The Piano Ballade – Part I

Boris Bloch

The Odessa-born pianist and conductor Boris Bloch has long been one of the most important interpreters of classical and Romantic piano music. He trained at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory in the class of Dmitri Bashkirov. Early on he built a broad repertoire ranging from Scarlatti and Bach, the Viennese Classics, Chopin and Liszt, through the German and Russian Romantics to the major composers of the 20th century, which he continues to expand. After his studies, Boris Bloch won several international piano competitions, including the coveted first prize at the Ferruccio Busoni Competition in Bolzano in 1978. Several of Bloch's CD recordings are considered reference recordings. His recordings of Liszt's opera paraphrases were awarded the Grand Prix International du Disque Liszt of the Liszt Society Budapest and the Diapason d'Or Paris. In 2011 the label ARS Produktion launched a Boris Bloch Edition. The first CD in this series was dedicated to Franz Liszt on the occasion of his 200th birthday and received the Honorary Award of the Hungarian Liszt Society. Further CDs in this edition contain works by Beethoven, Chopin, Mozart, Rachmaninoff, Scarlatti, Schubert and Bach. For his many years of successful teaching at the Folkwang University of the Arts, he was awarded the Music Education Prize of the Köhler-Osbar Foundation and the City of Duisburg in 2007. He regularly gives masterclasses in Germany and abroad and is often a juror at international competitions. www.borisbloch.at

Sabine Simon

studied at the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music in Berlin with Annerose Schmidt, at Indiana University in Bloomington, USA, with György Sebök, Menahem Pressler and Janos Starker, at the Mozarteum Salzburg with Hans Leygraf, and as a scholarship holder of the International Ensemble Modern Academy in Frankfurt. She made her debut with the Berlin Symphony Orchestra at the age of 16. Numerous national and international recitals and concerts followed, including with the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Dresden Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Polish Rubinstein Philharmonic Orchestra of Lodz, and the Orquestra de Camara de Bellas Artes, Mexico. In 2005 she toured Japan with the Salzburg Mozart Soloists. In addition to appearances in many European countries, she has performed in the USA, Canada, Brazil, Argentina and Mexico. As a prizewinner of national and international piano competitions, including first prizes at the National Bach Competition Leipzig and the Bechstein Competition "Piano in Concert", her interest is devoted equally to early and contemporary music. Several solo and chamber music recordings have been released, including Chopin's Études op. 10. She serves as a jury member at national and international piano competitions and regularly leads piano and chamber music courses. From 2005 to 2025 she taught piano and piano methodology at the Akademie für Tonkunst in Darmstadt. Since September 2024 she has been a professor at the UdK in Berlin.

Adi Neuhaus

Virtuosity with poetry and an exceptional sense of sound: pianist Adi Neuhaus combines technical sovereignty with a finely nuanced, expressive musicality. As a descendant of the legendary pianists and pedagogues Heinrich and Stanislav Neuhaus, he carries on a great pianistic tradition while developing an artistic voice entirely his own. His training took him from Jerusalem via Paris to Berlin, where he studied with Lea Agmon, Marian Ribicky and Klaus Hellwig, among others. As a soloist and chamber musician he has appeared in major concert halls across Europe, the USA and Asia, including Carnegie Hall New York, the Auditorium du Louvre and the Salle Cortot in Paris, and the St. Petersburg Philharmonic. He has also performed at renowned festivals such as Verbier and the Chopin Festivals in Duszniki-Zdrój and Nohant. Neuhaus won the International Scriabin Competition in Moscow (2010) and the International Piano Competition in Ashdod (2013), each with the Grand Prix. In 2023 his first CD with works by Schumann, Chopin, Rachmaninoff and Scriabin was released on Indésens Records and received outstanding international reviews.

