Claire DESERT, France

Claire Désert is a frequent guest at such leading international festivals as Radio France-Montpellier, La Roque d'Anthéron, LOrangerie de Sceaux, Piano aux Jacobins, Lille Piano(s) Festival, Festival International de Colmar, Consonances, and the La Folles Journées of Nantes, Bilbao, and Tokyo, where she performs each year. She also appears regularly with orchestra, notably with the Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre National d'lle de France, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestre Symphonique de Québec, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, Orchestre National de Lille, and Budapest Symphony Orchestra.

Claire Désert is a peerless chamber musician of rare artistry. Her partners of choice include the pianist Emmanuel Strosser, the cellist Anne Gastinel, the violinists Nemanja Radulovic, Philippe Graffin and Régis Pasquier, the Parisii and Sine Nomine Quartets, and the Moragues Wind Quintet.

At the age of fourteen she entered the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, where she was awarded a premier prix in chamber music in the class of Jean Hubeau, and the premier prix in piano by unanimous decision of the jury (Special Prize for the 1985 examination) in the class of Vensislav Yankoff.

She was admitted to the postgraduate course in piano in the same year, then won a French Government scholarship for a year's study in Evgeny Malinin's class at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow. On her return to Paris she entered the postgraduate course in chamber music, in the class of Roland Pidoux.

Her extensive discography includes a Schumann CD (her first recording, which won a '10 de Répertoire'), a disc of the Scriabin and Dvorák Concertos with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg which was awarded a Victoire de la Musique in 1997, and two recordings with Anne Gastinel, one devoted to Schumann, the other to Schubert. Her two most recent releases have been on Mirare: a Schumann programme including the Davidsbündlertänze and Dvorák's Slavonic Dances for piano duet with Emmanuel Strosser.

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Roberto GIORDANO, Italy

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Roberto Giordano is internationally recognized as one of the most poetic and refined pianists of his generation. He rose to worldwide prominence at the age of 22 as a prizewinner of the Queen Elisabeth International Competition in Brussels, earning unanimous critical acclaim and being described as a “Poet of the Piano,” an artist of rare elegance and natural virtuosity.

His pianistic poetics combine transparency of sound, absolute technical control, and deep expressive intensity, resulting in interpretations where virtuosity is never an end in itself, but a means of profound musical storytelling. Educated between France and Italy and perfected at the International Piano Academy of Imola, Giordano drew the admiration of major musicians, among them Vladimir Ashkenazy, who was impressed by his exceptional virtuoso ability.

A regular guest at the world’s most prestigious concert halls and leading international festivals, he pairs an intense performing career with significant discographic and pedagogical activity. A Yamaha Artist since 2015, Roberto Giordano embodies a vision of the piano in which rigor, lyricism, and cultural depth converge into a distinctive and unmistakable artistic voice.

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Marie-Paule CORNIA, Belgium

Ecole Klaviatura, Malonne

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After earning a higher diploma in piano and the Government Medal from the Royal Conservatory of Liège (studying under J. Longrée-Poumay) and an advanced musical performance diploma from the Accademia Chigiana in Siena, Italy (under G. Agosti), Marie-Paule Cornia also studied with V. Afanassiev in Brussels and Versailles, J. Micault at the École Normale de Musique de Paris (Alfred Cortot), and the brilliant Argentine pianist D. Rivera in Florence. She furthered her training through international masterclasses in Senigallia, Italy (with L. Mostacci), Sion, Switzerland (with J. Micault), and Zumaya-Santander, Spain (with D. Rivera). Additionally, over the course of several years at the Château de La Hulpe, she attended masterclasses given by jury members of the Queen Elisabeth Competition, including M. Pressler, H. Leygraff, K.-H. Kämmerling, P. Badura-Skoda, and A. Queffélec.

A prize-winner in national and international competitions, she has performed extensively as both a soloist and a chamber musician—in duos (flute and piano, saxophone and piano, violin and piano, two pianos, and piano four-hands) and in a trio (flute, piano, and cello)—across Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany, Portugal, Spain, the Czech Republic, Russia, and Japan. As a creator of musical events (lecture-recitals) centered on the lives of Schumann, Schubert, Rachmaninoff, and Ravel, she explores the repertoire for two pianos and piano four-hands with A. Burmistrov and A. Vandewalle, performing in Wallonia, Brussels, Flanders, Paris, Luxembourg, Madrid, Berlin, and Vienna. Marie-Paule Cornia has trained numerous pianists at the Huy Conservatory, the Royal Conservatory of Liège, and the European Institute in Besançon, as well as during international workshops in Mollines, Saint-Cast-le-Guildo, and Fort-Mahon (France), and currently at the International Music Academy in Dinant (Belgium), preparing them for careers as teachers and pianists. Deeply committed to piano pedagogy, she has seen her students distinguish themselves in national and international competitions; notably, she received an honorary diploma for her teaching at the Pinerolo International Piano Competition in Italy. Together with E. Rappe, she founded the Klaviatura school at the Malonne Music Abbey (Namur), where she mentors young artists preparing for concerts, competitions, and higher education in music. Marie-Paule Cornia also contributes to the region's musical life as a founding member of the non-profit organization "Poési," which she presided over for many years.

