Yuka Munehisa-Demenga and Coco Schwarz (formerly known as Samuel Fried) are the members of the Arte Animi pianoduo. Together, they have performed for over 15 years, delivering more than 600 concerts across Europe, Asia and America including major concert venues such as the Carnegie Hall in New York and Suntory Hall in Tokyo. They played as soloists, inter alia, with the Southwest German Philharmonic the Concerto for two pianos from Poulenc. Their concerts have been broadcast by numerous radio and TV stations. The documentary “La vie en bi” about one of the piano duo’s japan tour was released 2019.
Along with their studies in Lausanne, Bern, Paris, Brussels and Japan the Duo gained additional momentum through their collaboration with Aleksandar Madzar, Brigitte Meyer and Christoph Poppen.
Yuka Munehisa-Demenga and Coco Schwarz are the winners of more than a dozen 1. prizes including the European Mendelssohn Competition, the “Music & Earth” International Competition in Sofia, the International Competition Euterpe and the IBLA Grand Prize International Music Competition. Many times they’ve won as well the Audience Award.
Munehisa-Demenga and Schwarz regularly give master classes and have been invited to serve as jury members in international competitions.
The international press have referred to the Duo as “a major discovery in the world of classical music,” and named it as a “Duo with world-class form.” “The Arte Animi pianoduo impresses the listener with its sensitivity to musical phrases, thrilling temperament and consistency in presenting musical ideas. Their playing is inspired and sensitive in its expression.”
The piano duo was named to be an ensemble in the exclusive circle of Steinway Artists.