European Centre for Art, Culture and Science

Saturday June 6 2009 / Arts & Philosophy

Two-day piano festival “Michel Sogny presents”

Elisso Bolkvadze (Georgia) and Alexandra Masaleva (14, Russia) are  highly talented pianists who will make their first appearance in the Netherlands on June 6 and 7. French-Hungarian educationalist Michel Sogny has taught them according to his unique teaching methods and will proudly present them to the Amsterdam audience.

In 1974 Michel Sogny  founded the Académie Michel Sogny in Paris, which soon became very popular. His unique educational methods, based on self-expression and the pleasure of playing the piano, have gained world-wide acclaim.
Michel Sogny's compositions contain original harmonies and are devoid of temporary fashions; he uses his works as an integral part of his educational methods. In 1995 he founded a new music institute called Villa Schindler in Austria under the patronage of Lord Yehudi Menuhin. Elisso Bolkvadze, the world famous Georgian pianist was among his first students. Maestros Sogny and Bolkvadze are the only performers in the world who play works of Liszt for piano four-hands. Since 2000 he manages the foundation SOS Talents which is sponsored by Mr. and Mrs. Serge Dassault; the foundation provides the funding of studies for young talented pianists. Michel Sogny introduces the talented youngsters to the public at his international piano festivals.

Elisso Bolkvadze was born in Tiflis, Georgia, and grew up in a family of poets and literati. At the young age of four Elisso was accepted by a school for highly gifted children in Tiflis and performed her first concert with an orchestra when she was only seven. She studied at the conservatory and attended master classes by Tatiana Nikolayeva, Lev Naumov and Serge Milshtein. In 1995 Elisso Bolkvadze met Michel Sogny, who was enchanted by the fragile musician. He started to nurture her enormous talent and had a major influence on Elisso's musical future. In the past few years Elisso Bolkvadze has  received numerous international awards, such as at the  Bach International Competition, Leipzig, at Vianna Da Motta, Lisbon, Van Cliburn, USA, Marguerite Long, Paris and at the Axa Dublin International Piano Competition, Dublin. In addition to these musical awards Elisso was awarded the medal of honour of Georgia in 1993.

She recorded the Tchaïkovski, Rachmaninov, Saint-Saëns and Liszt concerti for the Sony label. Only a  few weeks ago the pianist finished recordings for her new CD on the Swiss Cascavelle label. Elisso Bolkvadze has performed at some of the most prestigious concert halls in Europe and the US. At the festival "Michel Sogny presents", she will make her first appearance in the Netherlands.

Alexandra Masaleva was born in 1995 in St. Petersburg, Russia. She started her piano studies following the Sogny method at the tender age of 5 and has received grants from the SOS Talents foundation from the age of 6. Currently, she is studying at the School for Prodigies in St. Petersburg. Alexandra has already won top awards in her country and takes part in many concerts organized by SOS Talents. The concert of December 2007 at Hôtel Dassault in Paris and the gala concert in Vilnius, Lithuania, in March 2009, were broadcast live in 38 countries by the MEZZO TV channel. Alexandra will make her first appearance in Holland at the festival of June 6-7 in Amsterdam.

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