When Sir András Schiff expressed his wish to support new talent, the idea of "Building Bridges" was born: a series featuring three young pianists each season.  Sir András chooses them, having heard them somewhere in the world during masterclasses or at auditions. He works with each one of them to define a finely crafted recital program that he believes showcases their special talents while fitting the idea of the series.

Now in its seventh season, Building Bridges has proven a great success in Antwerp, Berlin, Brussels, Düsseldorf, Florence, Frankfurt am Main, Milan, Weimar, Zurich and at music festivals across Europe. 

The public is happy to be part of supporting early careers develop. The musicians appreciate being offered a unique opportunity and intimate situation where they may perform their own individual programs, far from any competition pressure. And whenever his schedule allows it, Sir András joins the audience to listen to their performances. 

The concerts are schedules as follows:

Elena Nefedova, March 10th from 19.30
Jean-Sélim Abdelmoula, March 16th from 19.30
Chiara Opalio, March 23rd from 19.30 
Gile Bae, March 30th from 19.30 

Elena Nefedova was born in Moscow and graduated from the Central Music School in the class
of Kira Shashkina. At the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory she studied with Vera
Gornostaevaand Sergei Glavtskih before moving to Italy in 2011, where she continued her
studies at the Conservatory “Santa Cecilia” in Rome and, simultaneously, privately with
Bulgarian pianist Ivan Donchev.
Elena was awarded scholarships from the New Names Foundation and Rostropovich
Foundation. In 2008 she was also awarded a grant from the Russian Federation President
program for supporting young talent.
Elena is a winner of various international competitions, including the Andrea Baldi International
competition (Bologna, 2015), "Vera Lotar-Shevchenko" (Novisibirsk 2010), "Magic" in Burgas
(Bulgaria, 2011), "Aldo Ciccolini International Competition" (Rome, 2011).
At the end of 2016 she won the prestigious Italian National Piano Competition “Premio Venezia”
which launched her professional career. Since then Elena has performed recitals in France,
Germany, Italy, Greece, South Africa, Portugal and has appeared as a soloist with the Russian
National Orchestra, the Moscow Chamber Orchestra «Musica Viva», the Novosibirsk
Philharmonic Orchestra, the Florence Chamber Orchestra and the “Virtuosi Italiani” Chamber
Orchestra, among others.

Johann Sebastian Bach
French Suite n. 2 in c minor, BWV 813

Robert Schumann
Davidsbündlertänze, op. 6

Felix Mendelssohn
Rondo Capriccioso, op. 14 

Alberto Ginastera
Danza de la moza donosa, from Danzas Argentinas, op. 2

Fritz Kreisler
Liebesleid da Alt-Wiener Tanzweisen, transcription for piano by Sergej Rachmaninov