Program included: Stravinsky, Rachmaninoff, Gershwin,
Renowned piano duo Stanislava Varshavski and Diana Shapiro celebrated Farley’s restoration of the Villa Louis 1879 Centennial Grand with a once-in-a-lifetime four-hand performance at Farley’s House of Pianos.
The concert featured two Steinway Centennial grands restored at Farley’s. The Wisconsin State Historical Society’s Victorian mansion, Villa Louis, commissioned Farley’s to restore their 133-year-old piano. By fortunate coincidence Farley’s had also recently restored an 1877 Steinway Centennial Grand, and the duo performed on both instruments.
Wisconsin Public Television documented Farley’s restoration of the historic Villa Louis instrument as well as this extraordinary concert.
Varshavski and Shapiro are laureates of prestigious national and international competitions and have appeared in the Czech Republic, Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, Italy, Poland, Russia and the U.S. The duo performed with orchestras including Israel Chamber Orchestra, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, and the “New World” Symphony Orchestra of Miami, and their live performances have been broadcast throughout the world.
Both Varshavski and Shapiro hold Bachelor and Master degrees from the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, where they studied under Israeli duo Alexander Tamir and Bracha Eden. They continued their education under American pianist Victor Rosenbaum. In 2011, the duo received Doctoral degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where they studied with Martha Fischer.
Watch a video of the duo performing Suite #1 by Rachmaninoff
