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Italian pianist Giuseppe Guarrera is the 2024 winner of the prestigious Beethoven Prize at the Cleveland International Piano Competition. Praised for his exceptional expressiveness and technical brilliance by Scherzo, Guarrera has performed both as a soloist and chamber musician at some of Europe’s most renowned venues, including Wigmore Hall in London, Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin, and the Scherzo Foundation in Madrid. His engagements also extend to distinguished festivals and halls such as the Jerusalem Chamber Music Festival, Klavierfestival Ruhr, Musikverein Vienna, Philharmonie Luxembourg, and Concertgebouw Amsterdam, alongside a major concert tour in China.
Guarrera’s notable accolades include the Tabor Award Piano at the Verbier Festival Academy in 2018 and the title of Rising Star at the Klavierfestival Ruhr in 2019. He honed his craft at the Barenboim-Said Akademie under Nelson Goerner, following earlier studies in Italy with Siavush Gadjiev and Giuseppe Cultrera, and later in Berlin with Eldar Nebolsin.
Swiss pianist Lionel Monnet was awarded a “Virtuosity with Distinction” diploma in 2003 from the Haute École de Musique de Lausanne, where he studied under Christian Favre. He continued his training in Paris with his mentor Abdel Rahman El Bacha, and also worked with Menahem Pressler of the Beaux-Arts Trio of New York and with the Trio Wanderer of Paris.
Since 1999, he has been the pianist of the Trio Nota Bene, with which he continues to perform regularly on both the Swiss and international music scenes.
Lionel Monnet won First Prize at the International Music Competition of Rotterdam, as well as First Prize by unanimous jury decision at the 28th Géraldine Whittaker Prize for Instrumental Trios in Neuchâtel. He was also honored with the Philippe Chaignat Prize for outstanding performance at the Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad, and received the Audience Prize at the 2009 edition of the Zulawski–Ville de Chamonix Prize.
He has performed internationally at venues and festivals including the Sion International Festival, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, La Roque d’Anthéron, Folles Journées in Nantes, Ljubljana Festival, Castres Festival, Zermatt Music Festival, the Tonhalle in Zurich, Bodrum Festival, Jerusalem Music Center, the Tel Aviv Museum, Nice Festival, and as a soloist with the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, and the European Concert Orchestra.
Lionel Monnet has shared the stage with numerous renowned artists such as Tibor Varga, Renaud Capuçon, Svetlin Roussev, Fabio Di Càsola, Malin Hartelius, Rachel Harnisch, Christoph Schiller, Shlomo Mintz, Nobuko Imai, Gérard Caussé, Pierre Amoyal, Ilya Gringolts, Blythe Teh Engström, Ophélie Gaillard, Svetlana Makarova, the Terpsycordes Quartet, the Sine Nomine Quartet, Edgar Moreau, Michel Dalberto, Brigitte Engerer, Dany Bonvin, and Shmuel Ashkenasi, among others.
He has received support from the Irène Dénéréaz Foundation, composer Henri Dutilleux, and the Swiss Global Artistic Foundation.
Since 2011, Lionel Monnet has been a piano professor at the Valais Cantonal Conservatory of Music. In July 2016, he was appointed professor of piano and chamber music at the International Academy of Biarritz, Côte Basque.
In January 2017, he was invited on an American tour with performances at festivals in New York, Philadelphia, and Princeton. That same year, he also served as a jury member for the Musique Riviera Piano Competition in Vevey.
He is the pianist of the “Quinteto del Fuego”, a group specializing in the music of Astor Piazzolla.
He is also the founder and artistic director of “Espace Consonance”, a concert hall and recording studio located in Saxon, Switzerland.
Lionel Monnet is represented by the Swiss record label Claves and the American label Naxos.
Loris Mittaz passe son enfance dans les montagnes valaisannes, à Chermignon. À l’âge de 8 ans, il apprend qu’une maladie va lui faire perdre la vue progressivement. Son handicap le contraindra à renoncer à plusieurs de ses activités favorites.
C’est alors qu’il se passionne pour la musique et le piano. Il se découvre une affinité spéciale avec cet instrument qui devient un moyen de transcender les obstacles, une source inépuisable de résilience et de créativité.
Son parcours, tout autant que sa musique, est une ode à la persévérance, une invitation chaleureuse à rencontrer son public dans une expérience authentique et bouleversante.
De formation classique (EJMA), Loris se produit avec différents projets depuis qu’il a 15 ans. Curieux musicalement, ses projets et collaborations musicales sont variés, allant du rap (Oxmo Puccino, Moodjo) à la musique électronique (Feder, Marieposa), en pensant par le rock psychédélique (The Doors Revival) ou encore la pop (Mia Oud).
Parallèlement, il explore les possibilités de la composition et se lance dans son projet musical personnel. Il est vite repéré et fait ses premiers pas en solo sur de belles scènes (Crans-Montana Classics, Autumn Festival Montreux) dès 2022.
Entre classique, jazz et musique contemporaine, sa musique est un voyage mélodieux, profond et coloré. Loris nous invite à embarquer avec lui, avec l’idée que tout un chacun puisse fermer les yeux et se faire le film de ce qu’il entend.
Loris Mittaz passe son enfance dans les montagnes valaisannes, à Chermignon. À l’âge de 8 ans, il apprend qu’une maladie va lui faire perdre la vue progressivement. Son handicap le contraindra à renoncer à plusieurs de ses activités favorites.
