Milena Simovic – viola
Vitaly Pisarenko – 1864 Steinway piano

Brahms Sonata for Viola and Piano Op.120 No.2 in E flat Major
Manuel De Falla Seven Spanish Songs
York Bowen Phantasy for Viola and Piano

Milena Simović
Equally at home as a violinist and violist, Serbian Milena Simović is enjoying an illustrious international career of concerto, recital and chamber music performances. Acclaimed for her work in Europe, Asia and America, Milena appears as a soloist in Russia, China, Italy, United Kingdom, Norway, France, Portugal, and through the countries of former Yugoslavia, performing alongside some of the most established personalities of today’s music scene. Milena’s chamber music partners include Ivry Gitlis, Vadim Repin, Leonidas Kavakos, Antonio Meneses, Yuja Wang, Denis Kozhukhin, Vadim Kholodenko, Konstantin Lifschitz, Beatrice Rana, Boris Andrianov, Itamar Golan, Julian Rachlin, Roman Simovic, Gordan Nikolitch, Tim Hugh and many others. Milena’s concerts have been broadcasted live on BBC Radio 3, Medici TV, Rai Uno in Italy, Arte etc. and her performances praised as “…exceptionally delivered performance, charged with brilliant combination of operatic quality, which was jaw-dropping at times”, “seductive and exciting…with rare artistic sensibility” in the press. Milena holds a professorship at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London and is a resident viola and a chamber music coach at the Culture Festival in Sardinian town of Santulussurgiu, taking place in August every year, which enjoys versatility of students from all continents. Milena Simović received Bachelor and Masters of Music in violin from the Belgrade University of Arts and Music, and Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. After this Milena continued her further studies with viola and has completed another Masters degree at the Zurich University of Arts under Lawrence Power. Milena Simović plays a Giovanni Battista Rogeri violin.

Vitaly Pisarenko
After winning the First Prize at the 8th F. Liszt International Piano Competition in Utrecht and the Third Prize at the Leeds International Piano Competition London-based Ukrainian-Russian pianist Vitaly Pisarenko has been steadily gaining worldwide recognition. Vitaly’s packed tour schedule commenced straight away the morning after the Finals with an appearance at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam.

Vitaly regularly performs across the globe as a recitalist and a chamber musician. Past concerts include appearances at the Wigmore Hall, Musikverein in Vienna, Bozar in Brussels, National Centre for Performing Arts in Beijing, Shanghai Concert Hall, Mozarteum in Salzburg, de Singel in Antwerp, Toyota Concert Hall in Japan, Hong Kong City Hall, Salle Cortot in Paris and Palace of Arts in Budapest.

Recently Vitaly has been performing intensively in the UK, including performances at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Cadogan Hall, St Martin in the Fields, Champs Hill, Chopin Society UK, BMS York and others.

Vitaly started his musical education in his native Kiev, Ukraine with Natalia Romenskaya and in Kharkiv with Garri Gelfgat. Later on, he commenced his studies in Moscow with Professor Yuri Slesarev at the Central Music School and State Tchaikovsky Conservatory. From 2005 to 2008 Vitaly studied with Aquiles delle Vigne at the Codarts, Rotterdam and from 2009 to 2012 he was a student of Oxana Yablonskaya in Italy. Since September 2012 Vitaly has been a student at the Royal College of Music in London, where he studies with Professor Dmitri Alexeev. Vitaly completed his Master’s degree with distinction in 2014 and Artist Diploma degree in 2015 and is currently a Doctoral course student as an Emma Rose Memorial Scholar and a Bob and Sarah Wigley and Helmut Schuster Scholar. Starting from 2012 Vitaly has been also studying with Professor Boris Petrushansky at the ‘Incontri col Maestro’ Academy in Imola, Italy.