning the third prize at the Young Pianists Foundation in category two (2015) and Princess Christina Competition in Haarlem.
For her final recital of her bachelor degree, she was awarded the special talent scholarship of the Jacques Vonk Fund, dedicated to graduates of extraordinary ability. She has performed in prominent concert halls in the Netherlands such as Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ and TivoliVredenburg, churches, salons and houses as well.
She is ambitious to performing in smaller places as much as she enjoys performing at big venues. She finds communicating with her fans very precious. In 2017 she formed Duo Op.21 with Elizaveta Agrafenina (soprano).
They are giving concerts around the Netherlands with widely ranging repertoire which includes opera arias, German lied, French songs, Scandinavian composer’s works and Dutch (including female) composer’s works. Satomi Chihara is also active as an accompanist. She has accompanied at major competitions in the Netherlands such as Cello Biennale (2018) and Oscar back (2018). Along the way, her past and present mentors Ms. Misako Shimizu, Prof. Nobutatsu Kawashima, Prof. Willem Brons and Prof. Naum Grubert have kindled her wide ranging repertoire, which can be enjoyed in venues throughout the Netherlands.
Yang Yang Cai
Yang Yang Cai (1998) started playing the piano aged five with Noor Relijk, continuing her studies with the renowned professor Jan Wijn. She received her Bachelor’s degree with exceptional marks in May 2019 from the Conservatory of Amsterdam. Yang Yang has performed in numerous masterclasses by Boris Berman, Matti Raekallio, Mikhail Voskresensky, and many others. From November 2020, Yang Yang will continue her piano studies at the Imola Piano Academy with maestro Enrico Pace.
She was a two-time winner of the Steinway Piano Competition in 2008 and 2012, representing the Netherlands at the International Steinway Festival aged only nine in a performance at the Laeiszhalle in Hamburg. Yang Yang received the first prize in the Junior Finals of the Young Pianist Foundation (YPF) Competition in 2013, following her performance of Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 14 with the Yehudi Menuhin School Orchestra. She was given the Classic Young Masters Award in 2017. In 2019, Yang Yang won the Young Pianist Foundation Competition, where she excelled in her rendition of Chopin’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with the Conservatory of Amsterdam Symphony Orchestra led by Jean-Bernard Pommier.
Yang Yang participated in The International Holland Music Sessions and Aspen Music Festival and School 2018 (US), and is in high demand among venues like the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, and at major Dutch festivals like Grachtenfestival Amsterdam. She has appeared repeatedly on live Dutch TV.
Yang Yang formed the Amsterdam Piano Trio in 2017 with Shin Sihan (violin) and Alexander Warenberg (cello). In 2019 they performed in various major concert halls, including the Concertgebouw Amsterdam.