Swedish pianist Edward Ahlbeck Glader recently graduated from Lilla Akademiens Musikgymnasium in Stockholm, where he studied with Martin Sturfält. Since 2022, he has been a private student of Paolo Giacometti at the Robert Schumann Hochschule in Düsseldorf. He has also drawn inspiration from the Jiri Hlinka Piano Academy in Norway and pianist Roland Pöntinen. In 2024, he made his orchestral debut performing Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto with the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra and gave his German recital debut in Hamburg. Edward has received top prizes at the Steinway & Sons Nordic Junior Piano Competition, the MozArte International Junior Piano Competition in Aachen, and the Euregio Young Piano Award in Geilenkirchen. He has performed at venues and festivals including Konserthuset Stockholm, Gothenburg Concert Hall, Queen Silvia Concert Hall, Sasel-Haus Hamburg, the Royal Palace of Stockholm, the PIANALE Piano Festival and O/Modernt Festivals and the Helsingborg Piano Festival.

“Roberto Olzer, a pianist at home in the worlds of both jazz and classical music, is gifted with a unique musical sensibility and extraordinary expressive power” A. Valiante, Jazzitalia

“Olzer’s unique disposition towards music and the intellectual awareness of a man of culture have undoubtedly defined him as a jazz musician of admirable expressiveness; this becomes evident in his lucid inventiveness, imaginative and melodic clarity, refined and attractive harmonic colorings.” B. Schiozzi, Musica Jazz

“Reason combined with feeling…. fusing into a precious symphony with the power to evoke dreamlike spaces and faraway countries.” S. Maccari, Muzik Box

“…. A pianist at once sophisticated, sensitive and very expressive, imbued with classical andjazz traditions…” F. Caprera, Dictionary of Jazz, Feltrinelli, 2014

“This ultra-refined recording of the pianist Roberto Olzer (Steppin’ Out) is a clear example of how to make quality music of a disarming formal simplicity with a clear preference for the “beautiful”, devoid of unnecessary stylistic ornamentation or exaggerated virtuosity.” F. Peluso, Fedeltà del Suono

“A lovely album (Steppin’ Out) of jewelled lyricism, by Italian pianist Roberto Olzer … very visual, each track seems to tell a story” M. James, Only Jazz

“Clarity of phrasing, a clean sound, lyrical themes, a marked propensity for expressive linearity.” L. Sforza, All About Jazz

Born 1971 in Domodossola Italy, Roberto Olzer began studying piano at an early age and later organ with Maestro Giancarlo Parodi under whose guidance he received his diploma in organ and organ composition from the Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory in Milan, Italy. While completing his philosophy degree at the Catholic University Milan, he studied jazz improvisation with Roberto Ciammarughi. He further refined his technique through classes and seminars held by prominent piano masters, like S. Battaglia and E. Pieranunzi. He completed his musical education with a degree in piano.

Roberto Olzer’s first recordings date back to 2002-2003 with “Folk Songs” accompanied by the guitarist F. Spadea and “Eveline” accompanied by a sestet bearing his name for the label Splasc(h). Following that, he collaborated with the Max De Aloe Quartet recording six albums including a live concert edited by Abeat Records. He then recorded two albums for Splasc(h) and Dodicilune with the Michele Gori Quartet, a recording titled “Bill Evans Homage“ with the Roberto Mattei Double Quartet, and a CD with the Florentine songwriter Susanna Parigi.

His first piano solo “Esprit de Finesse”, edited by Dodicilune was recorded in 2009 and is dedicated to F. Mendelssohn Bartholdy to commemorate his bicentennial date of birth. He further developed themes from the classical repertory as a basis for jazz arrangements and compositions with the Rudy Migliardi Quartet. ‘Au Rebours’ is a recording with the bassist Roberto Mattei of improvisations on classical themes, edited by 201 Editions, also the label for “Avorio”, a recording with the singer Elisa Marangon.

A more recent formation is the JMT (Just Music Trio) together with Yuri Goloubev and Fabrizio Spadea. The trio recorded “Standpoint” edited by Caligola.

