Igor and Olga
[piano duet]

Olga Kharitonova began playing the piano at the age of six and studied and the State College of Music in Moscow. She went on to gain her Masters' degree after further study at the Moscow Conservatorium.

Igor Machlak was born in Belarus and after graudating from the State College of Music in Minsk, continued his study at the Moscow Conservatorium, where he obtained a Diploma with Distinction.

After their marriage it seemed natural to the young copuple to add musical harmony to their domestic harmony, and they formed a piano duo team. They spent two years of postgraduate study as a duo under the guidance of Professor Tigran Alikhanov. Over the past years they have been prize winners at several competitions including first prizes at the All-Russian Balakirev Competition in 1990, the international Musica da Camera competition in Italy in 1991 and the International Piano Duo Competition in Japan in 1994. These successes led to concert invitations in Italy, Bulgaria, Hungary, Germany and Japan as well as numerous tours in Russia. Many television and radio broadcastsd have been made of their recitals, at which they often play their own transcriptions of popular works - one of which itself won a prize at the Internatioanl Composers Competition in Japan.

The duo moved to Australia in 1995 and have since given many recitals, to very high critical acclaim.