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DR. IRENA KOFMAN
Russian-American pianist, Dr. Kofman holds a Master degree of Music from the Russian State Conservatory of Music in Moscow and a Doctorate degree of Musical Arts from the University of Miami.
At the age of 7, Irena Kofman won first prize in the Regional Piano Competition and she was the first prize winner of Russian State Piano competition in Belgorod at the age of 10. While in the Soviet Union, she has won many other awards such as, a 1st prize at the Concerto Competition in Moscow in 1985, a special prize winner at the Rachmaninov Competition in 1986, a 1st prize winner at the International Chamber Music Competition in 1988, an Outstanding Teacher award at the Special Preparatory School for the Gifted Children in 1991. She has toured the Soviet Union
extensively as a soloist and chamber artist.
After settling in the United States, Dr. Kofman pursued her doctorate at the University of Miami while holding teaching positions both there and at Florida Atlantic University. Dr. Rosalina Sackstein, the distinguished Cuban pianist and former student of Claudio Arrau, was her mentor at the University of Miami, where Irena Kofman wrote an in-depth dissertation on the Russian School of piano-playing. As an outstanding doctoral student of the University of Miami, Irena Kofman was chosen, after a preliminary piano solo competition, to perform in different venues at Salzburg during its prestigious Summer Festival. Her personal career thus resumed and she was heard in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, France and Italy.
As an inaugural member of the Arcangelo Piano Quartet, a distinguished American chamber ensemble, she has toured Guatemala, China and the United States, all to rave reviews. In the words of critic Lawrence Budmen, "Kofmans finely manicured articulation of the piano line was wonderfully limpid and clear....The entire performance had a unique sense of deeply felt, highly personal music making." For the Arcangelos performance of Schumanns piano quartet, critic Jeffrey Rossman wrote, "As a pianist-composer, Schumann wrote an especially virtuosic part for the keyboard. Kofman was brilliant in her phrasing and control."
In addition to her highly acclaimed and well-loved piano studio, Irena Kofman formed a duo with the eminent Belgian pianist Andr De Groote. Their concerts, given in Europe and the United States, have already been met with critical acclaim and more especially with the enthusiasm and genuine emotional involvement of their audiences. The year 2006 saw this duo perform Beethoven's complete works for piano duet, among many other programs. Their new collaboration on a recording of Russian composers is released on CD in 2007. Dr. Kofman's solo recordings are available on the Loconto Artists label.
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