Genova & Dimitrov is a German piano duo, considered both by the world music press and the audience one of the world's finest and most successful young ensembles. The duo consists of Aglika Genova (born June 29, 1971) and Liuben Dimitrov (born October 12, 1969) and appear both at two pianos and at one piano four-handed with recital programmes, as well as with orchestra.

Competition career

Formed in the city of Hanover

Hanover

Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...

 in 1995, the international concert career of the Genova and Dimitrov duo began with winning all the major piano duo competitions, including the 1996 ARD Music Competition in Munich

Munich

Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...

, the 1997 Murray Dranoff Piano Duo Competition

Dranoff International Two Piano Competition winners

The following is a list the Dranoff International Two Piano Competition Winners. The competition was founded in 1987 by the Dranoff International Two Piano Foundation.20081st Prize Winners - Silivanova-Puryzhinskiy...

 in Miami, the 1996 Tokyo

Tokyo

, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...

 Piano Duo Competition and the 1995 Bellini Music Competition in Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

.

Concert career

Since then the duo has performed at the major concert halls of Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, North

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 and
South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

, Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

 and Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

. Festival appearances include e.g. the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival

Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival

The Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival is a classical music festival held every year in summer time all over the state of Schleswig-Holstein in Northern Germany....

, Rheingau Musik Festival

Rheingau Musik Festival

The Rheingau Musik Festival is an international summer music festival in Germany, founded in 1987. It is mostly for classical music, but includes other genres...

, Ludwigsburg

Ludwigsburg

Ludwigsburg is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about north of Stuttgart city centre, near the river Neckar. It is the largest and primary city of the Ludwigsburg urban district with about 87,000 inhabitants...

, Schwetzingen

Schwetzingen

Schwetzingen is a German town situated in the northwest of Baden-Württemberg, around southwest of Heidelberg and southeast of Mannheim.Schwetzingen is one of the 5 biggest cities of the Rhein-Neckar-Kreis district and it is a medium-sized centre including the cities and municipalities of...

, Gstaad

Gstaad

Gstaad is a village in the German-speaking section of the Canton of Berne in southwestern Switzerland. Part of the municipality of Saanen, Gstaad is known as one of the most exclusive ski resorts in the world....

, MDR Music Summer

Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk

Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk is the public broadcaster for the federal states of Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt...

, the La Roque d’Antheron Piano Festival and Ravello

Ravello

Ravello is a town and comune situated above the Amalfi Coast in the province of Salerno, Campania, southern Italy, with has approximately 2,500 inhabitants. It is a popular tourist destination.-History:...

 Festivals, the Music Festival of the Hamptons

Hamptons

The Hamptons may refer to several villages and hamlets in the towns of Southampton and East Hampton on the far east end of Suffolk County in Long Island, New York. These townships occupy the South Fork of Long Island, stretching into the Atlantic Ocean. The Hamptons form a popular seaside resort,...

, the Chopin Piano Festival in Duszniki and the Lower Saxony Music Festival. In 2002 Genova & 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

NDR

NDR may refer to:* Numalian Democratic Republic a Micronation within the borders of Malaysia.* Nador International Airport — IATA code Morocan airport* National Derby Rallies...

 Hanover, SWR

SWR

SWR may refer to:Technology:* Standing wave ratio, a wave and antenna concept* Steel Wire ropeRadio stations:* Südwestrundfunk, a public broadcasting company for the southwest of Germany...

 Kaiserslautern

Kaiserslautern

Kaiserslautern is a city in southwest Germany, located in the Bundesland of Rhineland-Palatinate at the edge of the Palatinate forest . The historic centre dates to the 9th century. It is from Paris, from Frankfurt am Main, and from Luxembourg.Kaiserslautern is home to 99,469 people...

, Bulgarian National and Bucharest National radio stations, the Stuttgart

Stuttgart

Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....

 Philharmonic, the New World and Savannah

Savannah

Savannah or savanna is a type of grassland.It can also mean:-People:* Savannah King, a Canadian freestyle swimmer* Savannah Outen, a singer who gained popularity on You Tube...

 Symphonies, the NDR

NDR

NDR may refer to:* Numalian Democratic Republic a Micronation within the borders of Malaysia.* Nador International Airport — IATA code Morocan airport* National Derby Rallies...

