Traces Festival 2019 | Programme | Artists
Artists 2019
Raphael Bell | Elia Cohen Weissert | Monika Darzinkeviciute | Clotilde van Dieren | Bernard Godeaux | Bernadetta Grabias | Justus Grimm | Michael Guttman | Nino Gvetadze | Chen Halevi | Gary Hoffman | Clement Holvoet | Chikako Hosoda | Agnieszka Kołodziej | Natalia Kotarba | Karin Lechner | Katsura Mizumoto | Amy Norrington | Kaja Nowak | Tony Nys | Capucine Prin | Edward Rushton | Raphael Wallfisch | Simon Wallfisch | Diede Verpoest | Pierre Henri Xuereb | Jing Zhao
American cellist Raphael Bell enjoys a varied career as a principal cellist, chamber musician, teacher, and festival director.
He is currently solo cello of the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, co-Artistic Director of La Loingtaine in Montigny-sur-Loing, France, co-founder of the Camerata
Fontainebleau, and founder and co-Artistic Director of the Charlottesville Chamber Music Festival in Virginia. As a chamber musician he has performed at
Wigmore Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall, Salle Gaveau, Berlin Philharmonie, Köln Philharmonie, Luzerner Theater, Tokyo Suntory Hall, and Kyoto Concert Hall,
and at festivals including Seattle Chamber Music, Ferrara Musica, Wiener Festwochen, Elba Festival, Ravinia, Verbier and Resonances Festival Belgium.
He was part of the IMS Prussia Cove tour that won the Chamber Music Award from the Royal Philharmonic Society in London, and has collaborated with musicians
such as Steven Isserlis, James Ehnes, Martha Argerich, Maxim Vengerov, Ivry Gitlis, and with quartets including Brooklyn Rider, Dante and Orpheus, as well as
Oxalys and Japan's Nagaokakyo Ensemble. He gave the world premier of Olli Mustonen's Triptych for three cellos with Steven Isserlis and Steven Doane. Solo
performances include concertos with the Kristiansand Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo Luft Ensemble, and the Royal Flemish Philharmonic under Edo de Waart and Brahms
Double Concerto with Philippe Herreweghe. As a member of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra for many years, he played in the Lucerne Festival Orchestra’s Mahler
Symphony Cycle with Claudio Abbado. He has also worked with the Munich Philharmonic, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, English Baroque Soloists, Orchestre
Revolutionnaire et Romantique, and Scottish Chamber Orchestra. Raphael studied at The Juilliard School with Harvey Shapiro, and later with Mario Brunello,
Steven Isserlis and Ferenc Rados.
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The young Israeli cellist Elia Cohen Weissert is emerging as an exciting
artist, captivating audiences with her stage presence and sincerity. Elia
performed in several renowned music festivals such as the Verbier
festival and the Kronberg Cello festival, and is performing regularly in
Europe as well as Russia, Israel, and the United States of America, as a
chamber musician and as a soloist. She played in great halls such as
the Philharmonie in Berlin, Smetana Hall in Prague, Flagey and Bozar in
Brussels, hall of Brussels conservatory, Theater of Jerusalem, Charles
Bronfman auditorium in Tel Aviv, Lisinski Hall in Zagreb, Casa da Musica
in Porto and had performed as a soloist with renowned orchestras such
as the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, the Israel Philharmonic
Orchestra, the Croatian Radio Television Orchestra, National Orchestra of
Belgium, Chamber Orchestra of Wallonie and the North Czech
Philharmonic Orchestra.
Amongst others, Elia had the pleasure of playing chamber music with
Philippe Graffin, Michael Gutman, Miguel da Silva, Josquin Otal (the Duo
Affetto, founded in 2016) and Maxim Vengerov.
Elia received many prizes in national and international competitions,
amongst others the “Kopf Röhrs” prize in Germany, the second prize at
the prestigious Antonio Janigro Competition in Zagreb as well as the
special prize for the best interpretation of the modern piece written by
A.T. Saban, given to her by the composer himself who was impressed by
her interpretation, and the Landgraf von Hessen Prize in the Kronberg
academy masterclasses 2018.
Born in 1994 in Jerusalem, Elia started playing the cello at the age of 7
at the Jerusalem Conservatory of music and merely two years
afterwards, received an honorary scholarship from the America-Israel
foundation. She completed her Bachelor studies in the class of Prof.