The Roberto Olzer Jazz Trio was formed in 2011 with bass player Yuri Goloubev and percussionist Mauro Beggio. Their first album ‘Steppin’ Out’ with the Abeat label in 2013 was widely acclaimed by both music critics and the public. In particular, it was awarded the title of best instrumental album of 2013 by the Japanese ‘Jazz Critique Magazine’ (HIHYO) in a category that includes names of world fame like Chick Corea, Dave Holland or Steve Swallow. Since the debut of the Trio in the prestigious Moods Jazz Club Zürich, Switzerland, they have continued to refine their sound, highlighted by the strong soloist talents of each of its members and their creative reciprocity.

Roberto Olzer continues to perform live in concerts not only as a jazz pianist but also as a classical pianist and organist in Italy, Switzerland, France and England in important theatres, festivals, clubs and events such as Time in Jazz (Sardenia, Italy), Fano Jazz by the sea (Italy) Musica sulle Bocche, Iseo Jazz, Gallarate Jazz Festival, MITO, Blue Note (Milan, Italy), House of Jazz (Rome), Piazza Verdi (Radio Rai 3, Italy), Moods Jazz Club, (Zurich, Switzerland) Villa Streuli, (Winterthur, Switzerland), Auditorium of the Swiss Radio, (Lugano, Switzerland), Conservatoire de Paris, Conservatoire du Choletais, (France) the Bangor New Music Festival (United Kingdom) and many others.

Roberto Olzer is also active as a composer and arranger for bands, string quartets and prestigious ensembles. He has arranged compositions such as ‘Homage to Nino Rota’ , ‘Xilophonia’, ‘Rhapsody in Blue’ and ‘John Williams Suite’ for the Decimino d’Ottoni (Brass Ensemble) of the La Scala Opera House, Milan. He also arranged Astor Piazzolla’s tangos, homage to Ennio Morricone etc. for the Coccia Theatre Symphonic Orchestra (Novara, Italy).

His collaboration with the Brass Ensemble of La Scala Opera House, Milan, as arranger and soloist in Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue (Domodossola, Italy 2013) has developed into a new project called ‘American Sweets’, where he plays in combination with his own Trio and the Brass Ensemble his original arrangements of music by Leonard Bernstein and John Williams.

Roberto Olzer’s published works as a composer include “Tetragono” for clarinet and piano (Bim Vuarmarens Editions Switzerland), “Sciccareddu” and “Monte Rosa” (Wicky Editions in Milan), “Per Geometrico Destino” for solos, chorus and orchestra commissioned for the centennial of the Simplon tunnel (Switzerland), and two compositions for organ commissioned by M° Parodi: ‘Prelude, Fugue et Chorale’ and ‘Fantasy on B.A.C.H’

Besides the musicians mentioned above, he has collaborated and played with musicians Chris Collins, Paolo Tomelleri, Emilio Soana, Bruno de Filippi, Roberto Rossi, Asaf Sirkis, Luciano Zadro, Emanuele Cisi, Bebo Ferra, Andrea Dulbecco, Ramberto Ciammarughi, Mauro Negri, Steve Mead, and with outstanding Italian jazz and pop singers Diana Torto, Barbara Casini, Susanna Parigi, Antonella Ruggero, Tosca Donati.

Dr Yannis Rammos is a research associate in music theory at the EPFL Digital & Cognitive Musicology Lab, and member of the piano faculty at European University Cyprus. An internationally active piano pedagogue trained in Russia, in 2022/23 he led classes at the Verbier Festival Academy, the Anton Bruckner Privatuniversität für Musik, the Estonian Academy for Music & Theater, and Conservatorium van Amsterdam, among other venues. His research is motivated by technical, interpretive, and philosophical aspects of classical musical artistry, focusing on the fissure between structure and expression, anxieties of “authenticity” and “originality,” topics in piano timbre semantics, the use and disuse of music-analytical metaphors in (historical) performance treatises, and Russian musicological discourses. In most cases it engages traditions of linearity, including but not limited to Schenker’s, from various structuralist and post-structuralist perspectives. Formerly based at the Sibelius Academy, he completed his doctoral studies in piano and music theory at the CUNY Graduate Center and New York University, graduating from the latter with a Ph.D. in classical performance. Recent publications have appeared in Music & LettersQuodlibet, and Music Theory & Analysis. He is winner of a Fulbright fellowship in piano. At EPFL he is currently working on a formal model of hidden (‘middleground’) motivic repetition, one of the most elusive, yet startling, features of the tonal canon.