 Hamburg

Hamburg

-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...

 Radio Choir, Sofia

Sofia

Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...

 Philharmonic, Beijing

Beijing

Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...

 Symphony, Moscow

Moscow

Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

 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

Alun Francis

Alun Francis is a Welsh conductor.-Professional career:Francis was the principal conductor of the Ulster Orchestra from 1966 for ten years...

, Toshiyuki Kamioka

Toshiyuki Kamioka

Toshiyuki Kamioka is a Japanese conductor and pianist, who lives and works predominantly in Germany since 1984.-Professional career:Toshiyuki Kamioka studied from 1979 to 1983 conducting, composition, piano and violin at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, where he was awarded...

, Leos Svarovsky, Robin Gritton and Alexander Rudin.

Radio & TV appearances, Master Class Courses, Associate Professors

The Genova & Dimitrov Duo has appeared in a number of radio and TV broadcasts on all continents. The duo also served as youngest jurors of the ARD Competition in Munich and of the Almaty International Piano Competition of Kazakhstan. The Artists have also been given master classes and workshops worldwide.

Since the fall of 2008, Genova and Dimitrov became Associate Professors of the Hannover State Academy of Music and Theatre and lead the special class for piano duo performance.

Family background, Solo Education, Special Merits

Both artists were born in Bulgaria

Bulgaria

Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

 of Greek origin, have been playing piano since the age of five, and made their orchestra debuts at the age of nine.

They studied solo piano with Ganev at the Music Academy in Sofia and since 1993 with Prof. Vladimir Krainev

Vladimir Krainev

Vladimir Krainev was a Russian pianist and professor of piano, People's Artist of the USSR.-Biography:...

 at the Hanover Music Academy and won during their soloist training numerous international solo piano competitions. In 2005, the duo gained German citizenship.

Discography

Named "Artists of the Year 2001", Genova & Dimitrov have released eight CDs on cpo including:

• Dimitri Shostakovich - Complete Works for Piano Duo: World Premiere Recording
• Johann Christian Bach - Complete Works for Piano Four Hands: World Premiere Recording
• Muzio Clementi - Piano Sonatas for Two
• Pantcho Vladigerov - Bulgarian Impressions, Complete Works for Piano Duo: World Premiere Recording
• Schnittke & Martinu - Concertos for Piano Duo: with the NDR Hanover Radio Orhestra, led by Eiji Oue; Concerto for piano duo by Alfred Shnittke and Bohuslav Martinu
• French Concertos - with the SWR Radio Orchestra, led by Alun Francis; Concertos for Two Pianos by Francis Poulenc, Darius Milhaud and Robert Casadesus
• America for Two - featuring works for two pianos by Gershwin, Copland
  Copland
  Copland was a project at Apple Computer to create an updated version of the Macintosh operating system. It was to have introduced protected memory, preemptive multitasking and a number of new underlying operating system features, yet still be compatible with existing Mac software...
  
   and Bernstein
  Bernstein
  Bernstein is a German and Jewish surname meaning "amber". The German pronunciation is , but in English it is often . It may refer to:-People:* Dan Bern , American musician who previously performed under the name Bernstein...
  
  
• Favourite Flavors - featuring the most significant works by Maurice Ravel
  Maurice Ravel
  Joseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
  
  

All these releases have won critical acclaim from major international music magazines and radio stations.

Web Sources

• Library of Congress Sound Reference Center
• Hannover State University of Music and Drama
• Complete Press Archive 2000-2007
• http://www.classical.net/music/recs/reviews/c/cpo77283a.php
• http://www.klassik-heute.de/kh/3cds/20050809_16513.shtml
• http://www.compactdiscoveries.com/CompactDiscoveriesScripts/86LatinJewishAmerican.html
• http://www.morgenpost.de/printarchiv/kultur/article445313/CD_Tipp_Piano_Duo_Genova_amp_Dimitrov_cpo.html
• http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2008/Apr08/Ravel_flavours_7772832.htm
• http://www.expergo.org/en/research/schnittke/biblography
• http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2004/mar04/Clementi_two.htm
• http://www.webconcerthall.com/interview/genova_dimitrov.htm