Jens Peter Maintz at The UDK - Berlin and from October 2016, Elia is
studying at Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Waterloo in the class of
Gary Hoffman and Jeroen Reuling. From September 2018 Elia is
studying lyrical singing at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels in the class
of Yucheng Lu.
Elia is a playing a cello made by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume in 1833, loaned
by Michael Guttman.
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Lithuanian born pianist Monika Darzinkeviciute has performed in many European countries as soloist
and chamber musician. She has given concerts with Lviv Chamber, Lithuanian State Symphony, Kaunas
Symphony, National M.K. Ciurlionis School of Arts Symphony and Chamber orchestras.
Monika’s passion to chamber music led to the collaborations with such musicians as F.Helmerson,
J.Grimm, D.Guerrier, P.Graffin, T.Nys among others.
Monika, a laureate of 9 national and international piano competitions, is also actively playing in various
festivals including Encuentro de Santander, Thy Chamber Music Festival, Aurora Chamber Music
Festival, Rencontres Musicales Internationales d’Enghien, Academie Internationale d`Ete de Nice among
others. Among the recent awards are Joseph Darche Piano Prize 2017 in Brussels, Belgium and 2nd
prize at Luigi Nono Chamber Music Competition in Rivoli, Italy with cellist Natania Hoffman. In 2018, in
the context of BeNeLux 60th Anniversary, Monika performed for the Royal familifies at the Bozar Henry
Le Boeuf Hall in Brussels.
The recordings of Monika have been broadcasted by Lithuanian National Radio and Television, Musiq3
(Belgium), BRAVA (The Netherlands) channels.
Monika has studied in Royal Conservatory of Brussels with D.Blumenthal, Hochschule für Musik, Theater
und Medien Hannover with E.Kupiec. Currently, she is pursuing her degree at the Hochschule der
Künste Bern in the class of T.Herbut.
monikadarzinkevicute.com
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The Belgian mezzo Clotilde van Dieren studies theater and singing at the Royal
Conservatory of Brussels after a bachelor of Philosophy. Actress on stage and on screen,
before devoting herself to singing, she perfected herself in Italy and New York.
She followed the teaching of Udo Reinemann at the Maurice Ravel Academy, Nadine
Denize at the Rencontres Musicales d'Enghien, during the "Udo Reinemann International
Masterclasses" at the Koninklijk Conservatorium in Brussels, she received the advice of
Christianne Stotijn, Philip Moll, Wolfgang Holzmair, Julius Drake, Christophe Prégardien ...
and the famous duet Mitsuko Shirai and Hartmut Höll at the Hochschule für Musik in
Karlsruhe.
Passionate about chamber music, she explores a varied repertoire with piano, cello, harp or
different ensembles (O-Celli, Brussels Chamber Orchestra, Alfama Quartet...) in many
festivals in Europe. In concert, she sings in oratorios of Bach, Vivaldi, Pergolese, Mozart,
Rossini, Duruflé, and operas of Bellini, Donizetti, Offenbach, Bernstein, Weill at the Opera
Festival of Belle-Ile-en-mer, Vochora Festival, Festival of Eté Mosan, Midis-Minimes,
Concertini at La Monnaie / De Munt, Bechstein Concert Hall (New York)...
With the Vilnius Opera Orchestra, she sang Berlioz's "Nuits d'été", under the direction of
Robertas Servenikas, and performed at the Belgorioca Festival, invited by the Belgian
Consulate in Rio de Janeiro with cellist Edmond Carlier. In 2017, she returns to Lithuania
for a recital at the Šiauliai Festival with pianist Justas Servenikas.
In June 2018, she co-wrote with Jacques Sojcher "It's Always the First Time", a musical
theater creation involving a poet, an opera singer and accordionist Gwen Cresens. For many
years, she regularly gives recitals for "A bridge between two worlds" of La Monnaie / De
Munt in prisons, neighborhood houses, schools ...
clotildevandieren.wordpress.com
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Bernard Godeaux Belgian pianist, born in Washington D.C. He graduated from both the Brussels
Royal Conservatory (teacher: J.Solheid) and the Juilliard School in New York, where he studied
Under B.Webster. Later he took an advanced course under Y.Lefébure in Paris.
