Albek Duo

The Albek Duo is a Swiss chamber music duo consisting of twin sisters, Ambra Albek (violin) and Fiona Albek (piano). They appear throughout the world as chamber and concerto performers and have recently recorded a number of new pieces composed specifically for them.
Training and Education
They both started violin and piano studies at the age of seven. Further to their high school education, they continued their studies in music at the Swiss Italian Conservatoire in Lugano/Switzerland and thereafter at the Zürich/Winterthur Musikhochschule.
Ambra, who also plays the viola, was taught by Alberto Lysy, Peter Rybar and Igor Karsko in Lugano, followed by performance studies in Rudolf Koelman's violin class and Wendy Champney's viola class at the Musikhochschule in Zürich/Winterthur, where she graduated in 2004. Following her main interest in chamber music, she has attended other master courses with Nora Chastain, Friedemann Rieger and the Carmina Quartet in Zurich.
Fiona was taught by Nora Doallo in Lugano and continued her piano performance studies in Friedemann Rieger's chamber music classes and the Lieder performance class in Zürich/Winterthur. She graduated in 2005 as a Piano Chamber Musician and as an Accompanist of Lyric Singers.
Their musical education was enhanced by attending Professor Pier Narciso Masi's chamber music master class at the International Piano Academy in Imola/Italy. In addition, Ambra has been an active participant at master-classes held by Peter Rybar, Emanuel Hurwitz in London, Gérard Poulet, Ingolf Turban, Arnulf von Arnim, and Robert Cohen, while Fiona has been an active participant at master-classes with Sergio Fiorentino, Paul Badura-Skoda, Arnulf von Arnim, Robert Cohen, and Sandro D'Onofrio.
Present career
The Albek Duo regularly performs at festivals and cultural events in Switzerland, Italy, Holland, Austria, France and Germany. They have recently played recitals in North and South America and Australia and appeared with orchestras in Switzerland, Ireland and the United States. Several composers have written music specifically for them. Italian composer Alessandro Lucchetti's Fantasy on Themes from Giacamo Puccini's "Tosca" received its world premiere recording on their Eroica South of the Alps CD. Patrick Jonathan of Malaysia recently completed Postcards from K.L., a chamber work for violin, piano and percussion dedicated to the Albek Duo. The well-known American composer William P. Perry wrote his Gemini Concerto: An Entertainment for Violin, Piano and Orchestra for Ambra and Fiona Albek, who presented the world premiere in the United States with the Pioneer Valley Symphony, conducted by Paul Phillips. It has been recorded for Naxos Records by the Albek Duo and the RTÉ National Symphony of Ireland, Paul Phillips conducting.
Ambra and Fiona frequently perform with actors, most recently in presentations of the writings of Hermann Hesse. As they travel. they regularly conduct classes for under-privileged children.
Discography
•South of the Alps 2010
•Gemini Concerto: An Entertainment for Violin, Piano and Orchestra 2011 release

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