“A hobby pilot does not need the same machine as an acrobatic pilot. Acrobatic pilots require a machine that is at their complete command and allows them to perform any maneuver at any time. I need that same kind of piano because I am not a hobby pianist.”

Mikhail Pletnev entered the Central School of Music at the age of 13 and was awarded the first prize at the　International Tchaikovsky Competition in 1978. A gifted pianist, Pletnev has also achieved success as a conductor and is an active performer as Artistic Director of the Russian National Orchestra. Today, Pletnev is widely considered one of the finest contemporary pianists of his generation.

AyseDeniz was considered a child prodigy in her native Turkey and made her concerto debut when she was nine, with the Gordion Chamber Orchestra playing J.S. Bach’s Keyboard Concerto No. 5. ​In 2011, She completed her Masters in Piano Performance at the Royal Academy of Music in London, under the tutelage of Christopher Elton. She received the Maud Hornsby Award, graduated with Merit and completed the LRAM Teaching Certificate. In 2009, she completed her Bachelor’s Degree at Eastman School of Music (Rochester NY), where she received the Howard Hanson and Clements Scholarships as well as the John Celentano Excellence in Chamber Music Award. Picture Credit: Sinan Uckan
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‘I have had the immense pleasure of playing on Kawai pianos throughout my life. These instruments support a huge range of colour, touch, sound and depth and really allows me to fully express everything in the music without limitations. It is a privilege to play on an instrument that has been crafted so finely and engineered with such care.’

Nurry Lee is a South Korean - British pianist who began studying the piano at the age of six with her mother. Three years later, she won her first concerto competition at the age of nine.
She attended the Royal College of Music, studying with Ian Jones, Sofya Gulyak and Dmitri Alexeev, where she was awarded the Milstein Award. Nurry also studied at the Korea National University of Arts in Seoul, with Jinsang Lee. She was generously supported by F.W Wright Pianos while completing her Artistic Diploma at the Royal Northern College of Northern in Manchester studying with Graham Scott. While there, she won first prize at the RNCM Chopin Competition.
Praised as being a ‘wonderful pianist’ by Grammy-winning pianist, Emanuel Ax, Nurry has performed all across Europe, U.K., Asia and West Africa.
Regarded as one of the most dynamic pianists of her generation, Nurry has gained international recognition. She has played on BBC Radio 3 with her piano trio, Trio Rouge. She has performed at the Elgar Room at The Royal Albert Hall and made her recent debut in Seoul, South Korea to a sold out concert.
She won First Prize at the Piano House International Piano Competition 2023, and made her debut at Carnegie Hall in New York.
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“The SK-EX is an instrument that inspires the performer. An equal partner in music making, it gives courage to the player to listen a bit more intently and to imagine the next note yet more vividly. The connection between the instrument and the performer while playing this piano is simply telepathic.”

Turkish pianist Can Çakmur is the first prize winner of the 10th Hamamatsu International Piano Competition in 2018 (where he also won the Chamber Music Prize) and the Scottish International Piano Competition in 2017. Can has performed in a variety of concert halls worldwide; including Wigmore Hall in London, Glasgow Concert Hall, Eindhoven Muziekgebouw, Tokyo Opera City, Muza Kawasaki Hall as well as the most prestigious concert venues in his homeland, Turkey. He has appeared in the most important classical music festivals in the country including the Istanbul Music Festival, where he headlined the opening concert in 2015 with Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra under Sascha Goetzel. 2019/20 season saw him successfully debut with numerous European, Japanese and Turkish orchestras including the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Telavi International Music Festival Orchestra, the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Sapporo Symphony, the Osaka Symphony Orchestra, the Çukurova State Symphony Orchestra as well as the Presidential Symphony Orchestra and in halls such as Paris Salle Cortot and Wigmore Hall. He headlined the finale concert of the Festa Summer MUZA Kawasaki with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra conducted by Tadaaki Otaka. Recent and forthcoming season highlights include Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris, Carnival of the Animals with MDR Sinfonieorchester, Mozart and Addinsell Concertos with Camerata Schweiz at KKL Luzern, Kyoto Symphony Orchestra, Wiener Konzerthaus as well as ongoing appearances across Eurasia. Can’s latest SACD released in last October with BIS Records, featuring Franz Liszt’s arrangement of Schubert’s Schwanengesang has received glowing reviews from international critics including Diapason, Gramophone, Pizzicato and Crescendo. With this groundbreaking album Can won the Young Artist of the Year at the International Classical Music Awards in January.
See Can’s full biography here.

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Since his early successes in major competitions including BBC Young Musician of the Year, the Royal Over-Seas League music competition and his selection as the UK’s representative for the ECHO Rising Stars concert series, Irish pianist David Quigley now enjoys a varied international career as a recitalist, concerto soloist and chamber musician.