His “International Début” took place in Canada as an 18-year-old soloist with the International
Youth Orchestra under the renowned conductor Werner Andreas Albert. It was broadcast live
and acclaimed in Montreal’s main French newspaper.
Having received numerous awards and prizes in national and international competitions, he gained
special distinction by winning the “Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra soloist auditions” in New York,
at 24.He has subsequently played with many other famous orchestras in Belgium, Germany, Poland
and Singapore.
He has been on many extensive concert tours throughout North America,Europe,the Middle East
and the Far East. He has appeared as a guest artist at many festivals including Salzburg, Eindhoven
and Vienna. In Poland, he participated several times in the Chopin and Szymanowski Summer
Festivals, with live broadcasts on Warsaw Television and a live CD recording at Chopin’s birth place.
His musical partners on chamber music concert tours have been notably: M.Kasprzak(piano 4 hands),
H.Fujiwara, M.Guttman, J.F. Chamberlan, Z.Kowalski(violin), L.Claret, A.Klocek (cello), J.Thompson (soprano).
Bernard Godeaux has performed world premières of works by S.Weiner (with his wife M.Kasprzak), J.Stehman and A.Clostre (winner of the Rome First Grand Prize)
and has been teaching extensively (mostly pianists and singers), notably at the Brussels “Conservatoire Royal”.
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Bernadetta Grabias Soloist of Opera Łódź in Poland and laureate of various singing competitions i.a. 3-rd Prize at the
„Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition of Belgium” 2008. Since 2011 she teaches at the Music Academy in Łódź.
She graduated from the Music School in Rzeszów where she got the 1st degree in the piano, Music College in the oboe and Music Academy in Łódź
(with distinction) in Singing by tutor Ziemowit Wojtczak. She also received the Certificate in Conducting. She was awarded in a number of competitions.
She got the special Prize for singing Paderewski’s song in The Polish Song Competition in Warsaw (2001) and in the 35th K. Kurpiński National
Young Singers Competition in Włoszakowice (2002). Half-finalist of “Belvedere” competition in Vienna (2006).
After graduating Music Academy she became a soloist in the Grand Theatre of Łódź, where performs foreground mezzo-soprano roles. Her double debut in
“Adriana Lecouvreur” by F. Cilea and “Lucrezia Borgia” by G. Donizetti was named as “bodacious and delightful“. She was appreciated by the Polish Artists
Union which awarded her the Leon Schiller Best 2004 Debut Prize. As a result she was offered of Maffio Orsini in its Swiss production (Opera Festivals
in St. Moritz – June 2005 and Riehen – August 2006). She has been awarded the prize for outstanding young artists „POLISH BRILLIANT of Dziennik Łódzki”.
She also has got Marshal’s of the Łódź Voivodship Prize.
Her repertoire covers opera parts, such as: Carmen by Bizet, Isabella (L’italiana in Algeri by G. Rossini), Orsini(Lucrezia Borgia by G.Donizetti),
Lucretia (The Rape of Lucretiaby B.Britten), Princessa di Bouillon (Adriana Lecouvreur by F.Cilea), Olga (Eugene Onegin), George Sand (Kochankowie z
klasztoru Valdemossa by M. Ptaszyńska), Cherubino (Le Nozze di Figaro by W.A.Mozart), Dorabella (Così fan tutte by W.A.Mozart), Jane Seymour (Anna
Bolena by G. Donizetti), Rosina et Berta (Il barbiere di Siviglia by G. Rossini), Nicklausse (Les Contes d’Hoffmann by J. Offenbach), Doralba
(L’impresario in Augustie by D. Cimarosa), Miss Baggott (The Little Sweep by B. Britten), Jadwiga (Straszny dwór by S.Moniuszko), Zofia (Halka by
S. Moniuszko); and sacred music parts such as: (Requiem by G. Verdi, Requiem d-molland Kroenungsmesse KV 317 by W. A. Mozart, Via Crucis by F. Liszt,
Stabat Mater by G. B. Pergolesi). She sing also a vocal lyric.
