Galina Zhukova
Hailed as a pianist with musically passionate and intellectually deep personality combined with great virtuosity, Galina Zhukova enjoys a career as soloist, supported by academic duties which are required by her associate professorship in St. Petersburg State University, Faculty of Arts. Her international concert engagements in 2016 included Steinway Series (Hingene, Belgium), PianoMayenne Festival (Mayenne,France), Palais d’Europe (Strasbourg, France), Val Tidone Festival (Agazzano, Italy), Auditorio Victor Villegas (Mursia, Spain).
Among her latest international awards are the following: the VI International Competition Premio di Interpretazione Pianistica “Francesco Moscato” (Italy, Airola, First Prize), II “Primavera Pianistica” International Piano Competition (Belgium, First Prize), the VIII International Mayenne Piano Competition (Mayenne, France, II-nd Prize), the I International Piano Competition Clamo Music (Mursia, Spain, II-nd Prize). In June 2016 she became the prizewinner of Silvio Bengalli International Piano Competition (Italy, Val Tidone, II-nd Prize).
Her career enjoyed a meteoric rise in 1993: that year she played on the stage of the Mariinsky (Kirov) theatre and, for the first time, appeared on Russian TV. Same year Galina was awarded a Diploma and a Special Prize at the II International Music Festival “Virtuosos of the Year 2000” (St. Petersburg), and became the absolute winner of The Heiden International Foundation Piano Competition (St. Petersburg).
Her first concert tour was held in the United States: in 1994 she gave a number of solo recitals in Princeton, including one at the Hall of the Institute for Advanced Study. After that “Radio Classica”, a popular St. Petersburg music radio station, aired a special program devoted to Galina. This included her recordings of Bach, Beethoven, Chopin and Tchaikovsky. In 1998 she came back to the USA, invited as soloist to take part in the celebration of the 100-th Anniversary of Robert Casadesus, to play Mozart Concerto № 23 with Princeton Chamber Symphony (Mark Laycock, conductor) in Richardson Auditoriom of Princeton University and received favorable reviews. Since then Galina Zhukova’s orchestral appearances had included Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra (Vladislav Chernushenko, conductor), «Carpe Diem» Chamber Orchestra, St. Petersburg State Academic Symphonic Orchestra.
Graduated from the St. Petersburg State Conservatory in 2005 (studied with Profs. Oleg Malov and Stanislav Igolinsky), in 2008 she accomplished a Post-Graduate course in Piano Performance at the same Conservatory under the tutorship of the prominent pianist Andrey Ivanovich. During her studies she had demonstrated rich artistic activitiy performed solo recitals at venues in Poland (Sosnowiec, Warsaw, Zielona Gora), Finland (Helsinki, Turku), Austria (Wien), Hungary (Budapest, Dior), France (Caen), Portugal (Lisbon, Porto), Russia, including Malyi Philharmonic Hall (St. Petersburg) where Galina has regularly appeared with piano recitals since 2002, Moscow State Philharmonic Hall and Moscow State Conservatory Concert Series.
In 2011 she received her PhD in Cultural Studies at St. Petersburg State University. Galina’s book «National Representation in the European Musical Discourse» was published by St. Petersburg State University in 2014. Fluently speaking English and Polish, Galina Zhukova has given master-classes for the international audience in Russia and abroad.
Since 2007 Galina has been a member of the Artistic Faculty of The Ruza International Piano Festival, held annually by The Gnessina Academy of Music (Moscow) and directed by one of the top Russian piano professors Maria Gambarian. From 2012 Galina Zhukova joined the artistic class of Maestro Aquiles Delle Vigne at the International Music Academy (Coimbra, Portugal).