Larisa Loginova

Yuri Bogdamov

Cristoforo Pestalozzi

Elena Dyatlova

Tatyana Lituinova

Alexi Koshavanets

Rafael Salinas was born in Valencia in 1971 and holds a Ph.D. in Art Sciences and a doctorate in Musical Arts (D.M.A.) from the Conservatory of St. Petersburg (Russia). He has studied under great masters such as Leonid Sintsev, N. Shafran and Leonid Gákkel, and has received mentoring from such pianists as Joaquín Achúcarro, Rudolf Kerer, Férenc Kereck and Nathan Perlmann. He is especially interested in gifted musicians and has developed an intense study programme at various institutions in several countries and has participated in international congresses on this subject (Salzburg 2006, Brno 2007, St. Petersburg 2006 and 2007, Oslo 2008, and Paris 2010).

He is a member of the European Council for High Ability and is an adviser for various programmes for the detection and development of high musical abilities. He is artistic director of the Concurso Internacional para jóvenes pianistas Unió Musical de Benaguasil and president of Asociación, Educación, Música y Acción Social, which aims to develop music as a universal bearer of values.

At the same time, Dr. Salinas has carried out very relevant research in 20th century Spanish piano studies, as well as the analysis and translation of Russian texts on performance theory. He has written various articles for specialised journals and has published a book on the eminent Aragonese pianist Luis Galve (1908- 1995).

For many years he has combined teaching with performing and research. He has performed in numerous music halls in Europe as both soloist and as part of chamber groups. He has participated as a jury member at international competitions and has given master classes and teacher training courses. His students have received a number of awards at international competitions. He has developed teaching programmes at the Universitat Jaume I in Castelló and is currently Professor of Performance Theory and Piano at the Escola Superior de Música de Catalunya (ESMUC), where he was Director of Studies between 2005 and 2009.

He was born in Bornaul, Russia in 1958. He studied at the state conservatory of Novosibirsk under Professor Zakhar Bron and graduated cum laude. In 1978 he entered as a soloist into the State Philharmonic Orchestra of Novosibirsk, a position he held along with a teaching position at the Higher School of Music for Talented Youth. He also performed as a soloist in concerts tours alone, with an orchestra and in a chamber group, including the Ural Trio, events that were organised by the prestigious concert agency Filarmonia throughout the Soviet Union. These artistic activities brought him several prizes from various national competitions.

In 1981 began his teaching career at the Conservatory of Novosibirsk and between 1984 and 1995 served as general coordinator and professor in the professional training courses for teachers in the Ural region. He taught at the Music School for Talented Youth in Yekaterinburg and in 1984 he was appointed Professor for the Chair of Violin at the State Conservatory of music in Chelyabinsk.

In 1996 he moved to the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid as assistant professor of the Telefónica Chair of Violin under head professor Zakhar Bron. He has also taught at the Escola de Música de Catalunya since 2006. Yuri Volguin combines his work at these two important centers of music education with artistic performances in Spain, Russia, Sweden, Portugal, and France, and participates in festivals and international competitions as a jury member or guest artist.

He has been awarded the Arts Prize by the Russian Ministry of Culture for his great pedagogic and artistic work. His experience as a teacher, proven by the professional ability of his students, is internationally recognised and reflected in ongoing collaborations with European centres, where he teaches the violin. Examples include master classes at the Musikhochschule Lübeck (1997), summer courses at the Fundación Albéniz in Santander (1997-2001), the Eduardo Ocón music training course in Málaga (2006-2010), the International Music Festival in Zumaya, País Vasco (2005), a violin performance course in Madrid (2004 and 2008), master classes at the Tallinna Muusikakeskkool, Estonia (2005), the International Musical Reunion in Graves, Bordeaux (2007-2010), Agora Portals international music course in Mallorca (2009-2010), and master classes in Bielsko- Biala, Poland (2010).