She performs regularly at the Warsaw State Opera where she made her debut in 2015 as Hedwige in G. Rossini’s opera ”Guillaume Tell”. Her
performance of Queen Elisabeth in the opera „Maria Stuarda” by G. Donizetti raised cheers and applause by the audience. Also, her interpretations
of Brigitte in the opera „Die tote Stadt” by E. Korngold, of Suzuki in „Madame Butterfly” by G. Rossini and of the Landlady in „The fiery Angel” by
S. Prokofiev received critical acclaim. All three operas were staged by Mariusz Treliński. She sang the role of the Landlady in „The fiery Angel”
successfully during the Aix-en Provence International Opera Festival in 2018.
She boasts cooperation with acclaimed conductors like K. Ono, Julia Jones, Johan Neal Axelrode, Łukasz Borowicz, W. Crutchfield, S. Klingele, G. Neuhold, R. Silva, T. Kozłowski, M. Pijarowski, T. Wojciechowski, A. Straszyński, J. Schulz, M. J. Błaszczyk, J. M. Zarzycki, J. Salwarowski, M. Niesiołowski, A. Wicherek and directors : M. Prus, D. Kaegi, T. Konina, M. Znaniecki, G. Madia, J. Rathke, L. Adamik, R. Skolmowski, K. Kelm, J. Gąsiorowski.
She has performed with the Orchestre Symphonique De La Monnaie, Orchestre National de Belgique, the Orchestra of the Opéra Royal de Wallonie, the Symfonisch Orkest van de Vlaamse Opera, the Orchestra of Grand Theater of Łódź, the Symphony Orchestra of The Podlasie Opera and Philharmonic, the Arthur Rubinstein Philharmonic Orchestra of Łódź, the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Symphony Orchestra Philharmonic in Rzeszów, the Philharmonic Orchestra of Poznań, the Witold Lutosławski Płock Symphony Orchestra, the ŁomżaChamber Orchestra.
mezzosopran.pl
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Justus Grimm received his first introductory
cello lessons at the age of five at first from
his father, followed by studies with Ulrich
Voss, Claus Kanngiesser and later with
Frans Helmerson in Stockholm and
Cologne.
He proved his outstanding talent in various
competitions. Playing alongside the pianist
Florian Wiek, he also won the first prize in
the Maria Canals music competition in
Barcelona and was also awarded the prize
of the German Music Council.
Justus Grimm's solo and chamber music
performances took him throughout Europe.
The beginning of his career in 1993 was
marked by his splendid performance as a
soloist in the première by Matthias
Pintscher's cello concert "La Metamorfosi di
Narciso" with the Hamburg Philharmonic
Orchestra and continued to maintain his
solo performance in cooperation with many
other orchestras, including the English
Chamber Orchestra, the London Chamber
Orchestra, the Orchestre Royal de Wallonie, the Lithuanian National Orchestra, the
Orchestre Symphonique de la Monnaie, the Bonn Classical Philharmonic or the
Brandenburg State Orchestra Frankfurt.
As part of his performances, Justus Grimm was already a guest in many of the
most renowned concert halls in the world like the Berlin Philharmonic, the Music
Hall in Hamburg, the Cologne Philharmonic, the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, the
Munich Hercules Hall and the Cultural Centre in Lisbon.
In 2012 his performance of Tchaikovsky's "Rococo Variations" with the Orchestre
Symphonique de la Monnaie conducted by Carlo Rizzi was broadcast live from the
Palais des Beaux Arts in Brussels as part of a TV production.
Justus Grimm made his remarkable chamber music career together with renowned
artists like Abdel Raman El Bacha, Gerard Caussé, Augustin Dumay, Stephen
Kovacevich, Antonio Pappano and Kazushi Ono. He accepted invitations to major
festivals, including the Ludwigsburg Festival, the Festival van Vlaanderen, Lisbon's
Dias da Musica, the Florilegio Salamanca Festival, Sonoro Romania, Thy
Chambermusic Festival, Forte Music Fest Almaty, Cantiere Di Montepulciano,
Brussel’s Klara Music Festival and the Resonances Festival.
Besides live recordings by many European radio stations there are already
numerous CD records. Worth mentioning here is a CD, Trio Wiek (Christina
Fassbender, Justus Grimm and Florian Wiek) with works by Philippe Gaubert,
who was awarded a 5/5 rating by the French magazine Diapason.
2012 saw the recording with earlier works by George Enescu that was highly
acclaimed by the international press and shortly thereafter a complete
recording of the chamber music works by Cesar Franck, which was awarded
the Prix Cecilia as the best CD of the year 2012 by the Belgian press.
