JURY
JUAN LAGO
President
Juan Lago, a Spanish pianist, has won numerous national and international awards, including the Valsesia-Musica in Italy, the Cidade de Ferrol, the Scriabin in Grosseto, and the Compositores de España in Madrid. His international career has led him to give recitals, chamber music, and concerts with orchestras throughout much of Europe, Russia, Turkey, Qatar, the United States, China, and South Korea. He has collaborated with conductors such as Zubin Mehta, José Ramón Encinar, and Emin Güven Yasliçam, and with prestigious orchestras such as the Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana, the Orchestra of the Community of Madrid, and the Málaga Symphony Orchestra. Very active in festivals and master classes, he has participated in gatherings in Washington, Moscow, Cologne, Riga, Valencia, Brescia, and Switzerland, among others. His chamber music career has allowed him to collaborate with prominent musicians such as Vasco Vassilev, Alissa Margulis, Alexander Buzlov, and Belén Navarro. In addition to his performing career, he is the founder and artistic director of the Campillos International Piano Competition, director of the Piano Department at the VIPA Festival in Valencia and the Málaga International Piano Festival, and a regular jury member at prestigious competitions. In the teaching field, he has taught at the Qatar Music Academy and the University of Brescia, and currently teaches at the José Iturbi Conservatory in Valencia and the Escuela Superior Musical Arts in Madrid, with internationally award-winning students. His training includes studies at the Amsterdam Conservatory with Jan Wijn, at the Royal Conservatory of Madrid with Ana Guijarro, at the Málaga Conservatory with Juan J. Peralta, and a Master's degree in Musical Performance and Research at the Valencian International University. He also enriches his studies with masterclasses from pianists such as Gyorgy Sebok, Eugen Indjic, and Claudio Martínez Mehner.
UWE MATSCHE
Professor, concert artist
Uwe Matschke, a German pianist trained at the Franz Liszt University in Weimar and the Budapest Academy of Music, has developed a distinguished career both as a performer and teacher. Following early influences from maestros such as Jacob Leitner and Peter Solymmos and successes at international competitions in Germany, Hungary, and Italy, he began teaching at the Weimar University of Music and currently holds the chair of piano at the University of Macedonia in Thessaloniki, Greece, where he has also served on the jury of the Helexpo International Chamber Music Competition. As a soloist, he has appeared in major European halls and festivals—including Moscow, Berlin, Hamburg, Leipzig, the Athens Concert Hall, and the Dimitria Festival—and has collaborated with orchestras such as the Stuttgarter Kammerorchester, the Virtuosi di Prague, and the Athens State Orchestra. His interpretation, acclaimed for its sensitivity, has also developed in the field of chamber music with prestigious ensembles such as the Gewandhausquartett Leipzig and the Leipziger Streichquartett, as well as with renowned international soloists. His career is reflected in recordings for public radio and television in Germany, Greece, and Cyprus, and in a discography encompassing Bach, Schumann, Schubert, Liszt, Mussorgsky, and Greek composers, released by labels such as EMI, Virgin Records, Irida Classical, and the University of Macedonia Press.
ANDREY REZNIK
Professor, Interpreter
Born in Ukraine of German descent, he graduated as a concert pianist from the P.I. Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow (one of the most renowned musical universities in the world). He is a descendant of the piano school of the legendary maestros Neuhaus and Flier, studying with the celebrated musicians V. Krainev, L. Vlasenko, and S. Alumian. Over time, he gained his own disciples who now excel in international competitions.
His symphonic works have been and are performed by renowned institutions such as: the Russian National Orchestra (under the baton of maestro Mikhail Pletnev), the Moscow Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra, the Buenos Aires Colon Theatre Orchestra (Argentina), the Kharkiv Symphony Orchestra (Ukraine), among others.
He is frequently invited to teach masterclasses in both Spain and Russia and has an extensive discography, including his own works published in Russia and screened in Spain. He has made several recordings of classical music.
