Anna von Urbans has performed in the United States, Canada, and many European countries, appearing at international festivals and musical events such as The Masterclass Chamber Music Festival (Denmark), XI International Music Tournament (Belgium), Charity Concert at CAPE Ettelbruck (Luxembourg), Festival de Musique at Nobressart (Belgium), 40th International Piano Festival (Poland), various concerts at the Rudolph Ganz Hall and the Grand Park Petrillo Shell in Chicago, as well as the Chicago Cultural Center, the Zipper Concert Hall and Schoenberg Hall in Los Angeles. Her performances have been heard on the classical radio stations in America and in Europe. Aside from her solo carrier she has collaborated with established chamber groups, including the Contemporary Arts Ensemble (New York), Ensemble Resonanz (Hamburg), Ganz Piano Trio (Chicago), Pas de Deux Piano Duo (Los Angeles).

After winning numerous national and international competitions she has received grants from the Nicholas Petterson Fund, fellowship from the Societe Luxembourgeoise de Musique Contemporaine and the Fulbright Scholarship. Ms. von Urbans’ teachers have included Pawel Checinski (Chicago College of Performing Arts at the Roosevelt University, Chicago), Donald Walker (Northern Illinois University), Ruth Laredo (Manhattan School of Music, New York), and composer John Corigliano (The Juilliard School, New York). For the past several year Ms. von Urbans has been focused on a piano duo repertoire with specialty in contemporary music. Currently she resides in Los Angeles.

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AVU FOUNDATION

In light of her interest in a piano duo ensemble, in 2006 Anna von Urbans has created

THE  AVU  “ARTISTS – VISION – UNIVERSE”  FOUNDATION.

The goal of the the Foundation is to create a bridge between the old and the new; between the classics and the contemporary; between various platforms of art. The idea came from combining two pianos with other instruments (some built for a given performance) and voices; video installations; film; architecture; choreography and visual arts. The logistics and the differences in the language of all these artistic media presents a fantastic challenge. However, the underlined motivation is simple: to expand the repertoire heard in concert halls and inspire music that has no labels, no barriers by creating a dynamic musical vehicle that could communicate meaningfully with a wide array of audiences and finding innovative ways of connecting great classical traditions with original expressions suited to the present generation of listeners.

AVU foundation, has been established also to further promote commissions of new pieces for this genre, foster research, education and development in this field and advance awareness among composers and the general public for this art form. In a wider sense the Foundation endeavors to provide a platform for cooperation, experimentation and exchange among musicians and artists of all genres.

The foundation is currently working with composers Tomas Endus, David Karpel, Dave Mann, Jacek Voss.

Recent projects included Cottes Netteroon´s transcriptions, by Tomas Endus, which were presented at Centre Pompidou in Paris, in May 2007 ,with videos work from Carl Rossen. The “Suite Espagnole”, with the Flamenco dancer, Nicola Ruriell, presented in concerts in Spain and Germany in spring 2007.

The season 2008/2009 has brought a variety of repertoire and international performances: The all Ravel piano duo extravaganza played with a Polish pianist, Kordian Gora, took place in Slupsk, Poland during the international piano festival. The arrangement for two pianos of Leonard Bernstein’s “West Side Story” is scheduled to be performed by Anna and her piano partner, Maria Demina, in the Bing Theater of Los Angeles County Museum, and broadcast live on the radio in September 2009. Her collaboration with Italian pianists is schedule to take place during festivals “I Fiori della Musica” in Italy in October 2009. An American premiere of a 4 pianos piece by a Dutch composer Simeon ten Holt “Canto Ostinato” is in works to be perform in the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.

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REPERTOIRE

Pieces for four hands:

BRAHMS -16 Waltzes op. 39
                   -Hungarian Dances
                   -Variations on the Schumann’s theme op. 23

DEBUSSY -Petite Suite

GRIEG -Norwegian Dances op. 35

MENDELSSOHN -A Midsummer Night’s Dream

POULENC -Sonate

RAVEL -Ma mere l’Oye
               -Rapsodie Espagnole

SCHUBERT -Fantasy in F minor D 940

Pieces for two pianos (and more):

BERNSTEIN -Symphonic dances from West Side Story

BAILHE -Les mains du Diable

BRAHMS -Variations on the Haydn’s theme op. 56b
                    -Sonata op. 34b

BRITTEN -Mazurka elegiata

COPLAND -Rodeo

GERSHWIN -Porgy and Bess
                         -Three Preludes

LUTOSLAWSKI -Paganini Variations

MILHAUD -Scaramouche

PIAZZOLLA -Le Grand Tango

POULENC -Sonate 1953

RACHMANINOV -Suite fantasy no. 1 in G-minor op.5

RAVEL  -La Valse
                -Bolero
                -Rapsodie Espagnole

SHOSTAKOVITCH  -Tarantella op. 97
                                       -Concertino op. 94

STARER -The Fringes of a Ball

STRAVINSKY -Concerto for two pianos

TEN HOLT -Canto Ostinato for 4 pianos

WILBERG -Carmen variations for 8 hands

Pieces with orchestra:

POULENC -Concerto for two pianos and orchestra

SAINT-SAENS -Le carnval des animaux