Gala Chistiakova
Russian pianist Gala Chistiakova is a prizewinner of more than 30 International Competitions. Among them — Moscow International Chopin Competition for Young Pianists, IPC in Memory of Emil Gilels in Odessa, Scriabin IPC in Moscow, "Maria Callas GrandPrix" in Athens, Andorra IPC, Concerto IPC in China, F.Busoni IPC in Italy and others.
She was born in Moscow into a musical family. She started her piano studies at 3 years old with her mother Liubov Chistiakova. From 1993 to 2005 she studied at The Central Music School under the Moscow Conservatory named after P. Tchaikovsky with Professors H.Khoven and A.Ryabov. In 2014 Gala finished Moscow Conservatory and postgraduate course in a class of Professor M.Voskresensky. In 2011 she started her studies at the International Piano Academy "Incontri col Maestro" (class of Professor Boris Petrushansky) and migrated to Italy.
Since 2000 Gala traveled, playing solo and with symphonic orchestras, in concerts over Russia, France, Germany, Poland, Austria, Italy, Czech, Belarus, Ukraine, Finland, Japan, Greece, Andorra, Spain, Monaco, Norway, United Kingdom, Portugal. She played as a soloist with famous conductors, among them V. Valitov, A.Timofeyev, V.Ponkin, V.Ryzhaev, A.Titov, M.Merone, V.Ziva, O.Balan, A.B. du Closel. She has also performed on various TV and Radio programs, recorded CD with "KNS Classical" (Fazioli), "ACOUSENS records" (Shigeru Kawai) and 3 CD with "OnClassical" (Steinway & Sons). Gala has been worked many times as a member of the jury at youth and international piano competitions. She has a huge repertoire from baroque to modern of concerts with orchestra, solo and chamber music. Gala's main piano duo partners are her sister Irina Chistiakova and her husband Diego Benocci.
From 2012, she is based in Italy (Grosseto, Tuscany) and she has been on the Board of Directors of Cultural Association "Recondite Armonie". In 2020 Gala has become an Ambassador of the "BeMuse" Performing Arts Foundation of Great Britain. She performed in Russia in such stages as Great Halls of Philarmony and Conservatory, Houses of Music of Moscow and Saint-Petersburg. She took part in prestigious festivals like MiTo, Biennale, Mittelfest, A.B.Michelangeli Festival. From the latest performances she played on Salzburg Festival in a frame of the «Amadeus Weekend», more concerts over Italy, Russia, Great Britain and the exclusive event for Giorgio Armani.
Great music in Milan
The PIANO IN ATENEO project is the result of an agreement between the Milan branch of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore and one of the most important houses in the world of musical instruments, Kawai Pianos of Hamamatsu (Japan). Its promoters are the Master Davide Cabassi (lecturer at the Milan Conservatory) and Prof. Enrico Reggiani (director of the Studium Musicale di Ateneo) as artistic creator and scientific director, respectively.
The aim of the project is to contribute to enriching the musical offer of the City of Milan according to innovative criteria and methods from a cultural-musicological point of view and of the highest artistic profile, first of all, by establishing a chamber music season at the Aula Magna of the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan which will make use of established and prestigious names in international piano concerts.
