Shani Diluka

“Referred to as a performer “out of norm” (Le Figaro), blessed with “winged virtuosity” (Classica), Shani Diluka builds a bridge between the Western and Eastern worlds. Born in Monaco to Sri Lankan parents, she was discovered at the age of six through a programme established by Princess Grace of Monaco. Then she was selected to participate in a specialized programme implemented by the Academy of Prince Rainier III in the Monaco Principality, receiving tuition from Dubravka Kovacevich. Later on, she entered the Paris National Conservatory (CNSMDP), from where she graduated with a unanimous first prize, surrounded by professors B. Rigutto, G. Pludermacher, M.-F. Bucquet and J. Cheminé who gave her advice. In 2005, she enrolled in the Lake Como Foundation chaired by Martha Argerich. This was a particularly prolific period during which she met such great masters as Leon Fleisher, Maria Joao Pires, Menahem Pressler and Murray Perahia.

A guest soloist with many orchestras, she regularly collaborates with great conductors such as Lawrence Foster, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Ludovic Morlot, Eivind Gullberg Jensen or Gábor Takács-Nagy and she appears in prestigious venues such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Teatro La Fenice in Venice, the Sala Sao Paulo, the Mozarteum in Salzburg, the Vienna Konzerthaus as well as the Ravinia festival in Chicago, the Verbier festival and the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées. Her name features in several books and CDs intended to the younger generation, released by publishing houses such as Didier, Hachette, La Dolce Volta. She also spends her time working on literary collaborations with major names of the French cinema: Sophie Marceau, Gérard Depardieu, Hippolyte Girardot and Charles Berling.

Her solo recordings of works by Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Schubert and Grieg have won multiple awards (5 Diapasons, Choc de la musique, RTL d’Or, Choice of Arte, Mezzo, Vogue Japan, Gramophone, Fanfare USA, …). Besides, she recorded the official CD of the 2014 Folle Journée entitled “Road 66” and featuring American avant-garde music. She also recorded the album “Symphonie des Oiseaux” and recently the complete works for cello and piano by Beethoven with Valentin Erben, the Alban Berg quartet cellist. All are original and successful projects widely acclaimed by the critics.

The year 2018 was also marked by the release of her first poetry album published by Art3. Her poems were inserted into the list of the French Academy awards. Among her forthcoming projects, Shani is currently working on a new programme entitled “Cosmos”, where she emphasizes the links between Beethoven and Indian music, whose mysticism historically inspired the Viennese composer. This project will lead in 2020 to a co-production with the Philharmonie de Paris for Beethoven’s Year, a documentary that will feature H. Grimaud, N. Freire, F. Say and Daniil Trifonov, among others…