The Art of the Piano Duo | Concert 1 | Vyacheslav Gryaznov & Vladimir Rumyantsev

Greater Boston brims with top-quality classical music performances, yet world-class piano duo concerts rarely occur. In response, the Boston-based non-profit 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐖𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐨 𝐃𝐮𝐨, its inaugural piano duo concert series, comprised of two evening concerts taking place on two Saturdays in June 2024. Under the leadership of Artistic Advisor Dr. Elena Sorokina, Professor Emeritus of the Tchaikovsky Moscow Conservatory and preeminent expert of the piano duo genre, this two-concert event features international performers presenting repertoire from the 18th through 20th centuries.

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐭 𝟖:𝟎𝟎 𝐩.𝐦. and end by 10:00 p.m. in the sanctuary of 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐂𝐡𝐮𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝐁𝐨𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧, acoustically very fitting for chamber music, at 𝟔𝟔 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐛𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐭. General admission tickets are $40, available online HERE and at the door.

The first concert, 𝐨𝐧 𝐉𝐮𝐧𝐞 𝟏, features pianists 𝐕𝐲𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐯 𝐆𝐫𝐲𝐚𝐳𝐧𝐨𝐯 and 𝐕𝐥𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐫 𝐑𝐮𝐦𝐲𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐬𝐞𝐯 performing ingenious arrangements for two pianos.

The first half presents Edvard Grieg’s adaptations of two Sonatas by W. A. Mozart (K. 283 and K. 457). In the second half they perform Gryaznov’s virtuosic arrangement of Rachmaninoff’s Symphonic Dances. Both performers are prize-winning graduates of the Moscow Conservatory and enjoy international concert careers.

About the Performers:

Vyacheslav Gryaznov was born in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk on the Russian Pacific coast. His parents were not musicians, but they became convinced that he was talented enough to move from the Far East to Moscow so that he could further his musical education. He attended high school at the Central Music School of the Moscow State Conservatory, subsequently enrolling at the Moscow Conservatory as an undergraduate and then graduate student, receiving honors in both programs. Upon completion of his graduate studies at the Conservatory, he joined the school's piano department as an assistant professor. In 2016 he was invited to join the Artist Diploma program at Yale University.

In addition to appearing widely as a solo and collaborative artist, Gryaznov is the author of numerous concert arrangements and transcriptions, many which have been performed in concert halls worldwide and been selected for leading competitions such as the Tchaikovsky Competition.

In 2014, Gryaznov signed a publishing contract with Schott Music, the youngest Russian in their history to do so. His most recent 2021 recording of Western Transcriptions on the Master Performers label joins his album of Russian Transcriptions on the Steinway & Sons label, released in 2018 as a part of his 1st prize at the New York Concert Artists Worldwide Audition (2016).

Pianist Vladimir Rumyantsev has performed solo recitals at prestigious venues such as the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, Moscow Philharmonic Hall, and Leila Gilde in Riga, Latvia. In New York, where he currently resides, he has appeared at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, Steinway Hall, Le Poisson Rouge, and the Frick Museum, to name a few.

A child prodigy, Rumyantsev won first prize at the Glinka competition in Moscow at the age of seven. Subsequently, he won prizes in every piano competition he entered, including such esteemed contests as the Schnittke Competition in Ger,amu, the Viñes Competition in Spain, and the Enschede Competition in the Netherlands.

He has participated in many elite festivals, too, among them, the Baltic Sea Festival in Stockholm, Ballet Russes in Boston, where he performed piano duos with Elena Sorokina, the International Keyboard Institute and Festival in New York, and the Golden Mask Festival in Moscow in 2014, where he performed at the opening concert at the Bolshoi Theatre. His successful performances of piano concerti by Shostakovich and Stravinsky brought him into active collaboration with the Mariinsky Ballet, with which he has performed at numerous celebrated venues.

Rumyantsev graduated from the Moscow Conservatory under Sergey Dorensky and also received instruction in solo and chamber performance from Alexander Bakhchiev, Elena Sorokina, Nikolai Lugansky, Andrey Pisarev and Pavel Nersessian. Later on, he completed Masters and Professional Studies degrees at the Mannes School of Music in New York in the studio of Pavlina Dokovska. Currently pursuing a DMA at The Hartt School under the guidance of Jose Ramos Santana, Vladimir's commitment to musical excellence continues to flourish.In 2024, Vladimir's recorded "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Sean Hickey for a piano solo. Set for release in early 2025 by Sono Luminus.