Quick Facts
Biography
Ferhan Önder and Ferzan Önder (born in 1965) are Turkish identical twin sister classical pianists performing in duets.
They were born in Tokat, Turkey in 1965. At the age of seven, they moved to Ankara to study in the State Conservatory.
Their first international performance was in Terni, Italy, where they received the "Jury special award" in "Duo Piano" competitioni while they were only fourteen. Next, they won the "First Prize" at the International Piano Duo Competition in Hamburg, Germany. In 1985, after winning a competition, which led to a concert in Vienna, the twins decided to move to Austria, where they studied at the Academy of Music in Vienna with Noel Flores and Paul Badura-Skoda. In the academy, they also met Alfons Kontarsky, who became their mentor and a close friend until his death.
The twin sisters produced a number of CDs. Their CD Vivaldi Reflections, which had been released under the label EMI Records in 2001, won the "Echo Klassik Prize" of the German Phono Academy. Their next CD was 1001 Nights (EMI, 2003) with adaptations of Rimsky-Korsakov, Borodin, Balakirev and Mozart.
In 2003, they were appointed UNICEF good will ambassador.