Christina and Michelle Naughton are

twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of Twin Last Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two ...

sisters and an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

piano duo.

Early life and education

Christina and Michelle Naughton were born in

Princeton, New Jersey The Municipality of Princeton is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States. It was established on January 1, 2013, through the consolidation of the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, Borough of Princeton and Pri ...

, on September 2, 1988, to parents of European and Chinese ancestry. Raised in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

, they began taking piano lessons from their mother at the age of four. Although the sisters initially practiced and performed individually, a concert presenter's request that they perform together as a duo when they were 18 highlighted their remarkable talent and marked the beginning of a preference for making music together. The sisters were trained at the

Curtis Institute of Music The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, a Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on a full scholarshi ...

and at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

. They earned bachelor's degrees in solo piano performance in 2011 at Curtis, where they both received the Festorazzi Prize. They earned master's degrees from Juilliard in 2013. Pianist

Joseph Kalichstein Joseph Kalichstein (; 15 January 1946 – 31 March 2022) was an American classical pianist who performed in the concerto, solo recital and chamber music repertoire, the latter mainly with Jaime Laredo and Sharon Robinson (cellist), Sharon Robinso ...

taught the sisters at Juilliard and remarked, "When they play together, they seem to have one mind and one body—it's extraordinary—like one person with two hands playing."

Career

The Naughtons' professional career was launched in 2010 with debuts at the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

in Washington, DC, and the Mann Center for Performing Arts with the

Philadelphia Orchestra The Philadelphia Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra, based in Philadelphia. One of the " Big Five" American orchestras, the orchestra is based at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts, where it performs its subscription concerts, n ...

, after which ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'', often referred to simply as ''The Inquirer'', is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Founded on June 1, 1829, ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is the third-longest continuously operating da ...

'' described them as "paired to perfection". In 2011, they performed in Munich's

Herkulessaal The Residenz (, ''Residence'') in central Munich is the former royal palace of the House of Wittelsbach, Wittelsbach List of rulers of Bavaria, monarchs of Bavaria. The Residenz is the largest city palace in Germany and is today open to visitors ...

and began to establish their reputation outside of the United States. Subsequently, the Naughtons performed with the

Houston Symphony The Houston Symphony is an American orchestra based in Houston, Texas. The orchestra is resident at the Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts. History The first concert of what was to become the Houston Symphony took place on June 21, 1 ...

, the

New Jersey Symphony Orchestra The New Jersey Symphony, formerly the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (NJSO), is an American symphony orchestra based in the state of New Jersey. The New Jersey Symphony is the state orchestra of New Jersey, performing classical subscription concer ...

Nashville Symphony The Nashville Symphony is an American symphony orchestra, based in Nashville, Tennessee. The orchestra is resident at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. History In 1920, prior to the 1946 founding of the Nashville Symphony, a group of amateur a ...

, the

Buffalo Philharmonic The Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra is an American symphony orchestra located in Buffalo, New York led by Music Director JoAnn Falletta. Its primary performing venue is Kleinhans Music Hall, which is a National Historic Landmark. Each season it ...

, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the

Mahler Chamber Orchestra The Mahler Chamber Orchestra is a professional touring chamber orchestra founded by Claudio Abbado and former members of the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra in 1997. The MCO appears throughout the year in about 60–70 concerts and performances. It ...

, the

Royal Flemish Philharmonic The Antwerp Symphony Orchestra is a Belgian symphony orchestra based in Antwerp, with the Queen Elisabeth Hall as its principal concert venue. The orchestra performs in a number of venues in various cities in Belgium: * Antwerp: Queen Elisabe ...

, and the Solistes Européens Luxembourg, under conductors including

Stéphane Denève Stéphane Denève (born 24 November 1971) is a French conductor. He is currently music director of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and artistic director of the New World Symphony. Biography Denève was born in Tourcoing, France, and graduated ...

Edo de Waart Edo de Waart (born 1 June 1941, Amsterdam) is a Dutch retired conductor. He is Music Director Laureate of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. De Waart is the former music director of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (2016-2019), chief conductor ...

Charles Dutoit Charles Édouard Dutoit is a Swiss conductor. He is the principal guest conductor for the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia. In 2017, he became the 103rd recipient of the Royal Philharmonic Society Gold Medal Award. Dutoit held previous positions ...

JoAnn Falletta JoAnn Falletta (born February 27, 1954, in Queens, New York) is an American conductor. Biography Falletta was raised in the borough of Queens in an Italian-American household. She was educated at the Mannes College of Music and The Juilliard Sch ...

Giancarlo Guerrero Giancarlo Guerrero (born March 14, 1969) is a Costa Rican orchestra conductor, born in Nicaragua. He is currently music director of the Nashville Symphony and music director-designate of the Sarasota Orchestra, and artistic director and princip ...

Andrés Orozco-Estrada Andrés Orozco-Estrada (born 14 December 1977) is a Colombian violinist and conductor, with dual nationality in Colombia and Austria. He is the Principal Conductor of the RAI National Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Designate of the Gü ...

and Michael Stern. The sisters' recital appearances have included the Schubert Club of St. Paul, the

Naumburg Orchestral Concerts Naumburg () is a town in (and the administrative capital of) the district Burgenlandkreis, in the state of Saxony-Anhalt, Central Germany. It has a population of around 33,000. The Naumburg Cathedral became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2018. ...

in 2014, in the Naumburg Bandshell, Central Park, in the summer series, Chamber Music San Francisco, the Houston Society for the Performing Arts, the Chamber Music Society of Detroit, Munich's

Gasteig The Gasteig is a currently closed cultural center in Munich, opened in 1985, which hosts the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra. The Richard Strauss Conservatory, the Volkshochschule, and the municipal library are all located in the Gasteig. Most ...

, the Berlin Philharmonie's Kammermusiksaal, France's

Festival de La Roque-d'Anthéron A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival constitutes ...

, Zurich's Tonhalle, and Prague's Strings of Autumn Festival. In 2019, Christina and Michelle became the first piano duo to receive Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Career Grant. They reside in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

.In March, 2025, the Duo canceled all present and future engagements with no explanation given.

Discography

The Naughtons released their first album, "Piano Duets," on the German label Orfeo in 2012. It was praised by

Der Spiegel (, , stylized in all caps) is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of about 724,000 copies in 2022, it is one of the largest such publications in Europe. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...

for a performance that "stands out with unique harmony and sings out with stylistic confidence." The sisters signed an exclusive recording contract with Warner Classics which released their second album, "Visions", in March 2016; and their third album "American Postcard" in March 2019.

Music videos

* Lutoslawski * Mozart 2009 * Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy's Allegro brilliant A major (excerpt) * Naumburg-Hallelujah Junction
Adams / Arr. Antonsen: Short Ride in a Fast Machine

References

External links

Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Naughton, Christina and Michelle American classical pianists American women classical pianists American classical musicians of Chinese descent Classical piano duos Curtis Institute of Music alumni Twin musical duos 1988 births Sibling musical duos Musical groups from New York City Living people

Early life and education

Career

Discography

Music videos

See also

References

External links