New festival program entitled Key to the Future that presents young laureates of prestigious international music competitions - continues. The Festival audience is going to hear performance of American violinist Stephen Waarts and his Russian colleague, pianist Andrey Gugnin on Wednesday, 17August at 9:30 PM in the Rector's Palace Atrium.

Violinist Stephen Waarts was born in San Francisco 1996. He started his music education with Suzuki violin lessons with Krishnabai Lewis and continued it with violin lessons with Jenny Rudin and piano studies with Steve Lightburn. Violinist Stephen Waarts has been praised for playing “with technical command and a totally natural sense of musical drama” (Strings Magazine). He has already garnered worldwide recognition, having captured both audience prizes and jury laureate prize in the Queen Elizabeth competition; First Prize, the Bach Prize and the Composer’s Prize at the 2014 Menuhin Competition, First Prize and six additional awards in the 2013 Young Concert Artists International Auditions, Second Prize and the Audience Prize in the 2013 Montreal International Competition; and First Prize and romantic Concerto prize in the 2011 International Louis Spohr Competition for Young Violinists.

Andrey Gugnin was born in 1987. He graduated from the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory where he studied under Professor Vera Gornostayeva. Almost immediately after his graduation from the conservatory, he was invited to be a regular participant of the Moscow Philharmonic Society program for promising young artists The 21st century stars.

Gugnin is the prize-winner at the Allegro vivo international competition in San Marino (Italy, 2008), the International Competition in Cantù (1st prize, 2009), the International Stančić Competition in Zagreb (2nd prize and two special prizes, Croatia, 2011), the Ludwig van Beethoven Competition in Vienna (Austria, 2013) and the Valsesia musica international competition in Italy (1st prize, 2014). In June 2014 he won the Gold Medal and the Audience Award at the XVI International Gina Bachauer Piano Competition in Salt Lake City (USA).

The repertoire of the concert consists of Mozart's Violin Sonata in E-minor,Respighi’s Violin Sonata in B minor,Manuel de Falla’s Suite Populaire Espagnole arranged by Paul Kochanski andStravinsky’s Divertimento for Violin and Piano.

Tickets are available online, at the box office in the ground floor of the Festival Palace (Od Sigurate 1) and at the venue one hour prior the performance.