DUO PEKINEL

Twin sisters Güher and Süher Pekinel have an international reputation as a piano duo of exceptional virtuosity and electrifying expressive power. International orchestral engagements included performances with leading orchestras such as the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Orchestre National de France, the Orchestra of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, the NHK Symphony Orchestra and the Gewandhausorchester. They are equally at home with recitals in the most prestigious venues and at renowned festivals throughout the world.

They first appeared in public at the age of six, three years later they made their debut with the Ankara Philharmonic. They started their studies at the Conservatoire de Paris, and later moved to the Musikhochschule in Frankfurt. They studied with piano legend Rudolf Serkin at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia as well as with Claudio Arrau and Leon Fleisher in New York, where they completed master's degrees at the Juilliard School. They won several first prizes in international piano competitions in Germany, Italy and the US. Herbert von Karajan played an important role in their professional lives. It was he who invited them to the Salzburg Festival for the first time in 1984, thus laying the foundation for an international career. Leonard Bernstein, Jacques Loussier and Bob James have dedicated works and arrangements to them. The Pekinels are Honorary State Artists of Turkey and also holders of honorary PhDs from the Bogaziçi University in Istanbul.
Their extensive discography includes recordings of important works for piano duo as well as the best-selling "Take Bach" project, in collaboration with jazz musician Jacques Loussier. Many of their recordings have been awarded with various prizes and reached remarkably high sales figures. Releasing companies are Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft, Teldec, CBS, Chandos and Warner Classics.

The Pekinels have been invited to appear on many TV and radio shows all over the world and were portrayed in two TV documentaries entitled "Double Life" by ZDF, ARD and ARTE. Highlights of the recent past have included a concert at the Bavarian State Opera, a Eurovision concert with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, which was broadcast across 23 countries, and an eight-city tour with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra – all of these concerts were conducted by Zubin Mehta.
Then there have been a tour with the Jacques Loussier trio, a televised appearance at the Schwetzingen Festival in co-operation with the SWR and the BBC, a recital at Prague Castle as guests of former Czech president Vaclav Havel, two concerts for Radio France with the Orchestre du Capitol de Toulouse and a series of concerts with the London Mozart Players. The duo have performed in Spain and the UK with the English Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Sir Colin Davis, and gave a recital at the Lucerne Festival and New Year’s Eve concerts in Zurich and Lucerne in 2007, which will be released on DVD in autumn of this year.Scheduled for release later this year is a two-DVD set featuring excerpts of their recent concerts and a short version of the TV documentary "Double Life" on the Arthaus DVD label, in co-operation with Unitel.

Another important project of the Pekinels is a music department founded and financed by themselves, at a boarding school of TEVITÖL, the Turkish Education Foundation in Istanbul. The school offers a high-level musical education to selected gifted and talented children from all over Turkey, parallel to the ordinary curriculum. Through this project, the Pekinels seek to contribute to the extension and consolidation of musical education within the Turkish school system. They plan to introduce the project into other schools in Turkey later.


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