He has performed throughout Europe, USA and Asia in many of the world’s greatest concert halls including the Philharmonie Köln, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Symphony Hall Birmingham, Musikverein Vienna, Mozarteum Salzburg, Palais des Beaux-Arts Brussels, National Concert Hall Athens, Wigmore Hall London, Konserthaus Stockholm and Carnegie Hall New York.

As a concerto soloist he has appeared with many orchestras including the National Symphony Orchestra of Ireland, the Ulster Orchestra, Northern Sinfonia, RTÉ Concert Orchestra, Camerata Ireland, Southern Sinfonia and Cairo Symphony Orchestra.

David is also a much sought after chamber musician and has performed with internationally renowned artists including oboist Nicholas Daniel, clarinetist Michael Collins and soprano Ailish Tynan.

He performs regularly with his sister, the violinist Joanne Quigley-McParland in both duo recitals and in trio recitals with cellist Jonathan Aasgaard. He also is co-founder and pianist of the Fews Ensemble, Ireland’s newest chamber music group.

David’s discography includes Piano Music From Northern Ireland (Lontano records), Saint-Saëns Carnival Of The Animals with the Lancashire Sinfonietta, Rediscoveries: Old and New Music of Ireland with Joanne Quigley-McParland (Ischia Records), Piano music by Philip Hammond (Lontano records), Piano Classics (El Greco Records) and Piano Nocturnes (Avie Records). He broadcasts extensively on both radio and television for the BBC, RTÉ, Classic FM, RTÉ Lyric FM and NPO Radio 4.

Aside from performing, David is passionate about musical education. He is a member of the piano faculty at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire and the University of Birmingham. He is co-founder/artistic director of Newry Chamber Music, a concert society that provides concerts and education projects in his home town and surrounding areas. David is frequently invited to give Masterclasses and to adjudicate piano competitions throughout Ireland and the UK.
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Ashley says about Kawai: "The Shigeru Kawai EX Concert Grand is the Crown Jewel amongst Kawai's pianos and is a model representing world class craftsmanship. It offers boundless possibilities for expression and delivers a deeply powerful and engaging creative experience."
British pianist Ashley Fripp has recently performed throughout the UK, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, China, Japan, Australia and the USA, at such prestigious halls as the Carnegie Hall (New York), Royal Festival, Barbican and Wigmore Halls (London) and the Audimax Hall (Regensburg). He has won prizes at more than a dozen national and international competitions, including the coveted Gold Medal from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama, Diploma of Outstanding Merit at the 8th Hamamatsu International Piano Competition, 1st Prize at the Brant International Piano Competition and the Award for Keyboard at the Royal Over-Seas League Competition. He has also made appearances on BBC television and radio. He is a First Class Honours graduate of the Guildhall School of Music & Drama where he is currently pursuing postgraduate studies with Ronan O’Hora. Future plans include performances throughout the UK, France and Germany. His CD recording of both Chopin Piano Concertos will be released by Spektral Records in Spring 2013.
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"Ever since playing a Shigeru Kawai while in Los Angeles, I have been fascinated with the quality of these pianos. They offer an incredible dynamic range, as well as a quality of tone rarely matched."

Pianist and composer Anne Lovett has been described as one of the greatest artists of her generation, with a crystalline and beautiful tonal clarity and huge sonic power (an unusual combination), plus absolute virtuosity and a rare musical intelligence, expressiveness and ability to communicate. Lovett has a highly distinguished background as a classical performer in her native France. She is unique in combining this virtuosity with composing her own works. This background means that she is exceptionally well placed to seek out fresh, innovative, energetic works which are also highly lyrical. Anne has already recorded three albums since graduating from the Royal Academy of Music, including one with the unusual trademark of introducing her own piano compositions; which received rave reviews upon its release. Other recordings include chamber music collaborations for the label Champs Hill, solo contemporary classical works and another innovative partnership with BRIT Award winner, producer James Sanger.
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Yura Zaiki is a distinguished Japanese pianist. Moving to the UK at the age of 14, she studied at the Junior Academy of the Royal Academy of Music, where she won First Prize in the Iris Dyer Piano Competition. She pursued further education at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, obtaining her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees with the support of the prestigious ABRSM Full Scholarship and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Trust Scholarship. Yura graduated with top honours, receiving the Performance Prize for Keyboard of the year.

Having been exposed to the distinct cultures of Japan and the UK, Yura has a profound interest in how culture influences musical expression, which continues to inspire her artistry. She is particularly captivated by Japanese culture and is dedicated to integrating its aesthetics and values into classical music.
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