featuring internationally renowned pianists—Philipp Thönes and the Chipak-Kushnir Piano Duo—and works by F. Schubert, F. Liszt, J. Brahms, C. Debussy, M. Ravel, and others.
In his playing, pianist Philipp Thönes combines the tradition of the classical piano repertoire—featuring composers such as Mozart, Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, and Liszt—with his own distinctive voice by including his original compositions in his programs.
Born in Rostock in 2001, he began his musical career at the Rostock Conservatory and the Young Academy Rostock. Since October 2020, he has been studying piano at the Rostock University of Music and Drama, initially with Professor Bernd Zack and currently pursuing his master’s degree under Prof. Matthias Kirschnereit.
Philipp Thönes won first prizes at the International Novák Piano Competition in the Czech Republic, at the national “Jugend musiziert” competition, and at the “International Global Online Great Composers Competition.” In 2023, he was awarded a special prize as a semifinalist at the Ettore Pozzoli Piano Competition and as a finalist at the 9th International Béla Bartók Piano Competition in Graz.
Philipp Thönes is a scholarship recipient of the “Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes” and recorded his first CD in 2021 as a featured artist for PIANONews-records.
He has attended master classes with Janina Fialkowska, Matthias Kirschnereit, Pavel Gililov, Bernd Goetzke, Johan Schmidt, Douglas Humpherys, and Galina Iwanzowa.
Philipp Thönes has also enjoyed success in the field of chamber music. At the 2022 “Verfemte Musik” Interpretation Competition, he and his clarinet duo partner won first prize as well as the “Exilarte” special prize, which led them to perform a concert at the Vienna Konzerthaus.
In March 2026, he made his debut as a soloist performing Beethoven’s Triple Concerto in the Small Hall of the Berlin Philharmonic. On May 22, 2026, he performed the world premiere of his piano concerto to great acclaim with the Prussian Chamber Orchestra, conducted by Jürgen Bruns, at the Theater Putbus as part of the Putbus Festival. Other compositions of his own, including his Piano Sonata in B-flat minor, are available on major streaming platforms.
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Chipak–Kushnir Piano Duo
“…they play with such freedom and individuality as one never hears from piano duos, which are always tuned to perfection. Nevertheless, Chipak and Kushnir sound like a single grand piano. Magnificent.” Süddeutsche Zeitung
Olha Chipak and Oleksiy Kushnir began collaborating while still students at the Lviv (Lemberg) Music Academy; today, as a piano duo, they are among the most renowned ensembles on the chamber music scene. Their rise to prominence on international stages was due in no small part to their many successes at major international competitions:
1st Prize and Special Prize for Contemporary Music – “Rom-98”
2nd Prize—TIM (Torneo Internazionale di Musica) (2000)
2nd Prize—Chamber Music Competition in Caltanissetta (2000)
1st Prize – “Premio Seiler” in Palermo (2002)
2nd Prize – “Palma d’Oro” in Finale Ligure (2002)
1st Prize and Special Prize for Best Interpretation of W. Lutosławski – Piano Duo Competition in Bialystok (Poland) (2002)
First Prize – “Piano Duo in the 20th Century” (Premio Valentino Bucchi) (2003)
Second Prize and Audience Prize – “Dranoff Two Piano Competition” in Miami (2003)
First Prize and Special Prize for Contemporary Music – San Marino Piano Competition (2006)
This was followed by numerous concert tours—in Ukraine, Poland, Italy, Germany, Austria, France, Belgium, Denmark, the U.S., Russia, China, and elsewhere, including the Konzerthaus and the Berlin Philharmonie, the Sala Baldini in Rome, the Glazunov Hall in St. Petersburg, the Warsaw National Philharmonic, the National Philharmonic in Kyiv, Steinway Hall, the Lincoln Theater, and the New World Center in Miami, and the Teatro Verdi in Trieste, where they earned international acclaim.
Performances at international festivals such as the FIU Festival in Miami, the Piano-Piano Festival in Paris, the Kyiv Music Fest, the Virtuosen Fest in Lviv, the Heinrich Neuhaus Festival, Baltic Duets in St. Petersburg, the Überschlag Festival in Hanover, the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival, the Gezeiten Festival, the Brahms Music Festival in Mürzzuschlag, and others
They have participated in master classes in Germany (Ochsenhausen, Sankt Goar, Kölzow), Italy (Brescia, Venice), Ukraine (Lviv, Uzhhorod), China (Beijing, Zhengzhou, Xi’an), and the U.S. (Miami).
In 2006, they received a cultural award as a state honor from San Marino.
In 2007, they released a CD featuring piano duet works by J. Brahms, M. Reger, and
S. Rachmaninoff (ZMS Records), which won the “Web Concert Hall Competition” in 2012.
In 2011, GENUIN released their next album featuring the most significant piano duo works by Johannes Brahms. The CD received widespread acclaim in the German music press and was nominated for the 2012 “ECHO-Klassik” music award.
In 2014, GENUIN released the CD recording “Masques” featuring works by I. Stravinsky, M. Ravel, A. Chasins, F. Liszt, S. Rachmaninoff, and others.
In 2021, the piano duo, together with Francisco Manuel Anguas Rodriguez, celebrated a world premiere—Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony in Franz Liszt’s transcription, featuring the original timpani part—a first recording for GENUIN.
Their concerts and recordings have been featured on broadcasters such as ARD, NDR, BR-Klassik, HR, ORF1, and ORF-Klassik, as well as on radio and television stations worldwide.