C’est alors qu’il se passionne pour la musique et le piano. Il se découvre une affinité spéciale avec cet instrument qui devient un moyen de transcender les obstacles, une source inépuisable de résilience et de créativité.
Son parcours, tout autant que sa musique, est une ode à la persévérance, une invitation chaleureuse à rencontrer son public dans une expérience authentique et bouleversante.
De formation classique (EJMA), Loris se produit avec différents projets depuis qu’il a 15 ans. Curieux musicalement, ses projets et collaborations musicales sont variés, allant du rap (Oxmo Puccino, Moodjo) à la musique électronique (Feder, Marieposa), en pensant par le rock psychédélique (The Doors Revival) ou encore la pop (Mia Oud).
Parallèlement, il explore les possibilités de la composition et se lance dans son projet musical personnel. Il est vite repéré et fait ses premiers pas en solo sur de belles scènes (Crans-Montana Classics, Autumn Festival Montreux) dès 2022.
Entre classique, jazz et musique contemporaine, sa musique est un voyage mélodieux, profond et coloré. Loris nous invite à embarquer avec lui, avec l’idée que tout un chacun puisse fermer les yeux et se faire le film de ce qu’il entend.
Adam Znamirovský began playing the piano spontaneously at the age of four and has studied with MgA Markéta Cibulková at ZUŠ Jižní Město since the age of five. He has received top prizes at national and international competitions, including the Béla Bartók Competition in Graz, the Chopin Competition for Young Pianists in Szafarnia, and the César Franck Piano Competition in Belgium. Among his greatest achievements is his absolute victory at the Concertino Praga competition, where he performed Grieg’s Piano Concerto with the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra. The following year, he was a finalist at Eurovision Young Musicians in Bodø, Norway, performing Saint-Saëns’ Piano Concerto with the Norwegian Radio Orchestra. Adam regularly participates in masterclasses with Ivo Kahánek, Ivan Klánský, and Daniel Blumenthal, and has performed at major festivals including Prague Spring, Smetana’s Litomyšl, and Santa Cecilia in Porto.
Ido Zeev is an Israeli pianist known for his transcriptions, collaborations, and performances at international festivals including the Martha Argerich Festival, La Roque d’Anthéron, Oxford Piano Festival, and Allgemeine Musikgesellschaft Basel. In 2024, he was presented by Martha Argerich in a series of recitals in Lyon and Toulouse as part of ‘Les Grands Interprètes’. He has worked with musicians such as Nikolai Lugansky, Christoph Eschenbach, and Menahem Pressler. He has studied with Arie Vardi since 2016 and is currently working with Rena Shereshevskaya and Florence Millet.
Ziyu Shao is a Chinese pianist and winner of the 2023 Franz Liszt Piano Competition in Weimar. He has also received top prizes at the Chopin International Competition in Poland, the Vladimir Krainev International Competition in Moscow, and the Horowitz Memorial Competition in Ukraine. In 2021, he gave a solo recital at the New MMDM Hall in Moscow, broadcast by Radio Orpheus, and was featured in the 2024 Pianissimo Winter Festival. Ziyu has appeared with orchestras such as the Moscow Virtuosi and the Svetlanov State Academic Symphony Orchestra and performed at venues including the Moscow Conservatory, Zaryadye Hall, and Carnegie Hall.
Yonatan Senik was 22 when he became a prize-winner at the Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition, where he also received the Best Israeli Performer Prize. He has won competitions in Tel Aviv and Boston, and in 2021 won the Chamber Music Competition at Tel Aviv University. In 2024, he received the Bruno Frey Musikpreis for chamber music in Ochsenhausen and was a finalist in the Classeek Ambassador Programme. He was also nominated for an International Classical Music Award (ICMA). He is currently pursuing a master’s degree at the New England Conservatory in Boston with Alexander Korsantia.
Natalie Schwamová made her orchestral debut at the age of ten, performing Mozart’s Piano Concerto in D minor with the Buenos Aires Symphony Orchestra. She has since performed with major orchestras including the Czech Philharmonic, Aarhus Symphony Orchestra, and Extremadura Orchestra, with appearances in prestigious venues such as the Rudolfinum in Prague, the National Auditorium in Madrid, and the Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona. She has received more than 20 international awards, including Second Prize at the Pilsen Smetana Competition, First Prize at the Fryderyk Chopin Competition in Marienbad, and First Prize at the 2023 International Music Competition in Alicante. In 2023, she was named Most Outstanding Student of the Year by Queen Sofía at the Reina Sofía School of Music. She studied at the Prague Academy of Music with František Malý and at the Reina Sofía School of Music with Dmitri Bashkirov, Milana Chernyavska, and Claudio Martínez Mehner.
Malaysian pianist Magdalene Ho began her musical training at the age of four. After being offered a full scholarship at age ten, she moved to the UK to study at the Purcell School with Patsy Toh. Since 2022, she has studied with Dmitri Alexeev at the Royal College of Music. She has performed at venues such as the Wigmore Hall, Laeiszhalle Hamburg, and Victoria Concert Hall Singapore, and appeared as soloist with the SWR Symphony Orchestra, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, and Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. In 2023, she won First Prize and the Audience Prize at the Clara Haskil International Piano Competition and was a finalist of the International German Piano Award.