An evening of classical music is being held at Opera and ballet Theater in Dushanbe tomorrow.  Musical duet from France -- Anastasiya Magamedova (piano) and Johannes Gray (cello) -- will perform works by Shostakovich, Janacek, Poulenc and Canesson. 

A 2016 National YoungArts Winner, Anastasiya Magamedova, began piano at the age of 5 in Dushanbe, Tajikistan and continues her studies at the Juilliard School with Matti Raekallio, and Rena Shereshevskaya in Paris.  Winner of the 2013 International Keyboard Odyssiad Piano Competition, Magamedova was also a 3rd prize medalist of the 2015 IIYM International Piano Competition and a 2015 MTNA National Finalist. Magamedova has been a soloist in concert halls such as Alice Tully Hall, and Carnegie Hall’s Weill Concert Hall. She has performed with the Alicante Philharmonic Orchestra, Utah Symphony, American West Symphony, and Wratislava Chamber Orchestra.

A recipient of the Jack Kent Cooke Young Artist Award, she has been featured on NPR’s From the Top.  She was a participant in the inaugural Cliburn International Junior Piano Competition and Festival in Fort Worth, Texas, Yamaha USASU International Piano Competition for Young Pianists and the 2015 Hilton Head International Young Artist Piano Competition.

Following his debut with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at the age of 14, cellist Johannes Gray (23) became the winner of the International Pablo Casals Award, Gold Medalist of the Fischoff Chamber Music Competition and the Verbier Festival’s Prix de l’APCAV award.

His solo engagements have taken him across four continents, including performances at the Berlin Philharmonie, the festivals of Ravinia and Verbier, Lincoln Center, SuperCello (Beijing), and the Cello Biënnale Amsterdam.

During his studies with Hans Jørgen Jensen in Chicago, Jérôme Pernoo at the Conservatoire national Supérieur de musique in Paris, and Frans Helmerson at the Barenboim-Said Akademie in Berlin, Johannes became a laureate of numerous national and international competitions and was featured on multiple television and radio stations.

He currently resides in Paris, where he has been based since 2015. Johannes enjoys a long-term musical relationship with pianist Anastasiya Magamedova.