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Anaït KARPOVA, Russia

Conservatoire royal de Mons-Arts²

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Born in a family of eminent musicians (i.a.Ilya Satz), Anaït Karpova spent most of her childhood in the State Musical Theater of Natalia Sats (her great-grandmother), and studying piano with her parents, both pianists. Anaït studied music in the Gnessin School of Moscow with professor Anna Arzamanova, then joined the class of professor Victor Merzhanov at the P. Tchaïkovsky Conservatory of Moscow where she graduated with honours. She then pursued her studies in Brussels Conservatory of Music from which she graduated with Great Distinction in 2002, specializing in chamber music and as a soloist, under the tutorship of V. Spanoghe and Daniel Blumenthal. Throughout and after her studies, Anaït’s success was unanimous in National and International competitions.

Since 2002, Anaït Karpova has been a soloist in the Philharmonic Society of Moscow, and performed in most concert halls of Moscow, Saint Petersburg and other russian cities. She performs in recital, with chamber ensembles or orchestra on a regular basis in Belgium, but also in the Netherland, Greece, Italy, France and USA.

Anaït works in close collaboration with numerous distinguished vocal artists such as Elena Okolysheva (Mezzo-soprano, soloist at Bolshoy Theatre), with whom she has been recorded on Radio Classique Orphée, has accompanied for recitals Laura Claycomb (France 2006), Irina Samilova (Soloist at Bolshoy and La Monnaie) and Jodie Devos in 2015. Anaït is also a member of contrasted chamber ensembles such as Het Rode Pomp, specialized in contemporary music; the Krocus Trio, formed in 2011 with Marie-Noëlle de Callataÿ and Sophie de Tillesse, and has formed a piano trio with Viviane Spanoghe (cello) and Alexei Moshkov (violin) performing numerous concerts from 2012 to this day. For the past few years, Anaït has followed the program The International Certificate for Piano Artists lead by Nelson Delle-Vigne Fabbri et Philippe Entremont, in collaboration with the Ecole Normale de Musique Alfred Cortot in Paris and the University of Florida - College of Fine Arts-School of Music, all of which alongside her position as piano teacher in Intercommunal Academy of Court-Saint-Etienne and Ottignies. She has been invited as guest teacher for the annual piano masterclasses MusicA Braine l’Alleud, for the Summer Academy of Mérignac, France and for The Paris International Summer Session.

She's also a member of the jury for Médoc Aquitaine International Competition in Mérignac.

Having coached, and worked with, numerous singers throughout competitions and concerts, Anaït has revealed to be truly passionate and dedicated to the vocal arts, bringing together her musicianship and her experience, to ultimately reveal the true colours of a voice. She has lately been the initiator of opera projects such as the production of “The Little Sweep” in the Braine-l’Alleud Academy of music (April 2016) and the creation of «Cieguecita de Bélen », an original opera by E. Granados.

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Elodie VIGNON, France

Conservatoire royal de Mons-Arts²

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On February 2024, Elodie Vignon will present her first concertant album, Songes.

After three solo albums, she pursues studying the French aesthetic and its connections. Under the baton of the Belgian conductor Eric Lederhandler, she recorded with the Czech Virtuosi, for the label Cypres. Vignon released her last solo album Dans l’air du soir in November 2021 (Franz Liszt: Sonnetti di Petrarca, Etudes de concert/ Isaac Albeniz: Spanish Suite), which was very much appreciated by the audience, as well as the critics. Jean-Yves Clément gave her 5 Diapasons, and the CD was a « Choice of the month » on the Belgian broadcast Musiq3 RTBF. It was also awarded by a « Joker absolu » by the magazine Crescendo.

A few months later (Octobre 2022), Elodie Vignon published an album on the same label, with the French contralto Sarah Laulan. Together, they got invited at the Avignon Opera, and many festivals in France, Belgium and Switzerland.

After the release of her first Debussy album in March 2018, Elodie was awarded as part of Debussy Best Performers by the german Pianist Magazine. She performed her album program all over the globe: France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy, Spain, North Carolina, Florida, Christ Church Cathedral of Montreal, as well as the Steinway Hall of New York City.

During the year 2020, Elodie presented her second album D’ombres (Cypres) with a commission of Claude Ledoux, during the Flagey Piano Days Festival in Brussels. This concert came right after the Festival Propulse, hosted in Flagey too, where she played with the dancer and choreographer Nono Battesti their new show « Entre Temps ».

Later this year, she was invited for the Festival du Hainaut in the Palais Des Beaux Arts de Charleroi, and was asked to make the last video of the Festivals de Wallonie 2.0.

