Ran Dank & Vassilis Varvaresos live and perform together

Ran Dank and Vassilis Varvaresos seem like typical New York City roommates: Both are in their late twenties and live in a four-bedroom apartment in Washington Heights, which they share with two other friends. Their kitchen contains a pile of Domino’s pizza boxes, and they indulge their competitive natures by playing a FIFA soccer video game.

But most Washington Heights apartments probably don’t have a Steinway piano in the living room. The two best friends—they jokingly call their relationship a “bromance”—are both professional pianists, Juilliard grads who have won myriad competitions and performed both in recitals and with orchestras around the world. Both have also had their careers shaped through their involvement with Young Concert Artists, a nonprofit that seeks to discover, launch and manage the careers of young, unknown musicians. They will both be performing in the YCA’s 50-year anniversary Feb. 19. The free, 12-hour marathon at Symphony Space also features YCA alumni such as pianists Jeremy Denk and Emanuel Ax, violinists Eugene Drucker and Ani Kavafian, cellist Carter Brey and the Borromeo String Quartet.

The two pianists have, in some respects, opposite stories. Varvaresos, 27, was born in Greece, and says he’s wanted to be a concert pianist for as long as he can remember. “I always knew,” he says. “I gave an interview to a Greek TV station when I was 6 and said, ‘I want to play in big halls and with big orchestras.’” He won the YCA audition at 14 and began studying at Juilliard at 18. Currently, he is finishing up his doctorate at Juilliard.

Israeli-born 28-year-old Dank performed and studied in Israel until 2005, then won the YCA auditions in 2009. He then came to the U.S. to earn his masters and artist diploma at Juilliard and currently is a doctoral student at the CUNY Graduate Center, studying with Ursula Oppens and Richard Goode.

In addition to school, both keep up a busy schedule of concerts, recitals and competitions.  For Dank, the more recent winner of the audition, many of these engagements are booked by YCA.

The organization was founded 50 years ago by director Susan Wadsworth, a pianist who, after graduating from music school, noticed that many of her talented friends were barely performing. “They had no opportunities at all, so I decided to start a series in a loft in Greenwich Village,” Wadsworth says. The series garnered excellent reviews, and eventually Wadsworth started booking other concerts.

Both Dank and Varvaresos’ careers also incorporate Fourtissimo, a quartet of four pianists that also includes Soyeon Lee and Roman Rabinovich, both former classmates from Juilliard. The group seeks to explore ideas from the piano’s “Golden Age” and change various classical music conventions. For example, at a recent concert at Carnegie’s Zankel Hall, the program included a movement of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony for two pianos and eight hands, and a tribute to Simon and Garfunkel.

Despite the opportunities that have presented themselves so far, Varvaresos admits he thinks playing piano is “one of the most difficult jobs in the world” since there’s a lack of financial stability, practicing is a time-consuming, solitary activity and performing can be stressful. “You’re putting yourself out there,” he explains, “and showing your soul.”