Piano Duo INVIA

Jana Prjaschennikowa and Volker Zwetzschke have been regularly performing as a piano duo (four hands) since 1996. Together they attended master classes with Radoslav Kvapil (Prague), focussing on Czech-Bohemian music, and with the piano duo Begona Uriarte/Karl-Hermann Mrongovius (Munich). From 2001-04 they took up additional studies as a piano duo at the Academy of Music, Detmold, attending the class of Professor Michael Keller.
Having won the 1st prize in the ‘Kawai Competition 2000’ organised by the Academy of Music, Münster, they have since then benefited from a scholarship granted by Kawai Europe. 2004 they won at the international Grieg competition in Oslo (Norway) as one of the three duos in the final a special prize for their interpretation of the ‘Moldau’ from Smetana.
”Meanwhile they are one of the leading piano duos in Germany” – was the title of the well known newspaper Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung after a recital in the ‘August Everding Kulturzentrum’ in Bottrop in June 2003. Also in other European countries the two young musicians performed with great success: In October 2002 they had the honour to inaugurate the new Great Concert Hall in Tichoretzk (Russia) with a piano duo recital. In march 2004 the duo had a successful performance at the international Music festival in Tschernigow (Ukraine), being invited again for the next season to play concerts solo and with orchestra there and also in Kiev. In June the young pianists played at the international well noted Grieg-Festival in Oslo, where they were invited of the Grieg-Society to play in the concert hall of the Edvard Munch-Museum. Another highlight of this concert season was a common piano recital in September ‘together’ with Paul Badura-Skoda, one of the most popular and well known Austrian pianists of the 20th century. The year 2005 started with a new years concert in Novokusnetzk (Siberia) which was followed by a tour through the Ukraine with recitals and concerts with orchestra, where INVIA provided together with two other pianists for the first  Ukrainian performance of J.S. Bach’s concert for four pianos (among others in the ‘Colonial Hall’ of the National Ukrainian Philharmonia in Kiev, recorded by radio- and television-broadcasts). This extraordinary concert was also performed by them in Germany in April as the start of a cycle where INVIA will play all concerts for several pianos of J.S. Bach until 2007.

Jana Prjaschennikowa was born in 1975 in Prokopjevsk (Russia). Her mother started teaching her the piano when she was a small child, following which she completed the very strict Russian musical training. Between 1990 and 1992 she studied at the University of Novokusnetzk, attending the piano classes of Professor Irina W. Schastina, before coming to Germany with her family. She mastered the German language within just one year and took her A-levels (Abitur) in Hamm/Westphalia; during this period her further musical education was decisively supported by the local Rotary Club Hamm.
Jana Prjaschennikowa then continued her piano studies in the class of Professor Michael Keller at the Academy of Music, Detmold (Münster Department). Having obtained her degree as Graduated Piano Teacher (Staatliches Klavierlehrerdiplom), she took up postgraduate studies in the areas of music theory and composing with Professor Dr. Georg Hajdu in 1998. She completed these studies as early as May 2001, gaining the authority to give classes in conservatories and universities.
She refined her musical and piano performance and technique by attending master classes with Fred Oldenburg (Enschede), Tibor Szasz (Freiburg) and Mikhail M. Alexandrov (Moscow).
At present Jana Prjaschennikowa is working on her doctorate in musicology with Professor Dr. Horst Weber at the Folkwang College of Music in Essen and has already a multitude of publications. 

Volker Zwetzschke, born in 1973 in Recklinghausen (Germany), started to learn the piano when he was a small child. He was later given private piano lessons by Rainer Maria Klaas and Joanna Jakubovska. The Belgian composer Jacqueline Fontyn inspired him to make music his profession.
In 1999 he completed his studies in the piano class of Professor Michael Keller at the Academy of Music, Detmold (Münster Department), obtaining his degree as Graduated Piano Teacher (Staatliches Klavierlehrerdiplom). He then took up postgraduate studies in artistic proficiency (Aufbaustudium der Künstlerischen Reife) before changing university in 2001, joining the class of Professor Einar Steen-Nøkleberg in Hannover. There he graduated in 2003 with the best possible note of 1,0.
In addition to this, he refined his performance in the framework of master classes with Tibor Szasz (Freiburg), Volker Banfield (Hamburg), Einar Steen-Nøkleberg (Hannover), Bernd Glemser (Würzburg), Hans Leygraf (Salzburg) and Mikhail M. Alexandrov (Moscow).
Furthermore, he is initiator and art director of the chamber concert series taking place at the water castle ‘Wasserburg Lüttinghof’ in Gelsenkirchen/Germany, which started in 1996. From 2001-03 Volker Zwetzschke has also been director of the artistic management of the ‘European Classic Festival Ruhr’.
Between 1992 and 1997 he additionally undertook studies in philosophy with Professor Dr. Albert Stüttgen at the University of Münster.