Move Records

Igor and Olga Piano Duo

Olga Kharitonova began playing the piano at the age of six and studied at the State College of Music in Moscow. She went on to gain her Masters degree after further study at the Moscow Conservatorium.

Igor Machlak was born in Belarus and after graduating from the State College of Music in Minsk continued his study at the Moscow Conservatorium, where he gained a Magna Cum Laude Diploma (Diploma with Distinction).

After their marriage, it seemed natural to the young couple to add musical harmony to their domestic harmony, and they formed a husband and wife duo team. They did two years of postgraduate study as a piano duo under the guidance of Professor Tigran Alikhanov at the Moscow Conservatorium. Looking back Olga says: ‘We absolutely fell in love with two piano playing. It has doubled the pleasure, felt enormously rewarding and served as an incessant stimulus for further work.’

Over the past years they have been prize winners at five competitions, including first prizes at the All-Russian Balakirev Competition in 1990, the international Musica da Camera competition in Italy in 1991 and the International Piano Duo Competition in Japan in 1994. These successes have led to concert invitations in Italy, Bulgaria, Hungary, Germany and Japan, and they enjoyed numerous tours within Russia. They have performed with the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, the Ural State Orchestra and Moscow Chamber Orchestra. Many television and radio recordings have been made during brilliant recitals at both all-Russian and international festivals. They often play their own transcriptions of pieces by Rachmaninov, Schumann, and Bizet at their concerts, and one of these transcriptions was among the winners at the International Composers Competition in Japan.

Since moving to Australia in 1995, the Igor and Olga Piano Duo has given a series of recitals and has drawn the immediate attention of both professional musicians and musical critics. ‘It was world class!’, said The Age after their concert at Monash University. An enthusiastic admirer wrote ‘Their playing was brilliant, sensitive almost sensuous. I was hooked!’ in a letter to Music magazine. The Piano Duo has performed in major venues throughout Victoria, including recitals at Melba Hall, the National Gallery of Victoria, the Castlemaine Festival and the ABC's Sunday Live Program. In addition to performing as a duo, Igor teaches piano at The University of Melbourne and Olga teaches piano at Yamaha Schools in Melbourne.

Igor and Olga Piano Duo is featured on the following titles

Members of Igor and Olga Piano Duo