Harp and Flute Duet Concert

Luiza Mintsaeva, the harp soloist of the MusicAeterna Orchestra, graduated from the Tchaikovsky State Conservatory. With her extraordinary talent and striking stage presence, she has gained immense popularity online, becoming a viral sensation. She has won numerous prestigious awards, including First Prize at the Moscow International Concerto Competition, and is often praised as a rare combination of beauty and brilliance in the classical music world.

At this concert, Luiza will collaborate with renowned flutist Gergely Ittzes. Through harp and flute solos as well as duets, they will present a series of classical masterpieces by composers such as Debussy, Saint-Saëns, and Piazzolla, guiding the audience on a journey through time to experience the timeless charm of music.

Harp: Luiza Mintsaeva

Luiza Mintsaeva was born in Moscow, Russia, into a family of opera singers—both her parents were soloists at the Bolshoi Theatre. She began studying music at the age of four and chose the harp at nine. In 2014, she graduated from the Moscow State College of Musical Performance, studying harp under Professor Emilia Moskvitina, a People’s Artist of Russia. She later continued her studies at the Tchaikovsky State Conservatory under the same professor, while also conducting research in music psychology with Professor Marina Stachaus.

Luiza has received numerous awards, including First Prize at the International Concerto Competition in Moscow (2018), prizes at the 9th Savshinsky International Competition in St. Petersburg (2018), and the 19th Israel International Harp Competition (2015). She was also recognized by the “Creating the Future” Charitable Foundation for her contributions to Russian arts and education.

In 2021, she served as a jury member for the Rocky Mountain International Music Competition and the Red Maple Music Competition in Canada. In 2022, she was a juror at the first “Creative Sphere” International Competition in Moscow. Since 2016, she has been a guest soloist in the “Elements” project of the Nordic Pulse Ensemble conducted by Kristjan Järvi. In 2019, she became principal harpist of the Moscow State Academic Symphony Orchestra under Pavel Kogan.

Since 2022, she has also been a soloist at the Pushkin Nizhny Novgorod Opera Theatre and has collaborated with the La Voce Strumentale Orchestra under Dmitry Sinkovsky. In 2023, she joined the Moscow Contemporary Music Ensemble as a performer. From 2024, she became the harp soloist of the MusicAeterna Orchestra under the direction of Teodor Currentzis.

Flute: Gergely Ittzes

Gergely Ittzes graduated from the Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest. He is a soloist, chamber musician, and composer of numerous experimental flute works utilizing advanced techniques. His artistic vision bridges contemporary and traditional music. He is a founding member of the UMZE Chamber Ensemble and the founder of the TeTraVERSI Flute Quartet.

He has been invited to perform at major international flute festivals in cities such as Beijing, Brasília, Paris, New York, Manchester, Freiburg, and Tokyo, and made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2014. He has collaborated with artists including Magdalena Kožená, Heinz Holliger, Carol Wincenc, Robert Dick, Péter Eötvös, Miklós Perényi, Zoltán Kocsis, and Zoltán Rácz. As a soloist, he has performed with ensembles such as the Liszt Chamber Orchestra, Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra, Toronto Sinfonietta, Katowice Philharmonic Orchestra, and the New York Bach Players.

He has received numerous international awards, including the Grand Prize at the 2nd Alexander Tansman International Music Competition, the Franz Liszt Prize, and the Lajtha Award.

Ittzes has recorded more than 25 albums, covering Hungarian contemporary music, his own compositions, and transcriptions, as well as complete flute works by Pierre-Max Dubois, Eugène Walckiers, Boccherini, and Sigfrid Karg-Elert, including improvisational pieces. His recording project “The Great Flute Sonatas”, featuring all major flute sonatas in music history, was nominated among the top three for Best Album at the International Classical Music Awards in 2019.