Maria Pia Vetro

comes from Sicily. She crowned her piano training in Italy at the "V. Bellini" Conservatory in Catania, followed by studies with Prof. Daniel Rivera. She then moved to the Cologne University of Music, where she completed her studies with a Master of Music (class of Prof. Fabio Bidini). Maria Pia has received numerous awards at piano competitions and has taken part in international festivals such as the "Paderewski Piano Academy" in Bydgoszcz, the "Aurora Chamber Music Festival" in Vänersborg, the "Talent Music Master Festival" in Brescia and the "Trinity Festival" in London. She has also performed with international orchestras – such as the Symphony Orchestra of Torun – and regularly gives concerts as a soloist and chamber musician in Germany and abroad. In February 2025 her debut CD "Italienische Reminiszenzen" with works by Clementi, Respighi and Liszt was released on the Kaleidos Musikeditionen label. www.mariapiavetro.com

Konstantin Zvyagin

Born in 1990 in Sergei Rachmaninoff's hometown in the ancient Russian city of Novgorod, pianist Konstantin Zvyagin has probably experienced feelings very similar to those of the famous composer, pianist and conductor: both were deeply impressed by the magnificent atmosphere of the old Kremlin with the famous Saint Sophia Cathedral, the view of the fabulous Volkhov River and the sounds of Orthodox bells! Konstantin Zvyagin has impressive credentials: he is a laureate of Russian and international competitions, and his busy concert schedule has taken him to Ireland, Poland, Germany, the USA, France, Italy, Spain, Israel and Russia. He graduated from the Gnessin Academy of Music in Moscow with Prof. Tatiana Zelikman and completed his master's degree at the Cologne University of Music and Dance with Prof. Nina Tichman. Since January 2020 Konstantin has been teaching at the Akademie für Tonkunst in Darmstadt and continues to perform extensively. www.konstantinzvyagin.com

Artur Pacewicz

The Polish-born pianist Artur Pacewicz completed his studies at the Stanisław Moniuszko Academy of Music in Gdańsk with Prof. Waldemar Wojtal. His further training took him to the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media, where he studied with Prof. Gerrit Zitterbart and graduated in 2004. Pacewicz has won prizes at numerous international competitions. His most important successes include first prize at the International Chopin Competition in Varna (Bulgaria) and an award at the Milos Magin Competition in Paris. From 2009 to 2011 Pacewicz worked as a lecturer at the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media. Passing on musical and pianistic knowledge has been an essential part of his artistic work since the beginning of his career. In addition to his teaching, he regularly gives masterclasses, including in Poznań and Gubin as part of the "Musik ohne Grenzen" festival and in Rysum at the "Weltklassik am Klavier" festival. Since 2021 Artur Pacewicz has led a piano class at the Chopin-Gesellschaft in der Bundesrepublik Deutschland e. V. in Darmstadt.

Sofiia Zakharova

Born in 2005 in Kharkiv, Ukraine, she began playing the piano at the age of five. She received her initial training at the Lyceum of Arts and the Lyatoshinsky Music College in Kharkiv. Shortly after the war began, she came to Germany with her family. On the initiative of members of the Chopin Society, she first found a home in Darmstadt. In Dresden she was artistically mentored by Prof. Aleksandra Mikulska and continued her education at the Carl Maria von Weber State Gymnasium for Music. Sofiia Zakharova attracted attention early on through numerous competition successes. In 2023 she received 3rd prize and a special prize at the International Piano Competition for Young Pianists in Kronberg, and in 2025 2nd prize at the Danubia Talents International Music Competition. Today she studies piano in the artistic-pedagogical programme at the Berlin University of the Arts with Prof. Sabine Simon and works as a concert pianist, chamber musician and piano teacher.

Andrey Zenin

was born in 1995 in Sochi, Russia, and began playing the piano at the age of four. He began his piano studies at the State Rachmaninoff Conservatory in Rostov with Rimma Skorokhodova and at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland in Glasgow with Graeme McNaught. Today he is a student of Balazs Szokolay and Thomas Steinhöfel at the Franz Liszt University of Music in Weimar. He has received several scholarships, including the Charlotte Krupp Scholarship in Weimar, and is a scholarship holder of the International Music Academy in Liechtenstein, where he takes part in the intensive weeks and activities. Andrey has won prizes at numerous competitions, including 1st prize at the "Skavronsky Inspiration International Competition" in Volgodonsk, 3rd prize at the "Semyon Benditsky Piano Competition" in Saratov, 2nd prize at the "Moscow International Fryderyk Chopin Competition for Young Pianists" and 1st prize at the "Musica Classica Festival" in Moscow. He was a semifinalist at the 2018 Hamamatsu International Piano Competition and qualified for the main round of the 18th International Fryderyk Chopin Piano Competition in Warsaw in 2021. In October 2022 he received 3rd prize and the Improvisation Prize at the 12th International Chopin Piano Competition in Darmstadt. Andrey performs in many countries as a soloist and chamber musician.

