Dúo del Valle

After their triumph at the prestigious ARD International Music Competition (Munich, 2005), the brothers Víctor and Luis del Valle (Vélez-Málaga) were quickly recognised as one of the most brilliant chamber-music ensembles in Europe. Since then, they have forged a solid international career.

Their activities include performances at prestigious venues such as the Auditorio Nacional de Música in Madrid; the Palau de la Música Catalana and Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona; the Auditorio de Zaragoza; the Palau de la Música in Valencia; the Dom Musiki Auditorium in Moscow; the Herkulessaal and Gasteig in Munich; Liederhalle in Stuttgart; Congress Centrum in Hannover; the Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord in Paris; the National Theatre in Panama; the Teatro Metropolitano in Medellín, Colombia; Seoul Ilshin Hall in South Korea; Finlandia Hall and the Finnish National Opera in Helsinki; and the Estonia Konsertdisaal in Tallinn.

Numerous international juries have praised their work as a duo. In addition to taking top honours at the ARD competition in Munich, they were awarded at the Concours Européen Musiques d’Ensemble (Paris) and the Dranoff International Two Piano Competition in Miami (USA). In addition, they won the Silver Medal at the El Primer Palau competition organised by Palau de la Música de Cataluña. They were also declared winners and awarded a special prize for the best Mozart performance at the Bialystok International Piano Duo Competition (Poland) and were chosen for the audience award at the Central European Music Festival (Žilina, Slovakia), which features the winners of the most relevant international competitions, such as the Queen Elisabeth Competition, Tchaikovsky Competition, among others.

The have performed with prominent orchestras such as the Spanish National Orchestra, RTVE Orchestra, Royal Symphony Orchestra of Seville, Bilbao Orkestra Sinfonikoa, Galician Symphony Orchestra, Galician Philharmonic, Jove National Orchestra of Catalonia (JONC), Siemens Chamber Orchestra of the Reina Sofía Superior School of Music, Symphony Orchestra of the Principality of Asturias, Bialystok Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Munich Chamber Orchestra, SWR Symphony Orchestra of Stuttgart, and the Helsinki Philharmonic. They have been conducted by distinguished maestros including Bogdan Oledzki, Howard Griffiths, James Ross, Ralf Gothoni, Peter Csaba, Juanjo Mena, Yakov Kreizberg, Antoni Ros Marbá, André de Ridder, Guillermo García Calvo, and Okko Kamu.

Always eager to disseminate Spanish music, the siblings Víctor and Luis del Valle have recorded compositions of Tomás Marco with the Málaga Philharmonic Orchestra and conductor Nacho de Paz. They have also collaborated with the Galicia Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Maximino Zumalave in the recording of a CD featuring unknown works by Galician composer José Arriola. The recording was released on the Brilliant label in 2019.

In addition, they have recorded for state-owned television broadcaster TVE, the Radio Clásica channel of state-owned radio broadcaster RNE, Catalunya Radio, BR (Bayerischer Rundfunk), SWR (Südwestrundfunk), Rádio Klasika (Slovakia) and for recording company SONY MUSIC-Spain. In the wake of the success of their CD, ‘Impulse,’ released by IBS Classical, they have a new recording on the same label featuring works by W. A. Mozart and F. Poulenc, performed with the Castile and León Symphony Orchestra and conducted by Pablo González. A new CD is slated for release in 2026, featuring works by B. Bartók, M. Ravel, and J. Corigliano.

Committed to making classical music available to the general public, they created ‘2 Pianos con Pasión’ with singer Pasión Vega. The show, which combines music and theatre, met with great success throughout Spain, drawing over 40,000 spectators.

Music critics have described them as ‘prodigious’: ‘Sonic beauty, virtuosity (…) in their exceptional innovation of piano skill.’ (El País). ‘…Brothers Luis and Víctor del Valle broke the sound barrier with Ravel’s Valse, achieving magical tones.’ (Alerta, Santander). ‘….Magnificent interpretation of Víctor and Luis del Valle. Splendid and masterful virtuosity, combined with unprecedented exposure to risk and exceptional style, become one in these two musicians. (…) Sounds that take your breath away. (…) One seldom hears works of Mozart played so convincingly’ (Stuttgarter Zeitung), and ‘They made two simple grand pianos sound like the Vienna Philharmonic’ (Panamá América- Epasa). ‘… These magnificent pianists respect styles and techniques but also make it very clear that they have their voice: young and daring, full of life and humour, expressive and brimming with musicality.’ (La provincia. Diario de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria).

Víctor and Luis del Valle studied at the Reina Sofía School of Music under the guidance of Dimitri Bashkirov and Claudio Martínez Mehner. Their education in chamber music continued with Márta Gulyás, Eldar Nebolsin and Ralf Gothóni, with the support of Fundación Málaga at all times. They have taken counsel from Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Katia and Marielle Labèque, Ferenc Rados, Menahem Pressler, Zoltán Kocsis, Daniel Barenboim and Martha Argerich, among other artists of great distinction.

Currently, Víctor and Luis combine their artistic activities with their teaching careers at the Higher Conservatory of Music in Málaga and the Conservatory of Music Teresa Berganza in Madrid. Both are frequently invited to give piano and chamber music masterclasses in Spain as well as abroad.

The regional government of the Autonomous Community of Andalusia has given them the Premio Málaga Joven award for their promotion of Málaga abroad, and the Vélez-Málaga town council has bestowed on them the “Escudo de Oro” award for taking the town’s name to some of the most important venues in Spain and around the world.