Lisitsa & Kuznetsoff, a no gimmick, Ukranian piano-duo will bring a little marital musical harmony to the second performance in the Bermuda Festival line-up tonight at the City Hall Theatre.

Pianists Valentina Lisitsa and Alexei Kuznetsoff first met as struggling students at the Kiev Conservatory. They found they had a lot in common as they both had solo aspirations and each were winners of national and international solo competitions. After falling in love, they combined their formidable talents, working as a two-piano team with the revered Dr. Ludmilla Tsvierko in Kiev.

"Before we met, playing duo piano never occurred to me," said Mr. Kuznetsoff in a 1996 interview with The Atlanta Journal.

In 1990, after only a few weeks of preparation, Lisitsa and Kuznetsoff captured the first prize at the Ukranian Chamber Music Competition.

The turning point in their careers came in 1991 when the duo was awarded the first prize in the International Murray Dranoff Two Piano Competition in Miami when they awed audience, jurors and critics alike. Shortly afterwards, seeing an abundance of opportunities in America that did not exist in the Soviet Union, Lisitsa and Kuznetsoff made their home in the United States and became American citizens.

They came to the United States with an impressive list of competition prizes and are winning critical acclaim in their new home as gifted artists making a genuine contribution to the seldom-heard literature for two pianos.

They have received a number of favourable reviews. When the couple made their New York debut at the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra in the summer of 1995, James Oestreich of The New York Times wrote "Ms Lisitsa and Mr. Kuznetsoff utterly transcend the gimmickry of multiple pianos with rare artistry. They virtually stole the evening."

John von Rhein of the Chicago Tribune called their technique "colossal" and their ensemble "virtually flawless".

"I cannot recall when I have heard a more exciting or more accomplished two-piano team," wrote Mr. Rhein.

For more information contact the Bermuda Festival Office at 295-1291 or check out their website at www.bermudafestival.com .

Lisitsa & Kuznetsoff perform tonight and tomorrow night at City Hall Theatre at 8 p.m.