P i a n o V o c e D u o
Andrea Merlo, piano
Liudmila Velinskaya, soprano
Andrea and Liudmila met in 2008 during their studies but started to work as a duo just in the last four years. The duo which initially started as a hobby, was created by Aristoteles Konstantinidi when Liudmila was Aspirant at Tchaikovsky Conservatory and Andrea 3rd year Student. Distinguishing themselves for their fine musical taste and outgoing stage presences, their union manages to preserve the characteristics of both.
During its short life, the duo benefited of the precious mentoring and advices of musicians such as Norman Shetler, Tom Krause and Lorin Maazel.
They appeared on the stages of Russia, Italy, Germany and Austria and performed at Great Hall, Small hall, Rachmaninov Hall of Moscow State Conservatory, Philarmony of Sochi, Orel and Kostroma, Peter and Paul's Cathedral, Italian Cultural Institute in Moscow, American and European Embassies of Moscow, Munchen Philarmony, Salzburg Wiener Zal and so on.
In the last three years the duo won the Chamber Music prize Campochiaro Competition in Catania and in February 2014 was awarded the 3rd prize at the International Competition PianoVoce in Moscow where they were as well awarded Nota Sochi Special Prize, an award designated from Sochi Philarmony to give a concert during the Olympic Games.
About soprano Liudmila Velinskaya
Liudmila started with music very early. At the age of four the girl was able to perform complex vocal parts and to sing many popular songs with an ease rare at her age. At ten she began to study singing academically and at sixteen, the young singer was admitted to the College of the Arts of Sochi in the class of the tenor Alik Tunayants.
During her studies, she participated in various music festivals and performed at the Philharmony and at Sochi’s Winter Theatre and won first prize at the International Competition "The hope of Europe" where as young as seventeen she performed the aria of the Queen of the Night from Mozart's Magic Flute. In 2006 he entered the Moscow Tchaikovsky State Conservatory in the class of Artist of the USSR Professor Clara Kadinskaya. During the training years she sang in the Great Hall of the Conservatory the roles of Musetta in the opera "La Bohème", Violetta in the opera "La Traviata", and in Rachmaninov Hall the role of Lucia in the opera "Lucia di Lammermoor". After her studies at the Conservatory she perfected her vocal skills in Italy with Vito Maria Brunetti and she was a regular student of Tom Krause.
Since 2010, Liudmila has won numerous international competitions including top prizes from "Anemos" International Competition in Rome, "Giuseppe Di Stefano" International Competition in Catania and "Bellini International Competition" in Caltanissetta. In 2014, in duo the pianist Andrea Merlo won the International Competition “Piano Voce” in Moscow. Over the past three years, Liudmila has performed in Russia, Italy, Germany and Austria. She sang in theaters such as Theatre "Politeama" of Palermo, Royal Opera in Stockholm, Salzburg Wiener Sal, Moscow State Conservatory’s Great, Small, Rachmaninov Hall and other Philarmonies of Russia.
Liudmila is a brilliant lyric-coloratura soprano and her voice stands out for its beauty, full range, ease and virtuosity. Her repertoire includes song cycles in five languages and the most complex operatic parts as the part of Ariadne from the opera “Ariadne auf Naxos” by Strauss.
From 2013 to 2015 Liudmila performed in Berlin, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Moscow, Sochi, has collaborated with Lorin Maazel and received the highest evaluation.
She opened the 2015/16 season at the Magnitogorsk Philharmonic and Philharmonia Naberezhnye Chelny. Every concert Ludmila meets noisy applauses of grateful listeners.
Since 2014 Ludmila is represented by the Danish artistic agency "Nordic Artists Management".