As a founding member of the Malibran quartet
(www.malibranquartet.com) he devoted himself to the
exceptionally rich repertoire of this genre since 2008.
Teaching plays a central role in the artistic life of Justus
Grimm. Following tutorship at the Brussels Chapelle
Reine Elisabeth (2002-2003) and at the Institut
Superieur de Musique de Namur (2003-2008), he held
the title as professor for violoncello at the Royal
Conservatory of Antwerp in 2008, where he acts also as
the Artistical Director since 2013.
He plays a violoncello dated 1760 of P.A. Testore.
During the season 18/19 Justus Grimm will join
International Festivals as a soloist and teacher in
Belgium, Serbia, Switzerland, Romania, Germany, Poland, Kazachstan and
Denmark.
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Michael Guttman is a violinist, conductor and music director of prominent festivals
around the world, including Pietrasanta in Concerto, Crans Montana Classics in Switzerland,
Le Printemps du Violon in Paris, and Made in Polin in Warsaw. He is also
the music director of the Napa Valley Symphony and the Belgian Chamber Orchestra.
His album recorded with the London Philharmonic orchestra of three violin concertos
illustrating three generations of israeli composers (Ben Haim, Sheriff and Zehavi)
received critical acclaim and received the prestigious Scopus Prize (2014) from the
Hebrew University of Jerusalem for his achievements in music. He was also nominated
for a Grammy award for his Hindemith Album with the Philharmonia Orchestra.
He was the youngest violinist ever admitted to the Brussels Royal Conservatory at age
10. His debut at age 14, with Jean-Pierre Rampal, led to the meeting with his mentor
Isaac Stern who recommended him for further studies at the Juilliard School in New
York City where he studied with Dorothy Delay and The Juilliard Quartet. He studied
with the legendary Russian violinist Boris Goldstein, and organized a violin competition
in his tribute together with Professor Zakhar Bron in Bern, Switzerland in 2014.
As Belgium’s leading violinist, he was chosen to represent his country in 1992, during
the Sevilla Universal Exhibition. Concerts at the Lincoln Center, Barbican Hall, Palais
des Beaux Arts in Brussels, Salle Pleyel in Paris, and in Asia were followed by invitations
to prestigious festivals such as, Progetto Martha Argerich, Flanders Festival,
Bashmet’s Elba Festival, Folles Journées in Nantes and Tokyo, and the Menuhin Festival
Gstaad. He premiered the Philip Glass Double Concerto for Violin and Cello
with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra in the USA and the Hong Kong Philhamonic for
Asia, both conducted by Jaap Van Zweden. He has toured with Martha Argerich, Nestor
Marconi, Nigel Kennedy, Boris Berezovsky, Vadim Repin, Salvatore Accardo and
Natalia Gutman among others.
After collaborating with composers and conductors such as Lukas Foss and Noam
Sheriff, he developed his conducting career and in 2017, toured the most prestigious
halls in Spain appearing with the legendary pianist Ivo Pogorelich.
His encounter with Astor Piazzolla encouraged him to discover different styles of tango
music, and in 2017 he created the first ever double concerto for violin and bandoneon
with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and J.P. Jofre, the famous Argentinian
bandoneon player.
Michael Guttman plays on a 1735 Guarneri del Gesù violin once owned by the great
Italian violinist and composer Giovanni Battista Viotti.
michael-guttman.com
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Born and raised in Tbilisi, Georgian pianist Nino Gvetadze leads an active international music life as a soloist and a chamber musician. Her performances have been praised by many critics throughout the Europe and Asia. Nino received various awards, the most important were the Second Prize, Press Prize and Audience Award at the International Franz Liszt Piano Competition 2008. She became the winner of prestigious Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award in 2010.
Nino Gvetadze has performed with many outstanding conductors such as Michel Plasson, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Michel Tabachnik, John Axelrod and Jaap van Zweden and with orchestras such as the Rotterdam, Brussels, Warsaw, Seoul and Netherlands Philharmonic, Bergische and the Rheinische Philharmonie, Münchner Symphoniker, North Netherlands and Residentie Orchestra amongst others. She toured with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Kammerakademie Potsdam, Netherlands Youth Orchestra and Amsterdam Sinfonietta.
