Varshavski-Shapiro Piano Duo | Music on Mondays
On October 23, Dr. Stanislava Varshavski and Dr. Diana Shapiro starred as the featured artists in Maranatha’s Music on Mondays concert series. Performing works from Milhaud, Bizet, and Rachmaninoff, the world-renowned piano duo presented two concerts: one at 6PM for families with young children and another at 7PM for the Watertown area community.
Shapiro was born in Moscow, Russia, and Varshavski was born in Kharkov, Ukraine. After meeting at the Jerusalem Rubin Academy in Israel, they took the advice of a professor and collaborated in piano duets. Since 1998, they have won international competitions and performed in venues around the globe.
Shapiro holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Collaborative Piano from UW-Madison and works as an Assistant Professor of Piano at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. Varshavski also holds a DMA degree from UW-Madison and serves as the Director of Music Education at Holy Family Conservatory of Music in Manitowoc.
After the concert, Chloe Meyer, a freshman music major with concentrations in Piano Performance and Piano Pedagogy, remarked, “I thought how the pianists managed to complement each other in the way they played yet remain virtuosic was very impressive.” Maranatha piano professor June Brus thought that the piano duo was an excellent role model for students. “What a gift for our students to be able to experience artistry at this level,” she commented.
Enjoy this selection from their performance.
To learn more about Maranatha’s Music on Mondays Concert Series, go to mbu.edu/musiconmondays. In addition to learning about upcoming concerts, you can also find information on advertising your business through concert sponsorship.