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Michelle Naughton

About this Artist

CHRISTINA AND MICHELLE NAUGHTON have been hailed by the San Francisco Examiner for their “stellar musicianship, technical mastery, and awe-inspiring artistry.” The Naughtons made their European debut at Herkulessaal in Munich, where the Sueddeutsche Zeitung proclaimed them “an outstanding piano duo.” They made their Asian debut with the Hong Kong Philharmonic, where the Sing Tao Daily said of their performance “Joining two hearts and four hands at two grand pianos, the Naughton sisters created an electrifying and moving musical performance.” They have captivated audiences throughout the globe with the unity created by their mystical musical communication; in their own words “There are times I forget we are two people playing together.”

Highlights from the Naughtons’ 2015/2016 season include performances presented by the New World Symphony, the Los Angeles Philharmonic at Walt Disney Concert Hall, at the Classic Festival and the Bonlieu Scène Nationale in Annecy, France, at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, and at the Grand Teton Music Festival. In addition to recital tours of Latin America and China, the sisters appear with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado São Paulo, the Netherlands Philharmonic, l’Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, the Frankfurter Opern- and Museumsorchester, and the Atlanta Symphony.

Orchestral engagements include appearances with the Philadelphia Orchestra; the Houston, Milwaukee, New Jersey, North Carolina, Nashville, Virginia, Hawaii, Maryland, Toledo, Delaware, El Paso, Napa Valley, Wichita, Tulsa, Gulf Coast, and Madison symphonies; the Buffalo Philharmonic, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Cleveland’s Red Orchestra, Chicago’s Ars Viva Symphony Orchestra, and Erie Philharmonic; as well as with ensembles such as the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Royal Flemish Philharmonic in Belgium, Solistes Européens Luxembourg, Hamburg Chorus, Kiel Philharmonic, and Norddeutsche Philharmonie Rostock. Past and future seasons feature collaborations under the batons of conductors such as Stéphene Denève, Edo de Waart, Charles Dutoit, JoAnn Falletta, Giancarlo Guerrero, Emanuel Krivine, Cristian Macelaru, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, and Michael Stern.

Christina and Michelle’s recitals include venues in America such as the Kennedy Center’s Terrace Theater, New York City’s Naumburg Orchestral Concert Series at the historic Naumburg Bandshell (Central Park) and Le Poisson Rouge, the Schubert Club in St. Paul, Boston’s Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, the Wharton Center, Houston’s Cullen Theater, South Orange Performing Arts Center, the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach, Ramsey Hall in Athens, and Rockefeller University; as well as on series such as the Fortas Chamber Music Festival, Detroit Chamber Music Series, Harriman Jewell Series, Steinway Society-The Bay Area, Artist Series of Sarasota, UAB Piano Series, Chamber Music San Francisco Series, Louisville’s Speed Museum Series, and Kingston Chamber Music Festival.

European recital highlights for the Naughtons include the Parc du Château de Florans at France’s La Roque d’Anthéron Festival, the Sociedad de Conciertos de Valencia in Spain, Zurich’s Tonhalle, Prague’s Strings of Autumn Festival, Klavierfestival Ruhr, Rheingau Musik Festival, Dresden’s Musikfestpiele, Kissinger Sommer, Berlin’s Kammermusiksaal, Munich’s Herkulessaal, Dusseldorf ’s Tonhalle, Hannover’s Kleiner Sendesaal, Ingoldstadt’s Konzertverein, Reutlingen’s Freidrich-List-Halle, Pullach’s Bürgerhaus, and the Bremen Music Festival.

The Naughtons recorded their first album in the Sendesaal in Bremen, Germany; it was released worldwide in Fall 2012 by Orfeo. The album has been praised by Der Spiegel for “stand(ing) out with unique harmony, and sing(ing) out with stylistic confidence,” and described by ClassicsToday as a “Dynamic Duo Debut.” Their performances have been broadcast on American Public Media’s Performance Today, Sirius XM Satellite Radio, New York’s WQXR, Chicago’s WFMT, Philadelphia’s WHYY, Boston’s WQED, Atlanta’s WABE, Hong Kong’s RTHK, Latvia’s Latvijas Radio 3, Netherland’s Radio 4 Concerthuis; and Germany’s Bayerischen Rundfunks, Nordwest-RadioBremen, and WDR and NDR Radio.