Album Notes

MUSIC FOR 2 PIANOS / ZEYNEP UCBASARAN and SERGIO GALLO

Eroica Classical Recordings proudly presents a rollicking, frolicking, display of pianistic fireworks in this recording of works for two pianos by four of the world\'s greatest composers: Mozart, Brahms, Khatchaturian, and Lutoslawski.

BIO: ZEYNEP UCBASARAN

Pianist Zeynep Ucbasaran started her music studies at age four at the Istanbul Conservatory. She has a Concert Artist Diploma from the Liszt Academy of Music , Budapest, where she studied under Prof. Zempleni Kornel, Prof. Katalin Nemes (pupil of Bela Bartok), Balazs Kecskes, and Prof. Istvan Lantos. She also has a Diploma in Aufbaustudium from the Hochschule fŸr Musik , in Freiburg, Germany, and a Master of Music degree in Piano Performance from University of Southern California.

Her awards include American Liszt Society Award, Rozsnyai Memorial Award, Ina Broida Award from UCSB, and USC Associates Music Merit Scholarship. She is also a recipient of the MAA 2001 Aspen Summer Music Festival Scholarship, where she was selected to play in the distinguished artist Master Class of Leon Fleisher. She won the Second Prize at the 1996 Los Angeles Liszt Competition and an Honorable Mention in the same competition in 2000. She has given many recitals in Turkey, Hungary, Germany, Slovenia, and in the United States.

At present she is a DMA candidate in Piano Performance at USC , studying with John Perry. Since 1996 she has been living in Santa Barbara, California.

BIO: SERGIO GALLO

Sergio Gallo received his degrees from the Conservatoire Europien de Musique in Paris (Diplome d\'Excellence), the Franz Liszt Academy of Budapest, Hungary, the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (Master of Music and Artist Diploma), and the University of California (DMA). He has performed with orchestras throughout the Americas and has recorded recitals for Radio France and Radio Cultura. He has performed solo recitals in Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hungary, as well as in major cities in the United States. Dr. Gallo serves on the faculty of the Music Department at the University of North Dakota.

\"Sergio Gallo performed the second book from images by Debussy not only with poetic imagination but also with tender tone and fascinating bravura, qualities one would say, not easily found in young pianists. In addition, the piece Festa no Serto by Villa-Lobos, which closed the recital, was performed with amazing temperament, richness of feeling and grandeur.\"

P‡ndi Marienne Hungarian Press