https://pianomagazine.online/en/bizjak-piano-duo-repertoire-for-two-pianos-and-for-piano four-hands/
Belgrade-born Lidija and Sanja Bizjak studied with Zlata Maleš before joining Jacques Rouvier’s class at the Paris Conservatoire several years later.
After initially pursuing careers as soloists, in 2002 they launched also their duo career performing with the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra and winning two special prizes at the ARD Munich Piano Duo competition in 2005.
Popular with audiences in France, they have gone on to perform at the Auditorium de Radio France, Musée d’Orsay, Cité de la musique and Salle Gaveau in Paris, at the festivals like Roque d’Anthéron, Auvers-sur-Oise, La Folle Journée in Nantes, Ekaterinburg and in Japan, Palazzetto Bru Zane in Venice, Bozar in Brussels, Royal Albert Hall in London, …
They regularly perform with orchestras such as Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestre National de France, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Orchestre Philharmonique de Marseille, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Symphonic orchestra of Wuhan, Sinfonia Varsovia, Orchestre Philharmonique de Liège, Stuttgarter Philharmoniker…
Bizjak piano duo’s highlights include Debut in BBC Proms in London with « Le Carnaval des Animaux » with the Britten Sinfonia, Stravinsky’s Petrushka & Rite of the Spring CD for Mirare and Martinu’s and Poulenc’s concertos with Stuttgart Philharmonic for Onyx, both highly acclaimed in the Europeen press (ffff Télérama, Gramophone, BBC Music magazine..)
« Brilliant sound, precise fingerwork and excellent listning skills » Independent (Anna Picard)
« Excellent Serbian sisters, both are hughely talented and displayed wit and intelligence » Classical source (Colin Clarke)
« Brethtakingly fine and delicate, not a hint of circus act. If concert promoters want to book a pair of piano-playing sisters, now they know where to go » Telegraph (Damian Thompson)
"The Serbian-born sisters Lidija and Sanja Bizjak have devised a clever programme, pairing two concertos for two pianos and orchestra with two works for two pianos alone. Martinů’s music sparkles under the Bizjaks’ fingers… In the Poulenc Double Concerto, the soloists and the Stuttgart Philharmonic under Radoslaw Szulc bring all the fun of the fair to the exuberant opening movement…Argerich and Zilberstein gave us a spectacular live performance of Shostakovich’s Concertino, but this one too has a vibrancy and panache as the young pair whoop it up in the Allegro’s Russian-style boogie-woogie...The Bizjaks are perfectly attuned to the stop-start nature of that amorphous tune in the first movement of Stravinsky’s Sonata...A disc that looks like it will be coming round for further mentions in the Awards season." Adrian Edwards, Gramophone
“This marvellous and glaring CD (cf. Their Stravinsky CD), made us wonder how the duo could possibly repeat this recording masterstroke. Two pianos, four hands, one virtuosity: the Bizjak sisters take the listener away, while revealing one of Martinu's most unknown score.” Gilles Macassar, ffff Télérama
"An excellent programme of 20th-century pieces for two pianos from this impressive duo of sisters. The lively textures and contrasts, bound to life, with grit and delicacy. » BBC Music Magazine
"Fizz, froth and high jinks characterise this album of music for two pianos. The Concerto for two pianos written by the Czech composer Bohuslav Martinu in 1943, early in his US exile, is breezy and busy. Francis Poulenc described his 1932 Concerto as “gay and direct”, and its many borrowed flavours include an imitation of a Balinese gamelan. The concertos frame pieces for two unaccompanied pianos. Stravinsky’s Sonata, also written in 1943, grew from a solo piece into a work for four hands. In 1953, Shostakovich wrote his Concertino for his teenage son Maxim, making it sound more difficult than it is. Serbian sisters Lidija and Sanja Bizjak and the Stuttgart orchestra play this cheery selection with brio. » Michael Dervan, The Irish Times
"Now comes an absolute belter from the Serbian sisters Sanja and Lidija Bizjak, whose reputation is soaring: they've already appeared at the Royal Albert Hall Proms playing Carnival Of The Animals, and are noted for the electrifying immediacy of their playing. But the compelling feature on their new recording, the dazzling playing apart, is the repertoire itself. Nothing on the playlist is staple material: everything is fresh. Poulenc's Concerto For Two Pianos, where the sisters are joined are joined by the Stuttgart Philharmonic and conductor Radoslaw Szulc, gets an occasional outing, but the rest - a bracing collection with Shostakovich's Concertino For Two Pianos, Stravinsky's Sonata For Two Pianos and Martinu's Concerto For Two Pianos And Orchestra - languish in obscurity." Michael Tumelt, The Herald Scotland
"It is rare to find a single CD release with such fascinating twentieth-century repertoire as this. It comes from the Bizjak Piano Duo making its debut release on Onyx. These impressive sisters are on blistering form and play with intelligence, liveliness and considerable.” Michael Cookson, MusicWeb International
"Wonderful stuff - an exciting, breezy recording. The mercurial outer movements (Martinu) are thrilling and sensationally played here by Lidija and Sanja Bizjak, flipping between percussive aggression and melting lyricism without breaking a sweat. Stravinsky’s euphonious Sonata for two pianos receives a witty, taut performance, the central movement’s variation theme nicely deadpan. A magnificently enjoyable disc. » Graham Rickson, The Art Desk.com