Of Croatian and Portuguese origin, Robert Andres leads an eclectic career combining performance, teaching, and research. Trained at the Zagreb Academy of Music, he continued his studies at the St. Petersburg Conservatory with a scholarship from the Soviet government, then in Vienna and the United States, where he earned a Doctorate in Piano and a Master’s degree in Musicology from the University of Kansas, studying under the pianist Sequeira Costa.

A laureate of numerous awards, he has performed in recital, with orchestra, and in chamber music throughout Europe, the United States, and Venezuela. He has collaborated with artists such as Artur Pizarro, Zakhar Bron, and Lorenzo Di Bella, and since 1995 has formed a highly praised duo with his wife, Irish pianist Honor O’Hea.

He is a tenured professor of piano and head of the keyboard department at the Conservatory – School of Arts of Madeira, and also serves as artistic director of the Madeira PianoFest and the Madeira International Piano Masterclasses. He is frequently invited to serve on juries for international competitions and to give masterclasses across Europe and the Americas.

A research associate at INET-md in Lisbon, he has published numerous articles in international journals and encyclopedias, as well as a reference book on piano technique (Scarecrow Press, 2001). He is also committed to preserving the musical heritage of Madeira through critical editions and recordings.

Recently, he edited and revised two volumes of piano music for the Anthology of Music in Madeira and recorded a CD of 19th-century piano music composed in Madeira.

Mario Coppola began studying piano at an early age, influenced by the prestigious Neapolitan school of Paolo Denza. He studied with Marisa Carretta, Sergio Fiorentino, and Aldo Ciccolini, and also worked with Dario De Rosa at the Scuola del Trio di Trieste in Duino for chamber music. In 2004, he was invited by the Ravello Concert Society to perform at Villa Rufolo, where he presented the complete cycle of Beethoven’s 32 sonatas over eight recitals.

He has performed at major venues including Teatro La Fenice, Teatro Fraschini in Pavia, Teatro Coccia in Novara, Teatro Sannazaro and Teatro di Corte in Naples, the Accademia Filarmonica Romana, the municipal theatres of Marsala and Potenza, Teatro Lauro Rossi in Macerata, Palau de la Música in Barcelona, Leopold Mozart Saal in Salzburg, Bösendorfer Hall in Brussels, as well as in Paris, Cologne, Koblenz, Cádiz, Seville, and the Grand Hall of Helsinki. In May 2011, he performed an all-Beethoven recital at the Cappella Paolina of the Quirinal Palace. The concert was broadcast live on Radio3 Europe and praised by the European Broadcasting Union.

He currently teaches piano at the “Guido Cantelli” Conservatory in Novara.

Praised by critics for his refinement, warmth, flawless technique, and balanced musicality, Mario Coppola captivates audiences with the unique beauty of his sound and his complete command of the instrument. His interpretations of Haydn, Brahms, Liszt, and Chopin have been described as memorable and deeply moving by renowned musicians such as Bruno Canino, Aldo Ciccolini, Paul Badura-Skoda, as well as by the international press.

Thanks to the achievements and awards of his students in international piano competitions, he is also recognized as a refined and accomplished pedagogue.

Trained at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, Svetlana Eganian studied with prestigious masters such as Bella Davidovich and Zinaida Ignatieva, a disciple of Samuel Feinberg — a major figure of the Russian school and a contemporary and friend of Alexander Scriabin. She is the direct heir to this pianistic tradition, where technical rigor is combined with a profound quest for expressiveness.

Her talent and artistic standards earned her four First Prizes in the disciplines of Concert Soloist, Chamber Musician, Pedagogue, and Opera Singer Accompanist/Partner, distinctions awarded by an exceptional jury composed of emblematic figures of the Russian school such as Tatiana Nikolaeva, Dmitri Bashkirov, Evgeny Malinin, Lev Naumov, and Sergei Dorensky.

