About the Artists Praised for "demon precision and complete dedication" (Audio Society), the Lomazov/Rackers Piano Duo garnered wide attention as the Second Prize Winners of the Sixth Biennial Ellis Duo Piano Competition, the only national competition for piano duo in the United States at that time. Since then, they have performed as recitalists and in concert with orchestras throughout the United States and Europe, including performances at the Kiev International Music Festival, Gina Bachauer International Piano Festival, Indiana University Piano Festival, Seoul International Piano Festival, American Liszt Society Festival, Perugia International Music Festival, Varna International Piano Festival, Moulin d'Andé Arts Festival, Burgos International Music Festival, and Infiorata di Genzano, in addition to appearances in every region of the United States. Fanfare praises the duo for "a superb demonstration of piano playing" and American Record Guides writes "the ensemble between Lomazov and Rackers is dead on". Advocates for modern music for piano duo, they have premiered numerous works across the United States, including several compositions written specifically for them. Their broad repertoire ranges from important works by Bach, Brahms, Mozart and Schubert, to wide-ranging performances of Stravinsky's Rite of Spring and Petrushka, leading one critic to write that the duo "really lit up the audience . . . demonstrating that nearly 100 years after it was written, this modernist touchstone can still sound modern" (Columbia Free Times). Praised as a "diva of the piano" (Salt Lake City Tribune), Marina Lomazov has performed throughout the United States, Europe, South America and China. She has won prizes in the Gina Bachauer, Cleveland, William Kapell and Hilton Head International piano competitions, and was the first pianist to be awarded the Artist Diploma at the Eastman School of Music in nearly two decades. Lauded for "unflappable virtuosity" (American Record Guide), Joseph Rackers has appeared throughout the United States, Bulgaria, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and Ukraine at venues including the Shanghai and Sichuan Conservatories of Music, Dame Myra Hess Concert Series, Banff Center for the Arts, and Yantai International Music Festival, among others. He is a recipient of the Performer's Certificate from the Eastman School of Music. Lomazov and Rackers met at the Eastman School of Music where they both earned the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Piano Performance. After serving on the faculty of the University of South Carolina for nearly 20 years, they have been invited to join the piano faculty at their alma mater as professors of piano. They have cofounded and for 20 years served as artistic directors of the Southeastern Piano Festival. Currently, they are coartistic directors of the Vivace International Foundation. Lomazov and Rackers are Steinway Artists.