ST-Duo Piano

ST-DUO (Sofya Sakhnova and Antonina Luzhko) is among the most distinctive piano ensembles of the younger generation. The duo performs both well-known works by composers of past centuries and music by contemporary composers, while also presenting original arrangements of masterpieces from the classical repertoire.

Confident ensemble partnership, impeccable coordination, stage charisma, and a distinctive artistic identity set Sofya and Antonina apart from other young performers. Both pianists are graduates of the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music.

Continuing the long-standing tradition of piano duo performance—one of the most beloved genres throughout music history—the artists offer carefully curated and conceptually designed concert programmes for both professional audiences and music enthusiasts. Their performances are often complemented by choreographic elements, creating refined musical-theatrical productions. The ensemble’s repertoire includes original works for piano duo by composers of various eras, as well as the duo’s own transcriptions.

Sofya Sakhnova and Antonina Luzhko graduated from the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music. The duo made its debut in October 2016 at the Academy’s Concert Hall.

Among the most significant milestones in the ensemble’s artistic career are:

a solo recital at an international festival in Dubai, UAE, within the framework of the Middle East Classical Music Academy (2021);
performances at the presentation ceremonies of the Themis Higher Legal Award (Vysshaya Yuridicheskaya Premiya “Femida”) in 2021 and 2022;
a performance at the ceremony marking the conferment of the Order of the Star of Italy (Ordine della Stella d’Italia) in 2021;
a major concert tour across Russia organised for the duo by the European Foundation for Support of Culture (EUFSC) during the 2021–2022 season.
Since 2022, the duo has participated in the 16th, 18th, and 19th editions of Denis Matsuev’s International Music Festival Stars on Baikal in Irkutsk.

In 2024, the duo made its debut at Denis Matsuev’s Dialogue of Generations Festival, performing in Ufa, Samara, and Pskov.

In both 2024 and 2025, ST-DUO gave solo recitals as part of the Symphonic Middle East Festival at the Zabeel Theatre in Dubai, UAE.

In June 2024, the duo was awarded a grant from the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives for the project Preservation and Promotion of the Russian Piano Ensemble Performance Tradition of the Gnessin School.

In November 2024, ST-DUO participated in the Eurasian Stars Musical Festival held in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

The piano duo has performed under the baton of such distinguished conductors as Yury Medyanik, Maksim Kachalov, Alexei Rubin, Sergey Sviridov, Alexey Galea Cavallazzi (Malta), Ivan Nikiforchin, Denis Vlasenko, Dmitry Kryukov, Alibek Kabdurakhmanov (Uzbekistan), Anton Shnitkin, Alexei Smirnov, Yury Tkachenko, and Vladimir Stachinsky.

The duo has appeared with numerous orchestras, including the Tyumen Symphony Orchestra (2022), the V. I. Safonov Academic Symphony Orchestra of the North Caucasus State Philharmonic (2023), the Irkutsk Governor’s Symphony Orchestra (2023, 2024), the Art of Music Chamber Orchestra (2024), the State Symphony Orchestra of the Republic of Bashkortostan (2024), the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Samara Philharmonic Society(2024), the Pskov Region Governor’s Symphony Orchestra (2024), the National Symphony Orchestra of Uzbekistan(2024), the Far Eastern Academic Symphony Orchestra in Khabarovsk (2025), the Trans-Ural Symphony Orchestrain Kurgan (2025), the Orenburg State Symphony Orchestra (2025), and the State Chamber Orchestra of the Mordovian Philharmonic Society in Saransk (2025).

Sofya Sakhnova and Antonina Luzhko regularly perform at prestigious venues, including the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, the concert halls of the Gnessin Russian Academy of Music, and in numerous cities throughout Russia, Europe, and Asia.

ST-DUO is a laureate of several international competitions, including the 8th Maria Yudina International Piano Ensemble Competition (St Petersburg, 2017), the 6th Taneyev International Chamber Ensemble Competition, where the duo also received the Yamaha Special Prize for Best Piano Duo (Kaluga–Moscow, 2017), the 28th Roma International Piano Competition (Rome, Italy, 2018), and the MEDICI International Music Competition (London, United Kingdom, 2022).

Sofya and Antonina have collaborated with the charitable foundations New Names Foundation founded by Denis Matsuev, the Vladimir Spivakov International Charity Foundation, the Yury Rozum Charity Foundation, as well as the Open Sea Foundation, the Arithmetic of Kindness Foundation, and the European Foundation for Support of Culture (EUFSC).

ST-DUO actively collaborates with contemporary composers and regularly performs their works. The ensemble’s repertoire includes compositions by Alexander Rosenblatt, Alexey Shor, Alsu Mukhametrakhimova, and Georgs Pelēcis.