As an artist in residence of the Bell’arte foundation for 12 years, created by Nelson DelleVigne Fabbri, Elodie Vignon enjoys an extending of her activity as a soloist and chamber music in both Europe and the USA. Mrs. Vignon has played as a soloist and under direction of such distinguished conductors such as Ramon Tebar or Philippe Entremont, and notably has performed both Frédéric Chopin’s Concerti for piano at the Palm Beach International Piano Festival.

After the classical studies in Lyon (Conservatoire Régional de Lyon), Vignon obtained a Gold Medal in 2001. She moved to Brussels to study with Daniel Blumenthal (Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussels), where she obtained two Master degrees (piano and chamber music) with a special mention. Consequently, Elodie was invited by many music festivals through Europe. She is also regularly invited as a guest teacher or jury member (Clichy-la Garenne Conservatory, Suzuki Workshop in Brussels, Dudelange Conservatory in Luxembourg, MusicA Braine in Belgium, Concours Andrée Charlier de Charleroi, International Piano Masterclass Festival of Manilla, BAK Middle School in Florida…).

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Nezrin EFENDIYEVA, Azerbaïdjan

Académie de Musique, Braine-l'Alleud

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​Pianist and composer Nezrin Efendiyeva was born in Baku, Azerbaijan. Her grandfather, Fikret Amirov, was a renowned symphonic composer in the former USSR, and her mother is a pianist.

She graduated with a Higher Diploma in piano from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels (Eugène Moguilevsky’s Class), and in 2003 won the International Piano Competition in Huesca, Spain.

She is a regular guest as a soloist with the Azerbaijan Symphony Orchestra, often performing her grandfather’s concertos for Piano and Orchestra. A lover of Baroque music, Nezrin studied harpsichord with Frédérick Haas at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels between 2004 and 2006, and founded a period instrument ensemble she calls “L’Estro Barocco”. A graduate of the Master of Music Composition from the Conservatoire de Mons, she is the author and performer of more than 20 melodies in French, English and Azeri, as well as the soundtracks of Maria Ibrahimova's film "Letter to God" and 8 promotional documentaries on the history of Azerbaijan entitled "On the Road to Baku". These documentaries, directed by the same director, were created as part of the First European Games held in Baku in summer 2015. On this occasion, an advertisement entitled "Azerbaijan: Make History with Us" by Maria Ibrahimova, for which Nezrin is the author of the soundtrack, was broadcast on CNN, Euronews and BBC in June 2015. Between 2017 and 2023, Nezrin is part of the Trio Manestri, a trio based in Belgium and composed of Flute (Astrid Gallez), Violin (Marie Carmen Suarez) and Piano. Their first CD “Esprits Nomades” was released in April 2018, and the second in February 2020, entitled “Esprits Nomades Voyage continue…” As a composer and arranger, Nezrin wrote and arranged a series of works for the Trio Manestri during these 6 years (including pieces by her grandfather) and played with the trio a series of concerts in Belgium and the Netherlands. Since 2024, Nezrin has devoted herself exclusively to the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, and is developing a series of projects dedicated to the life and music of the composer.

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Nelson DELLE-VIGNE FABBRI, Italy

Artistic Director

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The Italian virtuoso Nelson Delle-Vigne Fabbri was born in Argentina. He was instructed by Magda Tagliaferro, Gyorgy Cziffra and Claudio Arrau.
In addition to his performing and recording career that took him to several continents, Nelson Delle-Vigne Fabbri is also a famed international piano pedagogue.
Teaching at the Ecole Normale "Alfred Cortot" in Paris during 40 years, Nelson Delle-Vigne Fabbri was also appointed professor extraordinaire at the Chapelle Musicale "Reine Elisabeth" in Belgium and Honorary Professor at the Palm Beach Atlantic University, Florida, USA.
He gives regularly master classes in France, China, Lithuania, Russia, Poland, the United Kingdom, Germany, Taiwan, Canada, USA, Portugal, Italy, the Netherlands, UK, Spain, Switzerland, Greece, South Korea, etc.
Nelson Delle-Vigne Fabbri collaborated to the festivities of the European Union Day in Seoul, South Korea, by special invitation of the European amabassador.
Cultural and pedagogical broadening is an important goal of his duties as general director of the Bell'Arte Foundation.
Mr. Delle-Vigne Fabbri, as founder and president of the Fondation Bell'Arte, is the artistic director of MusicA Braine l'Alleud, the Paris International Summer Sessions, LyricA Braine l'Alleud and of the EMS Music Group, a record company and record studio.

He's the founder and artistic director of The International Certificate for Piano Artists, a pedagogical programme in collaboration with many international institutions with sessions in the U.S., Russia, Italy, Lithuania, Taiwan, Spain, Poland, the Philippines, etc. 
After Philippe Entremont's 10-years' presidency, this programme is currently placed under the presidency of Belgian composer Jean Kluger. Jerome Lowenthal and Michel Béroff are its vice-president, preceeded by France Clidat and Lazar Berman.

Nelson Delle-Vigne is the artistic director of the present course.