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Spina & Benignetti Piano Duo
‘Their ensemble is spot on, and there is a wonderful flow to the music under their fingers’.
"Both recordings impress on performance grounds and are worthy of recommendation; both likewise testify to the excellence of the duo's playing and musicality, making Spina & Benignetti Piano Duo an act one should definitely catch whenever the opportunity arises"
Duo - Instrumental
Instrumentation
- Benignetti Michele - Piano, piano four hands
- Spina Eleonora - Piano, piano four hands
Repertoire
Concert Program n°1 for Piano Four Hands (one piano)
"An evening with Schubert"
Fantasia D940, Variations D813 and Piano Quintet D667 transcribed for piano four hands
Concert Program n° 2 for piano four hands
"Transcriptions"
Wagner Tannhäuser Ouverture, Liszt's Preludes, Ravel's "La Valses" and "Valses Nobles et Sentimentales
Concert Program n°3 for piano four hands
"Visions"
Franck's Prelude, Fugue and Variations op. 18, Poulenc Sonata, Rachmaninov's op. 11, Stravinsky's 3 Movements from Pretrouchka
Biography
Eleonora and Michele’s partnership as a piano duo took off in 2013 and was met with positive critical acclaim. The American Record Guide, the oldest independent reviews magazine in USA, writes: ‘Their ensemble is spot on, and there is a wonderful flow to the music under their fingers’.
In June 2014, they were unanimously awarded the prestigious ‘Diplôme Supérieur d’Exécution’ at the Ecole Normale De Musique Alfred Cortot in Paris, under the supervision of Chantal De Buchy. Lifelong learners, they received master’s degrees with honors, in 2019, at the Maastricht Conservatorium of Music in the Netherlands under professors Igor Roma, Henk Guittart, and Enrico Pace. They also studied at the Universität für Musik in Graz (Austria) with Sivan Silver and Gil Garburg.
The duo performs regularly throughout Europe and across the globe: Salle Cortot, Auditorium Opera Bastille, Maison de la Radio in Paris and Palais Acropolis in Nice (France), Hijstekzaal Maastricht and Linburgzaal Heerlen (The Netherlands), Grosser Konzertsaal in Munich (Germany), Izumi Hall Osaka (Japan), Auditorium Galindo Blas in Mexico City and Teatro de la Ciudad in Celaya (Mexico), Guangzhou Royal Opera House, Tianjin Grand Theater, Shandong Grand Theater and Auditorium Nankai University (China), Turner Center de Kerikeri and Wanganui Royal Opera House (New Zealand), to name just a few.
Their acclaimed 2015 recording of Brahms’s complete works for two pianos for Brilliant Classics Records has been praised by audiences and critics alike. Many high-profile music magazines (Amadeus, Musica, Suonare News, Pianiste) regard the recording as among of their most notable work to date, awarding it the highest possible score.
The album ‘Lifetime’ followed in January 2017. Released by Sheva Collection, it went on to win Gold Medals for Best Album, Best Duo, and Best Emerging Artists at the 2017 Global Music Awards in La Jolla, California (USA). In September 2022, the fourth album “Schubert’s Music for Piano Four Hands” is released with Apple Digital Masters certification, by UK label Ulysses Arts.
Eleonora and Michele are also professors who currently teach at the Cité de la Musique et de la Danse in Soissons (France). Additionally, they are often invited to give masterclasses in Italy, France, China and Australia.
The Spina-Benignetti Piano Duo is an Official Yamaha Artist and has been proudly sponsored by them since December 2017.
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