About

Bulgarian pianist Marina Staneva was awarded the title Young Steinway Artist in 2020. Her debut album ‘Slavic Roots’ was released by Chandos Records in April 2022 and named Album of the Weekend on Radio Scala and Critic’s Choice in International Piano Magazine.

Marina has been praised for her ‘impressive performance’ (BBC Music Magazine), ‘superb pianism and sense of projection’ (Gramophone Magazine) and ‘fearsome technique and bravura emotionalism’ (Pianist Magazine). She has impressed critics with her ‘passion and commitment, bringing a wealth of colour’ (BBC Music Magazine), ‘careful crafted rubato, splendid technique and a tone that rings through from the quietest sections to the many, many thick-textured fortissimo passages’ (Rob Challinor) and acclaimed as ‘an artist of stature’ (Musical Opinion Magazine).

Marina was a 2019 Sam Hutchings Piano Prize Recipient, a 2018 Britten-Pears Young Artist and a full scholarship recipient at the Brancaleoni Festival, Italy in 2018.

Marina has performed at Wigmore Hall, Barbican Hall, Milton Court Concert Hall, the Royal Opera House and The Inner Temple in London, Liverpool Philharmonic and Britten Studio in Snape Maltings. She has recorded for Classic FM and took part in “The First Global Granados Marathon” broadcast live from Milton Court Concert Hall.

Marina has appeared at many festivals as a soloist and as a collaborative pianist - Oxenfoord International, Oxford Lieder, King’s Lynn, Lichfield Festival, The Holland International Music Sessions, London Contemporary Festival, Dopo il rumore - Italy, Brancaleoni Festival - Italy, ppIANISSIMO - Bulgaria and Varna Summer - Bulgaria, and has performed for the Pushkin House in London, Mendelssohn Foundation and the Schubert Society of Britain.

Marina completed her Masters and Advanced Diploma Degrees with Distinction followed by the Junior Fellowship at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London supported by the Guildhall Trust. She studied with Philip Jenkins, Pamela Lidiard and most recently with Alisdair Hogarth, the last of whom she considers her mentor. Prior to moving to London, Marina obtained her Bachelor Degree from the National Academy of Music in Sofia, Bulgaria where she studied with Stella Dimitrova-Maystorova and Iliya Chernaev.