“IT WAS IMMEDIATELY APPARENT TO ME, FROM THE VERY FIRST TIME I HEARD THEM, THAT THESE TWO HAD THAT MAGIC EXTRA SOMETHING AS A DUO. TOGETHER, THEY BECOME MORE THAN TWICE AS GOOD.”

– James Anagnoson, Dean of the Glenn Gould School

Although they first met as competitors, the initial spark of connection between Linda Ruan and Charissa Vandikas has grown into a steady flame. Now they are fast friends and performing partners, joining forces as the one piano four hands duo La Fiammata. The result is a firecracker of performance, with the poetry of Vandikas’ playing contrasting Ruan’s explosion of energy. La Fiammata has made an impression on the musical world, taking second place in the 70th ARD International Music Competition in Munich.

The program is a musical dialogue about the importance of community, connection and shared experience, in a blend of contemporary and established landmarks for piano four hands. Love Letters to Humanity opens with Beethoven’s light-hearted reflection on friendship, continues with meditations influenced by nature and the spaces we occupy, and concludes with contrasting furious and romantic selections by Franz Schubert.

La Fiammata were Grand Prix winners of the 2017 Canadian Music Competitions Grand Prix, and took first place at the North-West International Piano Ensemble Competition as well as top prizes at the Suzana Szorenyi International Piano Duo Competition in Romania. The duo has been featured on CBC Radio’s In Concert show, and premiered Canadian works including Julia Mermelstein’s “density swells upclose in breath.”

Praised for their “dizzying musicality” by Süddeutsche Zeitung, La Fiammata is a flame which will continue to blaze brighter.