JUAN ELVIRA MÁRQUEZ
Director of the Armilla Festival, concert pianist
Juan Elvira Márquez was born in Granada in 1998. He began piano lessons at age 6 and decided to become a professional pianist at 14. He has performed as a soloist with the Elbphilarmonie in Hamburg, the Berlin Philharmonic, the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, and the Wiener Saal in Salzburg. He has also given numerous solo and chamber music concerts in Spain, Norway, France, Germany, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Switzerland.
In the summer of 2021, he was selected to participate in Elisabeth Leonskaja's masterclasses at the HfM Lübeck. He has also received masterclasses from renowned pianists such as Philipp Raskin, Viktoria Vasilenka, Claudio Martínez Mehner, Romano Pallotini, Iván Martín, Sergei Radkin, Marta Gulyas, Yves Henry, Luis Fernando Pérez, Nino Kereselidze, Mikhail Voskresensky, Stefania Neonato, Joanna Lawrynowicz, and Klaus Hellwig. He has received, among others, the following awards: Special Prize at the Concours International d'Ile de France, 2nd Prize at the Rising Stars Grand Prix in Berlin, the Golden Hands Prize and Best Schumann Performance at the Charles and Sophia International Competition, and 2nd Prize at the Aachen Mozarte International Piano Competition.
He is currently studying Konzertexamen with A. Madzar at the HfMT in Hamburg and teaches at the Shostakovich School of Music in Berlin. He is the artistic director and artist-in-residence of the Armilla International Festival of Classical Music Performers, now in its third year.
MÓNICA HERREROS
Pianist, teacher
Pianist, teacher and new general director of the Piano Youth Experience.
Born into a family of musicians, she received training from her parents, pianists and renowned pedagogues in Andalusia.
After many years teaching piano classes at various centers and institutions, Moni has expanded her teaching career by founding her own school. She has numerous students of all ages and specializes in introductory piano lessons as well as preparation for the various conservatory entrance exams.
JAVIER HERREROS
Professor, pianist
According to expert critics, he is one of the most outstanding Spanish pianists of his generation. Trained at the Conservatories of Granada and Madrid, he is a distinguished student of Josefina Bustamante, Joaquín Soriano, and Ricardo Requejo.
He received a scholarship from the Ministry of Culture to take advanced courses in Granada (Manuel de Falla International Courses), Santander (Menéndez Pelayo University), and Thonon-les-Bains (France, Musical Reunions), receiving advice from Rosa Sabater, Malcolm Frager, and Louis Hiltbrand. His awards include the First Manuel de Falla Prize for Piano Performance from the University of Granada.
LIDIA HARO
Pianist, teacher
Born in Pulpí (Almería), he began his musical career at the Narciso Yepes Professional Music Conservatory in Lorca and continued at the "Victoria Eugenia" Royal Conservatory of Music in Granada under the direction of Professor Juan José Pérez Torrecillas, graduating with the highest marks. He continued his musical training at the Royal Conservatoire de Musique in Brussels (Belgium) under the tutelage of Patricia Montero, a student of the illustrious pedagogue Eduardo del Pueyo, and receiving advice in the field of chamber music from maestros J. Démériz and Elianne Reyes, among others. Throughout his training, he attended various music performance courses such as the "Stage de Musique" at the Koninklijk Muziek Conservatorium (Brussels), and piano improvement courses with highly renowned musicians, including Jean-Claude Vanden Eynden, Sebastian Risler, Danniel Blumental, Guillermo González, and others. Always interested in the chamber music field,
She has been a member of several highly active musical groups, such as Deneb Trio, Haro-Valero Pianoduo, Harmonie XXI, and Dayra Duo. She has given recitals as a soloist and accompanist in Brussels, Toledo, Segovia, Oviedo, Vitoria, Granada, Alicante, Badajoz, Murcia, Almería, etc., emphasizing in her performances innovation and the blending of different artistic forms (music, painting, literature, dance), as well as the desire and concern to bring classical music to the public and society at large. She currently teaches at the Narciso Yepes Professional Music Conservatory (Lorca, Murcia).