Tatiana Orloff

was born into a musical family and gave her debut with the State Chamber Orchestra at the age of 8. This concert, in which she played a piano concerto by J.S. Bach, marked the beginning of an outstanding career that would make her a sought-after pianist. After completing her diploma and postgraduate studies as one of the best students at the Gnessin Academy of Music in Moscow, she continued her international education in Germany, where she earned a master's degree in piano solo at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts. She later studied chamber music at the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna. She has won numerous international competitions in Austria, Germany and Russia, including first prizes at the 5th International Moscow Music Competition, the International Piano Competition for students of music academies in Moscow, and the Grand Prix of the international Barents Region competition. She is currently pursuing a doctorate in musicology at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts. Her development as a pianist was shaped during her studies above all by her collaboration with Prof. Bernhard Wetz and Prof. Denise Benda, as well as by her participation in international masterclasses. Away from the stage, Tatiana is passionately dedicated to fostering the next generation of musicians. She is proud to mentor her students, many of whom have achieved significant success at competitions in Germany, England, Malta, Italy and Austria. Since November 2024 Tatiana Orloff has held a teaching position as a lecturer at the Würzburg University of Music. www.orloffduo.de

Nikita Volov

Born in 1992 in Severodvinsk on the White Sea, he received his musical training first in Pskov and at the Central Music School for highly gifted children in Moscow. He then studied at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory with Prof. Eliso Virsaladze and at the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music in Berlin with Prof. Stefan Arnold, where he completed his concert examination in 2019. As a soloist and chamber musician, Volov appears on major stages, including the Berlin Philharmonic, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam and the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg. He has performed with renowned orchestras and is a guest at international festivals. His awards include 1st prize at the International Piano Competition in Transylvania, a prize at the Concours International de Piano "Ricard Viñes", and the DAAD Prize 2018. His interpretations are distinguished by tonal differentiation, virtuosity and exceptional musical expressiveness. www.nikitavolov.com

Sontraud Speidel

"a kind of Clara Schumann of our time" (Neue Zeitschrift für Musik). At the age of eleven, Sontraud Speidel began her studies at the Karlsruhe University of Music with the Russian émigré Irene Slavin. After her Abitur, further studies followed with Yvonne Loriod-Messiaen in Karlsruhe, Branka Musulin in Frankfurt, Stefan Askenase in Brussels and Géza Anda in Lucerne. She was awarded first prizes at national and international competitions several times. She performs regularly in European countries, in the USA and in Asia at festivals, with orchestras, in solo recitals and as a chamber musician. Premieres and first performances also feature in her programmes. In 1979, at the invitation of Federal Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, she gave a piano recital at Palais Schaumburg in Bonn. She is Professor of Piano at the Karlsruhe University of Music and has held guest professorships in Korea, Israel, Japan, China, Taiwan, the USA and various European countries. She is regularly a member of juries at national and international competitions. Her discography has grown to more than 50 CDs and includes numerous solo and chamber music recordings of rarely performed repertoire. From 1993 to 2021 she was internationally active in a piano duo with Prof. Evelinde Trenkner (2021). Their final CD with Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 5 was awarded the Echo Klassik Prize in 2019. Sontraud Speidel is a Steinway Artist, an honorary member of the Werner Trenkner Society and of the Tonkünstlerverband Baden-Württemberg. She has been awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and is particularly committed to the intensive promotion of young pianists. www.sontraud-speidel.de

Moderation

Prof. Thomas Nickelsen

Born in 1954 in Frankfurt am Main, he was Professor of Internal Medicine at Johann Wolfgang Goethe University until his retirement and worked in parallel in clinical-pharmaceutical research. Since his retirement in 2012 he has devoted himself to writing, playing the piano and travelling. His debut novel "Die Spur des kleinen Prinzen" was published in autumn 2015 by Karl Rauch Verlag. Since 2016 he has produced a CD series entitled "Anthology of American Piano Music", recorded by pianist Cecile Licad and released on the Danacord label.