Maximilian Maisky, born in 2004, is a Belgian-Italian pianist. He started playing piano at the age of 4 with Lyl Tiempo, and for several years he was a student of Hagit Hassid-Kerbel. At the age of 13 he became one of the first students of the newly opened Musica Mundi School in Waterloo, Belgium where he continued to study with Hagit Hassid-Kerbel and took regular masterclasses with Jacques Rouvier. He performed numerous times around Belgium with the school, both chamber music and solo pieces, and he enjoyed participating regularly in the Musica Mundi Course and Festival during the summer. Maximilian regularly performs with his father, Mischa Maisky, and his older sister, Lily Maisky. In 2022 October, he made his debut in Japan, playing at the Suntory Hall with his father. In 2023, he made his debut at the Philharmonie of Berlin. As of September 2023, Maximilian is an undergraduate RCM Scholar at the Royal College of Music under Prof. Dmitri Alexeev and Prof. Vitaly Pisarenko.

Nour Ayadi began her piano studies at age six in Morocco and later attended the Ecole Normale and Conservatoire de Paris, earning her Artist Diploma. She is an Artist-in-Residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel and studied with Nelson Goerner at the Haute Ecole de Musique de Genève. Her accolades include the Prix Cortot and a nomination at the Victoires de la Musique. Alongside her musical career, Nour earned a Master in Public Policy from Sciences Po Paris. She has performed at major international festivals and collaborated with conductors Christophe Koncz, Augustin Dumay, and Mikko Franck, as well as musicians Gautier Capuçon and the Ebène Quartet. Upcoming engagements include the Philharmonie de Paris and Victoria Hall. She also participated in the Maria João Pires Academy. Nour’s second album with Scala Music received 5 stars from Classica and 3T from Télérama.

Xinran Shi began playing the piano at age 4 and currently studies with Hans Boepple. At 13, she made her debut with the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra, playing Chopin’s E-minor concerto. Xinran has attended various music festivals, including Morningside Music Bridge in Boston, the Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition & Festival, and Philadelphia Young Pianists’ Academy (PYPA) Piano Festival. She has won several piano competitions, including top prizes in the e-Piano Competition, Hilton Head International Piano Competition, and Ettlingen International Piano Competition. She was also a 2020–2022 Young Scholar of the Lang Lang International Music Foundation. In 2023, she appeared on NPR’s From The Top. Apart from music, she enjoys dancing, reading, swimming, and traveling.

Angel S. Wang is a student at the Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatory, studying under Professor Natalia Trull. He recently achieved Second Prize and Silver Medal at the XVII International Tchaikovsky Competition, along with winning other international competitions such as the 63rd International Piano Competition ‘Premio Jaen’, the International Rachmaninoff Piano Competition, and the 21st International Piano CompetitionComposers of Spain’. Angel has performed with orchestras including the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra and the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, under conductors like Valery Gergiev and Alexey Rubin. He has performed at important venues around the world, including Carnegie Hall, Musikverein, and in Moscow at both halls of the Moscow Conservatory, at the Mariinsky 2, and at the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall. 

Maya Oganyan was born in Moscow and has lived and studied in Venice since 2011. She began studying the piano at age of 4 with Alexander Maykapar, professor at the Gnessin Music Academy in Moscow. In 2015 she entered the Benedetto Marcello Conservatory in Venice, where she studied under the guidance of Massimo Somenzi. She has continued studies since 2022 in the class of Olaf John Laneri. The union of the Russian and Italian school are the key to Maya’s reading and interpretation of her repertoire. She is the winner of numerous national and international competitions and performs regularly as a soloist, chamber musician and with orchestras at important festivals.

Verbier Festival
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