Natalya Antonova started her piano studies at the age of 4 as a protégé in Leningrad Conservatory. She made her debut with the Leningrad Philharmonic at the age of 16. The same month she graduated the prestigious Leningrad Conservatory, she accepted an invitation from them to become the youngest professor ever being appointed for this position in the history of the school. After 10 years of serving, she accepted a position of Professor of Piano in the Russian Academy of Music in Moscow(former Gnessin Institute of Music). Natalya Antonova gave hundreds of master classes and lectures throughout the world including Moscow Academy of Music, Paris Conservatory, Budapest Conservatory, Peabody Conservatory, New England Conservatory, Seoul National University, Singapore University, Taiwan University, etc. She participated in many International Festivals – in Hungary, Germany, South Korea, USA, Russia, etc. Each summer she conducts piano classes in the framework of the International Festival in Paris, France. She judged numerous competitions such as: Gina Bachauer in Utah, Sibelius International Competition in Ohio, and Moulin-Ande International Competition in France. She is currently a tenured professor at the Eastman School of Music, USA.

Michel Béroff graduated from the Paris Conservatory in 1966, and the following year won first prize at the first Olivier Messiaen International Piano Competition. He went then on to perform with the world’s most prestigious orchestras, under the direction of such conductors as Claudio Abbado, Daniel Barenboim, Leonard Bernstein, Pierre Boulez, Charles Dutoit, Kurt Masur, André Previn, Mstislav Rostropovitch, Sir Georg Solti, Michael Tilson Thomas, and David Zinman, Christoph Eschenbach, Esa-Pekka Salonen, among others. As a chamber musician, he has partnered with Martha Argerich, Barbara Hendricks, Lynn Harrell, Jean-Philippe Collard, Augustin Dumay, Pierre Amoyal. As a publisher, he participated, for Wiener Urtext, to a new edition of Debussy piano music. For the japanese network NHK, he realized, in 2006, a serie of fifteen master-classes on french music. An exclusive EMI artist for more than 20 years, Mr. Béroff has published more than fifty recordings, among them the complete works for piano and orchestra by Liszt, Prokofiev, and Stravinsky, conducted by Seiji Ozawa and Kurt Masur. For Deutsche Grammophon, he has recorded Ravel’s left hand concerto with the London Symphony Orchestra and Claudio Abbado. His latest recording include the complete piano music of Debussy. Mr. Béroff has received the Grand Prix du Disque award five times. Recently, Michel Béroff embarked on a conducting carrer. In addition to that, he currently teaches at the Paris Conservatory.

At the age of five he was given his first piano lessons and he made his final graduation with “Magna cum Laude” and was one of the youngest graduates ever of the prestigious “Conservatorio Santa Cecilia” in Rome. His sensational success at the Busoni and at the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition opened him the door to a constantly growing international career. His outstanding piano playing that combines technical wizardry with poetic lyricism and his fascinating culture of the attack of the keyboard brought him to have a glowing London debut in the Barbican Center with the London Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas in 1992. Shortly after, he had his highly acclaimed North American debut with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra under Joel Levi. Since then Fabio Bidini is a frequent guest of the best orchestras worldwide and playing in the world´s most famous halls. He collaborated successfully with leading conductors of our time like: Ivan Fischer, Yoel Levi, among others and was repeatedly invited to perform at prestigious festivals. His repertory is tremendously vast, it contains 84 piano concerti and the piano works from the baroque to the modern era. Fabio Bidini´s discography comprises thirteen CDs of leading recording companies like BMG, Classichord, Musikstrasse, EPR, True Sounds, among others. In 2005 Fabio Bidini accepted a professorship in the piano departement of the “Universität der Künste – Berlin”. In 2009 he got appointed one of the few highest chairs for piano in Germany at the world-renown “Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler” in Berlin and teaches as a professor at this prestigious university since then. He is an official Steinway Artist.

