La Fiammata in Concert – 1 piano, 1 hour, 4 hands
Knox United Church warmly welcomes La Fiammata to the sanctuary for what promises to be an outstanding matinee performance: 1 Piano – 1 Hour – 4 Hands.
Experience profound Romantic era music by Rachmaninov, Schubert, Chaminade and Saint-Saëns, performed by two of Canada’s most awarded and dynamic young pianists.
La Fiammata formed in Toronto, where Linda Ruan and Charissa Vandikas were both full scholarship students of The Glenn Gould School. They quickly emerged as one of the most promising young duos in the world. Praised for their “dizzying musicality”, they’ve since played with orchestras in Europe and North America, and have performed across Canada. They’ve also been featured on CBC’s In Concert, where radio host Paolo Pietropaolo attested that “[one] can “practically hear the electricity crackling between [the two pianists]” as they perform.
This performance is a don’t-miss! All proceeds will support Linda and Charissa’s education and travel costs.
Tickets: By donation at the door – cash or card.
Parking: Plenty of free parking on the street and at the back of the building.
Accessibility: The Knox sanctuary is fully accessible. Look for the north-west entrance (facing Balaclava Street). Assistive hearing devices are available on request.
Praised for their “dizzying musicality”, Canadian piano duo La Fiammata are the Second Prize winners, the Henle Urtext Prize winners and the youngest piano duo finalists of the 70th ARD International Music Competition.
Since their formation, La Fiammata has emerged as one of the most promising young duos in the world. As the Grand Prix Winners of the Canadian Music Competition, La Fiammata made its orchestral debut with Orchestre de la Francophonie and conductor Nicolas Ellis in 2017. Since then, they’ve performed with orchestras in Europe and North America and in performances across Canada. They’ve also been featured on CBC’s In Concert, where radio host Paolo Pietropaolo attested that “[one] can practically hear the electricity crackling between [the two pianists].” They have also been featured on BR24 Rundschau (Bavarian Radio), Art Channel Romania, and EnjoyTV Romania. The duo was named the RBC Stockey Young Artists at the Festival of the Sound and the Youth Ambassadors for the 60th anniversary of the Canadian Music Competition.
La Fiammata is eager to explore the potential of the piano duo instrumentation while supporting the Canadian voices of their generation. In May of 2019, they won a commission sponsored by the Ontario Arts Council and premiered “density swells up close in breath” by Canadian composer Julia Mermelstein. They’re honoured to have given among the first performances of works for two pianos and four hands by Vassos Nicolaou, Sebastian Androne, and Stefan Young. One of the highlights of the 2023-2024 season was presenting an exciting new work commissioned for them by the celebrated Canadian composer Kelly-Marie Murphy across the country.
This duo was formed in Toronto where they were both full scholarship students of The Glenn Gould School. During this time, they primarily worked with James Anagnoson of the renowned Anagnoson-Kinton Duo. They have also received coaching from Anagnoson-Kinton Duo, Emanuel Ax, Hung-Kuan Chen, Corey Hamm, John O’Conor, and Jean Saulnier.
Currently, Linda studies at the University of British Columbia School of Music with Dr. Corey Hamm and Charissa at the University of Montréal with Jean Saulnier and Charles Richard-Hamelin.
Date
- Sunday 12 Apr 2026
Time
Doors Open at 2:30 & Performance Starts 3pm- 2:30 pm
Location
- 5590 Balaclava St, Vancouver, BC V6N 1L1