Dr. Gwendolyn MokDr. Gwendolyn Mok, the head of the keyboard department at San Jose State University,  joins the first International Piano Music Festival as faculty. She will provide for a master class for the Young Artists' Piano Duo Educational Sessions (7/2~7/3).  Born in New York, Ms. Mok has appeared in many of the world's leading concert halls including The Barbican, Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center..........In his 90th year, Vlado Perlemuter chose Mok to be the last student to whom he would pass on his knowledge of Ravel. Since 1995, Mok has been performing Ravel's works in recital and was invited to teach these works at the Royal College of Music, Welsh College of Music, The Dartington International Summer School in Devon, and The San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

Download News Release - The First Piano Music Festival in Silicon Valley

International piano duo artists from Armenia, Latvia, Japan, Italy and the United States will perform at

the Gala Concert

Concert artists will perform on a Grotrian Duo Grand Piano, the only one of its kind in the world

The Inaugural International Piano Music Festival (PMF) in Silicon Valley is sponsored, organized and promoted by the Kurosawa Piano Music Foundation in collaboration with the San Francisco International Music Festival (Sfmf).

The inaugural PMF will showcase the piano duo genre. During the summer of 2008 (July 2-3), the PMF will bring the excitement of piano duo music to the South Bay. Three acclaimed international piano duos have been invited to perform: The Riga Piano Duo from Latvia and Armenia, Duo Pianistico di Firenza from Italy, and Noriko &Yuko Kugimoto Piano Duo from Japan. Two Bay Area duos will also perform including: The Peery Piano Duo and Hiroko Mizuno & Yumi Tayama Duo. These renowned artists will perform an International Concert featuring works from the artists home countries on July 2, and the Festival will include the second Young Artists Piano Duo Concert on July 3. The inaugural SVIMF will also introduce two Japanese teams highlighting selected works of composers from Japan.

In addition to the professional concert presented by the participating international artists, educational links between professional artists and young pianists (age 10-18) will be established at the Young Artists component of the Festival. The 2-day intensive program will provide rich opportunities for young piano duo teams at various stages of artistic and technical development to interact and study with the professional artists through private coaching sessions, public master classes, workshops, master-classes with the great invited faculty, and a closing Young Artists Concert in the evening on July 3.

We encourage piano teachers to consider offering this opportunity to their students.
Bringing young musicians together with international artists will offer significant educational benefits by providing opportunities for them to discover other cultures as well as promoting an important artistic link between generations.

Download Information on "1st International Piano Music Festival"

Download "July 2 Gala International Piano Duo Concert - Program"

Download "July 2 Gala International Piano Duo Concert - Ticket Order Form"
 

 Grotrian Duo Grand will be used for July 2, 2008 Gala Concert: One-of-a kind in the world

 An exciting component to the July 2 Gala Concert is the donation of the Grotrian Duo Grand Piano by JB Piano of San Rafael. The artists will play on the the Grotrian Duo Piano, a one-of-a-kind instrument specifically designed for the piano duo genre by the Grotrian Piano Company of
Braunschweig, Germany.

The Riga Piano Duo

The Riga Piano DuoUnknown in America, but widely acclaimed in Europe, the Baltic States and Eastern Europe, The Riga Piano Duo has achieved legendary fame throughout its thirty-nine year artistic career.  The Riga Piano Duo has toured extensively in Germany, Italy, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Scandinavian countries, Israel, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria, Japan, Taiwan, North Korea, Russia, and all the Baltic countries. In addition to performances at prestigious international festivals in Russia and Europe, this dynamic duo has also made frequent guest appearances with major orchestras of Eastern Europe. The duo's most recent CD recording features a piano cycle of eighteen Sketches for piano duet by the Russian composer, Valery Gavrilin from St. Petersburg.

Duo Pianistico di Firenze

Duo PIanistico di FirenzeFormed in 1990, the Firenze Duo has specialized in repertoire for piano duet with a particular interest on unedited or unfairly forgotten compositions. Finalists of numerous awards at international piano competitions, the Firenza Duo is regularly invited to perform for many important music associations all over Italy, and is highly acclaimed for their perfect ensemble, exquisite tonal balance and refined stylistic choices. The Firenze Duo is also interested in orchestral and chamber music literature transcribed for two performers and has premiered many new works. Sara Bartolucci and Rodolfo Alessandrini are the Artistic Directors of the National Piano Competitions: "Città di Cesenatico" and "Muzio Clementi" in Florence.

Noriko & Yuko Kugimoto Duo

Noriko and Yuko Kugimoto DuoThe Kugimoto sisters have been playing together as a piano duo from early childhood. Both Noriko and Yuko are graduates of Osaka College of Music and are active musicians and teachers in Japan. Noriko was a Visiting Scholar at the Stanford University music department where she was an accompanist for voice and instrumental lessons, conducting classes, master classes and recitals. Yuko is currently a lecturer, chamber musician, and an accompanist for a choral group and instrumentalists in Japan.

The Peery Piano Duo

The Peery Piano DuoFor most musicians, performing at Carnegie Hall is the ultimate achievement. But for The Peery Piano Duo, it was just the beginning. Christie was in utero at the time of her mother's Carnegie debut. Who would have guessed that within two decades they would become a working piano duo - both Peabody graduates, both former students of Leon Fleisher?  Irene Peery-Fox has presented master classes and workshops worldwide, and is currently a professor at Brigham Young University.  Christie Peery Skousen began lessons with her mother at the age of 5 and returned to Carnegie Hall at 18 for her own debut recital. She is on the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory and the Peery Piano Academy in Mountain View, California.

The Tayama & Mizuno Duo 

The Tayama % Mizuno DuoJapanese pianists, Yumi Tayama & Hiroko Mizuno are active performers, chamber musicians, accompanists, and teachers in the San Francisco Bay Area.  A graduate of the Musashino Academia of Music in Japan, Yumi Tayama has performed in Europe and England. Hiroko Mizuno graduated from Japan's Toho Gakuen Conservatory of Music. In addition to numerous performances with chamber ensembles, and orchestras in Japan and America, she has also performed with renowned instumentalists including flautist, Sir James Galway.