Based in France, she devoted 42 years of teaching to the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et Danse de Lyon, where she trained generations of musicians in the Piano and Secondary Piano departments. Her pedagogical approach, nourished by both Russian and French cultures, has influenced many of today’s artists and teachers.

Pianist, pedagogue, and a key figure in the musical world, Svetlana Eganian is also the founder and Artistic Director of the prestigious Lyon International Piano Competition, which she created to offer young talents a stage of excellence and a springboard to an international career. Through her commitment, she continues to make the Russian tradition shine while encouraging openness and dialogue with contemporary aesthetics.

Biography of Pavel Kachnov coming soon.

Born in Brussels, Philippe Raskin is an eclectic pianist whose career combines recital, chamber music, and educational commitment. Trained at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels with Jean-Claude Vanden Eynden, he graduated with the highest honors before continuing his studies at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel and at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid with Dimitri Bashkirov and Claudio Martínez Mehner. A laureate of the Sobresaliente Prize and holder of a Specialization Diploma from the Strasbourg Conservatory, he later perfected his art with figures such as Leon Fleisher, Vincenzo Balzani, Leonel Morales, and Hatto Beyerle.

Winner of numerous international competitions, including “Spanish Composers” and the J.S. Bach Competition, he has performed as a soloist and chamber musician on the greatest stages, among them the Grand Hall of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, the Musikverein in Vienna, and the Berlin Philharmonie. His interpretations, praised by critics for their radiant authority and generosity, are accompanied by collaborations with renowned orchestras such as the National Orchestra of Belgium and the Salzburg Chamber Soloists, as well as with prestigious partners such as Clemens Hagen, George Tudorache, and Artur Kaganovskiy. Several composers have dedicated works to him, enriching his repertoire with contemporary creations.

Deeply involved in the promotion and mentoring of young talents, Philippe Raskin is Artistic Director of the César Franck International Piano Competition (Belgium) and the International Music Festival Paris (France), as well as Executive Director of the Piano Loop Festival (Croatia). He is invited to serve on the juries of numerous international competitions, including Piano Talents, the Lyon International Piano Competition, MozArte, and Spanish Composers.

Alongside his artistic activity, he founded his own piano school in 2009 and gives numerous masterclasses in Belgium and abroad. He currently teaches at the Friedrich Gulda Conservatory in Vienna, at the Institut Royal Supérieur de Musique et de Pédagogie (IMEP) in Belgium, and at Talent Music Master Courses in Brescia. Through his career, Philippe Raskin embodies a vision of the piano in which musical excellence goes hand in hand with a constant commitment to transmission and the international influence of classical music.

Portuguese pianist Álvaro Teixeira Lopes leads an international career that combines performance, artistic direction, and educational engagement. A laureate of several prizes, he has performed as a soloist and in chamber music on the stages of prestigious festivals around the world, asserting a playing style recognized for its intensity and musical finesse. His students, trained to the highest level, regularly stand out in national and international competitions.

Artistic Director of the Santa Cecília International Competition (CISC) and the Santa Cecília International Festival, he is also a visiting professor at the University of Aveiro and Director of the Curso de Música Silva Monteiro (CMSM). Deeply committed to transmission, he gives masterclasses in many countries, notably in Portugal, France, Brazil, Taiwan, China, Spain, and Italy, where he is regularly invited to the Brescia International Festival and Summer Academy.

His reputation as an expert has led to frequent invitations to serve on juries of major international competitions such as Rina Sala Gallo, Iturbi, Compositores de España, Isidor Basič, the Lyon International Piano Competition, Épinal, César Franck, Cleveland Virtualoso, Maestro Arts Taiwan, Porto Piano International Competition, and the Festival Internacional de Piano do Rio de Janeiro.

In parallel, he holds institutional responsibilities as Vice-President of the Board of Directors of the Casa da Música Foundation in Porto, appointed by the Ministry of Culture, thereby contributing to Portugal’s cultural and musical influence on the international stage.