Biography

The Shalamov Piano Duo, founded in 2009, unites two distinct artistic personalities in a shared musical language. Their performances are marked by an exceptional musical symbiosis, combining individual expression with a profound sense of ensemble artistry.

A defining moment in the duo’s career came in 2015 with the First Prize at the ARD International Music Competition in Munich — one of the world’s most prestigious competitions. In addition to the top prize awarded by the jury, Alina and Nikolay Shalamov also received the Audience Prize as well as the prize for the best interpretation of the compulsory contemporary work by Ferran Cruixent, commissioned especially for the competition. In the history of the ARD Competition, only three first prizes have ever been awarded in the piano duo category.

Alina and Nikolay began performing together in Bulgaria under the guidance of Professor Milena Mollova, the renowned Bulgarian pianist and one of the few students of the legendary Emil Gilels. In 2011 the duo moved to Madrid after being accepted at the prestigious Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía. During their studies there, they expanded their repertoire and collaborated with distinguished musicians, leading to performances at the Auditorio Nacional de Música in Madrid and the Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona — two of Spain’s most important concert venues.

In 2014 the duo continued their studies at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Rostock under Professors Hans-Peter and Volker Stenzl, further deepening their artistic and musical development.

Since then, Shalamov Piano Duo has appeared in many of Europe’s leading concert halls, including the Berlin Philharmonie, Konzerthaus Berlin, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Philharmonie Luxembourg, BOZAR Brussels and the Gewandhaus in Leipzig.

The duo’s artistic projects are often characterised by distinctive dramaturgical concepts and unusual repertoire combinations. On New Year’s Eve 2020, Alina and Nikolay Shalamov were invited by the Gewandhaus Leipzig to perform Franz Liszt’s arrangement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony for two pianos and timpani together with timpanist Tom Greenleaves of the Gewandhaus Orchestra. In January 2021, the duo presented a video production of Sofia Gubaidulina’s “Variations on a Theme S-H-E-A” from the Chamber Music Hall of the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg.

In 2023, Alina and Nikolay Shalamov founded the Berlin Piano Duo Festival, bringing together distinguished piano duos from around the world. The inaugural edition featured concerts, premieres of commissioned works, workshops, masterclasses and children’s concerts, supported by the Neustart Kultur programme. Festival events took place in some of Berlin’s most important musical venues, including the Philharmonie Berlin, Villa Elisabeth, Elisabethkirche and the Mendelssohn-Remise.