Jury — Wonder Keys 2026 — Piano Competition

Wonder Keys 2026

Wonder Keys Piano Competition Jury

Vassily Lobanov

Chairman, Russia-Germany

Worldwide pianist and composer, Vasily Lobanov was born in Moscow. He studied piano with legendary Heinrich Neuhaus and Lev Naumov and composition with Sergej Balassanjan and Alfred Schnittke.

Alfred Schnittke, one of the most significant composers of the 20th century, said of Lobanov, "There are talented composers and there are talented pianists, but seldom do those two talents converge in such brilliant proportion as they do in Vassily Lobanov …"

Lobanov initially began making concert appearances abroad in 1978, performing in the music metropolises of Europe, in the US, in Japan and South America with such conductors as Gennady Rozhdestwensky, Heinrich Schiff, Juri Bashmet, Christoph Poppen, Kurt Lewin, Alexander Lasarev...

He performed in a piano duo with Svjatoslav Richter, a piano trio with Oleg Kagan and Natalia Gutman and still, today remains a member of a piano quartet alongside Victor Tretiakov, Juri Bashmet, and Natalia Gutman. He concertized with many other renowned artists, such as Leonidas Kavakos, Gidon Kremer, Elmira Darvarova, Marc Kaplan, Eduard Brunner, Kolja Blacher, Charles Neidich, Kim Kashkashian...

1997-2012 he was the Professor for piano at Musikhochschule Cologne and currently he is the Professor in Zurich at the Kalaidos University and at the Schloss Akademie Germany.

Solomon Volkov

USA

Solomon Volkov is a Russian-American world famous culturologist whose work focuses on Russian cultural history and its colorful figures. Many of Solomon Volkov's writings draw on his professional training as a violinist and musicologist, and he has written books—some structured to document conversations—about such cultural figures as Dmitri Shostakovich, George Balanchine, Nathan Milstein and Joseph Brodsky.

Anna Prabucka-Firlej

Poland

Dr. Anna Prabucka-Firlej, Piano (Poland) - Professor, Head of Chamber Music Department, Academy of Music "Stanislaw Moniuszko", Gdansk. A chamber ensembles of her class won more than 200 rewards and distincions on international and national competitions.

Board Member, European Chamber Music Teachers' Association. Director, Johannes Brahms International Chamber Music Competition, Gdansk.

Director, International Piano Duo Festival, Gdansk.Founder and Member of the Gdansk Piano Trio. She gives master classes in various countries as Germany, Switzerland, Greece, Lithuania, Latvia, Belorussia, Finland, Moldova, Spain, Bulgaria, Russia, Chile, Peru and Tahiland.

She is a member of jury international and national competitions (Germany, Greece, Sweden, Lithuania, Byelorussia, Poland).

Togrul Huseynli

Azerbaijan

Togrul Huseynli ranks amongst the rising piano stars of Azerbaijani classical music. He has performed in
major venues in Azerbaijan, Russia, Belorussia, Georgia, China, Germany, also with famous Orchestras
like Jerusalim Symphony Orchestra, Ranaana Simfonietta, Orquesto Simfonica de Galicia, Kiev
Virtuoses Symphony Orchestra e.t.c. He is a prizewinner of many international important competitions.

Currently he is also teaching at the Cologne University of Music.

Ekaterina Derzhavina

Russia

Pianist Ekaterina Derzhavina studied at the Gnessin Music School and Academy in Moscow, as well as with Vladimir Tropp. She won First Prize at the J.S. Bach International Competition in Germany in 1992 and has been a professor at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow since 2003. As a soloist and teacher, she has appeared worldwide, including in Canada, Japan, the USA, and across Europe. Her acclaimed recordings—featuring works by Bach, Haydn, Stanchinsky, and Medtner—have been released by Arte Nova, Phoenix Edition, and Profil. She is recognized as one of the foremost interpreters of Nikolai Medtner’s piano music.

Nazareno Ferruggio

Italy

Nazareno Ferruggio is an award-winning Italian pianist and professor. A graduate of conservatories in Bari, Mannheim, and Bern, he studied with Pierluigi Camicia, Ragna Schirmer, and Rada Petkova. He has performed in major venues such as Carnegie Hall, Palau de la Música, and Teatro Municipal Lima, and collaborated with orchestras including the Malta Philharmonic and MÁV Symphony Budapest. He is also active in promoting classical music worldwide.

Teguh Sukaryo

Indonesia

Indonesia’s leading pianist and pedagogue, Teguh Sukaryo studied at Oberlin Conservatory, Rice University, and Louisiana State University. A prizewinner at the Grieg International Piano Competition in Oslo, he has performed internationally and collaborated with artists including Rudolf Koelman. He is the founder and director of the Teguh Sukaryo International Music School (TSIMS) in Jakarta. His students have received over 100 top prizes worldwide and performed at prestigious venues such as Carnegie Hall and the Mozarteum Salzburg. Sukaryo is a frequent jury member and recipient of multiple international teaching awards.

Daria Burlak

Germany

Born in Vladivostok, pianist and organist Daria Burlak studied at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory and later at the Cologne University of Music and the Detmold University of Music in Germany. She is a laureate of numerous international competitions, including prizes at the Tariverdiev, Chartres, and Canadian International Organ Competitions. As a soloist, she has performed in major venues such as the Mariinsky Concert Hall, Cologne Philharmonie, Essen Philharmonie, and cathedrals across Europe and North America. Known for her versatility and contemporary repertoire, she is also active as a teacher and juror.