Mikhail Bezverkhny (violin)

Born in Saint Petersburg, Mikhail Bezverkhny commenced his violin studies at the age of 5 at the Central Music School of the Conservatory of Saint Petersburg.

He was a student of Liubov Segal (student of Leopold Auer) and Jacob Riabinkov.

In 1965 he started his studies at the Moscow Conservatory under Yuri Yankelevich - one of the most prominent violin professors of the 20th century.

He also studied with Maya Gleyzarova, Abram Shtern and Nahum Latinsky.

He is laureate of several international competitions:

• 1967: 2nd prize Wieniawski Competition

• 1969: 2nd prize chamber music competition in Munich

• 1972: 2nd prize violin competition in Montreal

• 1972: 1st prize chamber music competition in Belgrade

• 1974: 1st prize chamber music competition in Budapest

• 1976: 1st prize Queen Elisabeth Competition Brussels

Since October 1992, Bezverkhny has been a member of the Shostakovich Trio, and his recordings for Melodya and Deutsche Grammophon now number more than forty.

During all these years he has been very intensely active as a violinist, a violist, a composer, a director and an actor.

He also worked several times with Latvian-American conductor Imant Kotsinsh (now Imant Airea). They recorded pieces by several composers which includes Spohr and Mendelssohn. Currently he is teacher at the Royal Conservatory of Ghent.

His students include amongst others Dmitri Berlinsky.

As a composer, he wrote a virtuoso Suite Gambrinus for violin and piano.

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Gulzhaina Kydyrova (cello)

Zhaina was born in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

She started at the age of 11 in the special Music School K. Bajseitova in Almaty, Kazakhstan and graduated in 1991.

In 1991 she started her studies at the Conservatory in Kurmangazy Kazakh in Almaty , Kazakhstan and she graduated as a teacher, concert musician, cello soloist and artist for chamber orchestras, music, opera and symphonic orchestras.

She studied with professor Djambul Baspaev. Due to her exceptional achievements, she was invited to the P. Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow under the Soviet regime and obtained her postgraduate degree in 1999.

After these studies, she trained at the Moscow State Conservatory for two years and finished her musical education in 2001. She took lessons with Professor Tatiania Priymenko and Professor Dmitry Miller Concertmaster of Cellos at the Bolshoi Theater.

She received training from Professor Yakunin, and received the highest qualification for teaching cello in Almaty, Kazakhstan in 2012, and did a Masterclass with Igolinsky from Moscow and Valentin Berlinski and Oleg Sendetsky from the Mariinsky Theatre, Saint Petersburg in 2013.

Zhaina has won several competitions: Laureate in the Competition of the Music Schools in Almaty, Kazakhstan, 1987 – Laureate of the National Competition for Young Musicians in Ust Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan, 1988 – Special Prize in an International Competition in Russia, 1990 – Laureate of a international competition in Turkmenistan, 1994

She was a cello teacher at the Conservatory in Almaty, Kazakhstan, an assistant teacher in the Conservatory Chamber Ensemble in Almaty, a teacher at the Special Music School for Gifted Children in Almaty and she is today a music teacher for cello and piano. Her students were awarded national and international prizes in various competitions.

She has performed as an artist in a national and international context: artist for the Kazakh television and radio orchestra, Almaty, Kazakhstan, soloist for a chamber orchestra, Almaty, Kazakhstan, artist for a chamber orchestra of the Moscow Music and Drama Theater, artist in the 'State Capella Moscow City Symphony Orchestra', performer in a chamber orchestra in the music school named after Galina Vishnevskaya and Mstislav Rostropovich in Moscow, performer in a chamber orchestra of Lomonosov State University in Moscow, performer in a chamber orchestra under the Mayor and City Hall of Almaty, Kazakhstan, Artist in the National Symphony Orchestra in Almaty, Kazakhstan, Member of a quartet founded by herself, from 2007 under the name Mezzo.

She came to Belgium in 2013 and started a training institute under the name 'Mezzo' for piano and cello, also organizing concerts and expositions.

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Anastasia Kozhushko-Kenner (piano)

Anastasia was born in Ukraine.

She received her professional music education at the Special Music school for gifted children in Kharkiv (Ukraine) with N. Rudenko and N. Melnikova.

From 2005 Anastasia Kozhushko was a student of the Royal Conservatory of Ghent under professor V. Samoshko, where she graduated with a Master Diploma with highest distinction. From 2008 she studied in the Queen Elisabeth Chapel of Music in the soloist class of Abdel Rachman el Basha and guest professor Dmitry Bashkirov.

From 2010 till 2015 she studied in the International Piano Academy in Imola (Italy) with Boris Petrushansky and in the Lemmensinstituut in Leuven (Belgium) with Timur Sergeyenia, where she received a Master Diploma with highest distinction.

Anastasia is the winner of more than 20 international competitions such as 24th Smetana International Piano Competition in the Czech Republic (1st prize, 2001), “Alter Musica” International Music Competition in Spain (1st prize, 2000), International Piano Competition “Excellentia” in Brussels, International Piano Competition of Franz Schubert (2nd prize, Italy, 2011), International Piano Competition “Citta di Albenga” (1st prize, Italy, 2012), International Piano Competition “Silvio Bengali” in Val Tidone (Italy, 2013), International Piano Competition of Sergei Rachmaninov (2nd prize, Italy, 2013), International Piano Competition “Koffie bij de piano” (1st prize, Holland, 2014), International Piano Competition “Ulvenhart Klassiek” (1st prize, Holland, 2014) and others.

Since the age of 6, Anastasia has participated in various concerts and festivals throughout Ukrain, Russia, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Holland, Italy, France and Japan, and she performed in such prestigious concert halls as BOZAR, De Singel, the operahouse of Lille, Flagey, De Bijloke, Sala Verdi (Milano), National Philarmony of Ukraine, the Kremlin of Moscow, Rachmaninov Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, etc.

Since the age of 12, Anastasia has performed with Ukranian and European Orchestras under conductors such as Dirk Brosse, Dmitry Liss, Eduard Dyadyura, Yuri Yanko, Dmitry Morozov, Shaliko Paltadzhyan, etc.

In 2009 she recorded a CD with Jan Guns with the music of Dirk Brosse and the live performance of a work of A. Rosenblatt with her pianoduo Kozhushko-Idmtal was selected for the compilation of CD of the Klarafestival 2012.

Anastasia has produced a number of recordings for radio and television broadcast, and has received critical acclaim from press on both national and international scale.

As a piano professor and accompanist, she was working as a guest professor of the Conservatory of G. Verdi in Milan (2010-2013), performed as an official accompanist at International Adolph Sax Competition in Dinant (2010, 2014, 2019), International Grumiaux Violin Competition in Brussels (2018, 2019, 2020), Leonid Kogan International Violin Competition in Brussels (2018, 2019).

In 2017 she opened the International Piano Academy Gent, which produced very young and talented winners of different international competitions.