Fumiko Eguchi is acclaimed as one of the most prominent pedagogues in Japan. Beginning her piano studies with Susumu Nagai, she has subsequently studied at Toho School of Music with Jun Date. She continued her studies in Europe and has performed numerous concerts in solo, chamber music, accompanying, and with orchestras. Nurturing many composers and artists, she has devoted to developing young talents as a chairperson at Yamaha Master Class since its establishment in 1988. She is always in demand for masterclasses and lectures throughout Asia, Europe, and America. Since 2010, she is a faculty at Ishikawa Music Academy. Many of her students are prizewinners of prestigious international competitions including Hamamatsu, Liszt, and Tchaikovsky Competition. Her contributions in music education extend widely and she is actively involved in editing and publishing books, conducting group lessons for adult learners and teachers, along with others. She serves on jury of many national and international competitions. Currently, she is a professor at Showa University of Music(Chair of Piano Department), Director of Showa Music and Ballet Studio, Director of Music Education Research Center, and Chair Professor at Piano Art Academy. She is a Board Member of Piano Teachers’ National Association of Japan and is a Special Member of the Executive Committee of International Chopin Piano Competition in ASIA.

Born into a family of musicians, pianist Jan Jiracek von Arnim was described by BBC Music Magazine as one of the leading pianists of his generation. Mr. Jiracek has since performed extensively throughout Europe, including recitals at the Herkulessaal Munich, Philharmonie Berlin, Steinway Hall London, Salle Cortot Paris, Palau de la musica Barcelona, Tonhalle Zurich, Konzerthaus Vienna, Musikverein Vienna, Musikhalle Hamburg and the Gewandhaus Leipzig, as well as orchestral appearances with the Berlin and St. Petersburg Philharmonics, Cologne Chamber Orchestra, Vienna Chamber Orchestra and the Northern Sinfonia of England. A top prize winner at the Busoni Competition(Italy) and Maria Canals Competition(Spain), Jan Jiracek von Arnim was of the winners of the Tenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition(USA). Jan Jiracek von Arnim has been featured on several European radio and television stations. A graduate of the UdK Berlin, he studied with Hans Leygraf and has performed in masterclasses with Alfred Brendel and Bruno Leonardo Gelber, among others. Jan Jiracek von Arnim gives master classes on a regular basis in North America, Asia and Europe. He was appointed professor for piano at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien in 2001, making him the youngest tenured professor in the history of that school. Mr. Jiracek von Arnim is frequently invited as a judge at international piano competitions, e.g. the “London International Piano Competition”, the “Busoni International Piano Competition” and the “Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition for young musicians”. Since 2011, he is the Artistic Director and Chairman of the “International Beethoven Piano Competition Vienna”, one of the most prestigious music competitions worldwide.

Yoheved Kaplinsky is currently the chair of the piano department of the Juilliard School, as well as the Artistic Director of its Pre-College Division. One of the most sought after pedagogues in the music world today, she is active as a guest lecturer and a performer in various festivals and universities. Formerly a member of the Peabody Conservatory and the Manhattan School, she also serves as guest faculty at Texas Christian University, is a member of the Aspen Music Festival and School faculty, and an honorary professor at the Shanghai Conservatory. A native of Israel, she earned her BS, MM and DMA degrees from Juilliard, as a student of Irwin Freundlich, and continued her studies with Dorothy Taubman. A prize winner in the JS Bach competition in Washington DC, she has performed with orchestras, in recitals and in chamber music series in various cities in the States and in Israel. Noted for her insight into piano technique, she is in demands for lectures and workshops throughout the world. She serves on the board and the faculty of the World Piano Pedagogy Conference. She has appeared on various documentaries on Television, and has given master classes in the US, Israel, Europe and Asia. She is also a frequent adjudicator in international competitions, including the Cliburn, Rubinstein, Cleveland, Dublin, Tchaikovsky, and Montreal among others.

