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The black and the white are ready to fight. Two piano champions are on stage, one in black, the other in white. They perform, compete, and interact with the audience.

The "Piano Battle" concert show by Andreas Kern and Paul Cibis is a new concert format which presents classical music in a novel way. The two accomplished pianists compete against one another other with distinctly different performance styles, playing pieces by composers such as Chopin, Liszt and Debussy and improvised works based on audience requests. Both serious and humorous, the show consists of recital and interactive elements, and the audience plays an active part throughout the entire program. In the end, the audience is invited to vote on the pianists’ performances and choose the winner. 

Originally created for the Hong Kong City Festival in 2009, Piano Battle has been performed in several sold-out tours in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. The concert show celebrated its European premiere at the Piano City Berlin Festival in 2010.

Paul Cibis studied piano in Hanover and in London. As a collaborative pianist, he graduated from Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. From 2005 to 2009, Paul taught at Trinity College of Music in London and also conducted Lieder workshops at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts. He regularly gives workshops and master classes for pianists in Germany, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and South Korea.

Born in South Africa, Andreas Kern studied piano in Cologne and Berlin. As a soloist and chamber musician, he has extensive experience in Europe, Canada, Hong Kong, China, Japan, India and South Africa. He was also the architect of the Piano City Berlin festival 2010, which featured more than 100 piano performances held in Berlin within one weekend. Since then, Piano City has branched out to other cities such as Milan and Barcelona.

A reception follows the performance. Initiated by Friends of the Goethe-Institut Washington.