Pianist Chong-Pil Lim drew attention at an early age by winning highly prestigious competitions in his native South Korea such as the Dong-A Music Competition and the Joong-Ang Music Competition. He was recognized by musicians and critics as one of the most prominent pianists of his generation, a reputation he maintains to this day. Upon graduation from the Seoul National University with the highest honor, he continued his studies at the University of North Texas, where he received his Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees. During this time, he also won several competitions, including the Texas Young Artists Competition. In 1993 he was offered the position of a founding professor at the Korea National University of Arts. Since then, in addition to teaching full-time, he has been performing actively within and outside the country, the most notable being his recitals of the entire works of Robert Schumann, concluded in 2007. He has played not only with most of Korea’s major symphony orchestras, but also with various international orchestras such as Moscow’s Bolshoi Theater Orchestra. As a chamber musician and collaborator, he has been just as active, performing with artists including violinists Aaron Rosand and Regis Pasquier. He is also an experienced juror, having served in competitions such as the Nagoya International Music Competition and the PTNA Competitions. He is currently on the piano faculty of Hanyang University.

One of Britain’s leading pianists, Hamish Milne was born and grew up in Salisbury of Scottish parents and studied with Harold Craxton at the Royal Academy of Music and then in Italy with Guido Agosti(who had studied with Busoni). At the Accademia Chigiana in Siena he was lucky enough to hear the classes of Casals, Cortot and Segovia at the end of their lives and, in particular, to hear those of Sergiu Celibidache, which made a deep impression on him that lasts to this day. Hamish Milne has appeared as soloist with most of the leading British orchestras, has given over two hundred broadcasts for the BBC and has toured on four continents. He is also well known as a chamber musician. There is a commercial discography of more than 25 CDs, several having won awards. He is a professor of piano at The Royal Academy of Music and a Professor of the University of London.

Pianist Haesun Paik Have won top prizes at international piano competitions including the Queen Elisabeth, Leeds, William Kapell, and the Tchaikovsky, and has performed concerts around the world in solo recitals, concerti with orchestra, and as a chamber musician. Haesun Paik has appeared as a soloist under the baton of Mikhail Pletnev, Sir Simon Rattle, Vassily Sinaisky, Dmitri Kitaenko, Stanislav Skrovaczewski, and Myung Whun Chung. She has performed with the Boston Symphony, National Symphony, London Symphony, Munich Philharmonic, Radio France Philharmonic, KBS Symphony, NHK Symphony, City of Birmingham Symphony, Moscow Philharmonic, and the Russian National Orchestra, among many others. She also has performed with many distinguished artists including Anner Bylsma, Mischa Maisky, Nobuko Imai, and Richard Stoltzman. Her recent recording with cellist Laurence Lesser of the complete works by Beethoven for cello and piano has been released by Bridge Records. Ms. Paik was the youngest pianist of her generation to be appointed as a music professor at Seoul National University, where she taught for ten years. Ms.Paik has joined the faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Music in the fall of 2013. She is also Artist-in-Residence at Catholic University of Daegu and serves as the Artistic Director of the Busan Music Festival in Korea. She gives master classes at institutions and festivals worldwide and has served as a juror in many international competitions including the Bosendorfer, the Cleveland and the Honens International Piano Competitions.

Ying Wu was born in Shanghai, to a musical family – His father is a composer and a musicologist, and mother a pianist; he received his first instruction from his mother at the age of 5. Wu graduated from the Central Conservatory of Music China in Beijing and got his master degree, his advisor was Professor Gong-Yi Zhu. Then he went to Vienna and studied with the Paul Badura-Skoda. In 1984, he graduated from Hochschule fuer Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Vienna, became a faculty member in his Alma Mater the same year. In 1991, the Chinese State Council and the State Education Commission granted him a Special Contribution Award. He went to the Piano Department of Shanghai Conservatory of Music in 1994, and became the department head until 2004, when he went back to the Central Conservatory of Music China in Beijing as a professor and department head. He performed in China and many European countries such as Czech Republic, Romania, Austria, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, France and Greece. He appeared in recitals in a series of live concerts for BBC in UK, in the Enescu Music Festival in Bucharest Romania and Chopin Music Festival in Poland. He frequently appears on TV, collaborated with many orchestras in China; and made solo, chamber music and concerto CD recordings on those performances. He has been on the panel of judges of many international piano competitions, including Concours de Geneve, F.Busoni international piano competition in Bolzano, and in Liszt international piano competition in Weimar(& Bayreuth).