In 2018-19 Nino is the face of Radio Classic FM Netherlands. The Dutch National TV broadcasted the concert she has performed with the Brodsky Quartet at the famous Prinsengracht Concert. She was featured in BBC4 documentary "Story of Music" and played Live on Dutch National Television on the instruments of Hector Berlioz and Vladimir Horowitz. Nino´s recorded recital at the Sendesaal Bremen has been chosen for the “ARD-Radiofestival” .
In recital as well as in chamber music settings Nino has performed all over the world, among others in Hannover (PRO MUSICA Preisträger am Klavier-Zyklus), Bayreuth, Herkulessaal and Prinzregententheater Munich, with Jean-Yves Thibaudet at the Spoleto Festival, Lucerne Piano Festival, Bunka-kaikan Hall Tokyo, Kuhrhaus Wiesbaden, the Festival Piano aux Jacobins (Toulouse), Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival (Finland), Wigmore Hall London and Tonhalle Zurich. In the Netherlands Nino is a regular guest at the most prestigious concert venues, among those Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Muziekgebouw Eindhoven, Vredenburg Utrecht.
Nino Gvetadze is a Challenge Classics artist. Her first CD on this label “Ghosts", includes the 24 Préludes of Frederic Chopin. It has been praised by many critics and was long listed by „Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik". The album "Ghosts" was presented with recitals in the Benelux and Germany. Four of Nino's previous highly appreciated CDs, were released by following labels: piano works by Mussorgsky (Brilliant Classics), Rachmaninoff Preludes op 23 and op 32 (Etcetera), “Debussy” with the Préludes book I, Estampes and Claire de Lune (Orchid) and “Widmung” with Liszt piano works (Orchid). The Debussy CD was editor’s choice of the International Record Review magazine.
In Tbilisi Nino Gvetadze studied with Veronika Tumanishvili, Nodar Gabunia and Nana Khubutia. After her graduation Nino moved to the Netherlands to study with Paul Komen and Jan Wijn. Since 2008 Nino plays in "Arosa Trio" with her colleagues Frederieke Saeijs and Maja Bogdanovic.
Nino plays on a Steinway Grand Piano, kindly lent to her by the Dutch National Music Instrument Foundation.
ninogvetadze.net
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As a teenager he made his debut with the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra under Zubin Mehta. Since then he has worked with many leading orchestras in the U.S, Europe, and Japan. A great lover of chamber music, Chen Halevi has performed with many of the most prominent musicians and quartets today, His passion for chamber music makes him a welcome guest at festivals across the world.
Internationally acknowledged as a passionate contemporary musician, Halevi’s close ties with composers have led him to perform a great number of works dedicated to him by the most eminent composers of our time. His commitment to contemporary music goes beyond this. In 2007 Halevi founded ClaRecords, with the aim of supporting contemporary composers through commissions, recordings and performances. Another goal of ClaRecords is to stimulate dialogue between different art forms in the 21st century.
Halevi’s wide interest in other cultures has led him to explore a Multitude of musical styles ; through this journey he has formed various musical collaborations which include TangoFactory -an ensemble expanding the horizons of tango through performances of contemporary new tangos as well as revisiting the old masters .Other projects explore the musical roots of the Middle East through the centuries and its colourful sound.
Another important component of his work is as a teacher. Halevi is keen to spread his school of playing through teaching and masterclasses. He is currently clarinet professor at the Trossingen Hochschule for Music in Germany.
clarichen.com
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Gary Hoffman made his debut at the Wigmore Hall in London at the age of fifteen, quickly followed by New York. At the age of
twenty-two he became the youngest faculty appointee in the history of the Indiana University School of Music. After winning the Premier Grand Prix of
the Rostropovich International Competition in Paris in 1986, he embarked on an international career, appearing with the world’s most noted orchestras,
in major recital and chamber music series and at prestigious festivals.
Although he has great affection for the classical cello repertoire, Gary Hoffman does not neglect contemporary music, of which he is a committed champion.
Numerous composers, among them Graciane Finzi, Renaud Gagneux, Joel Hoffman, Laurent Petitgirard and Dominique Lemaître, to name only a few, have
dedicated their concertos to him.
He is a regular guest with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center in New York, and is a remarkable and much sought-after chamber partner.
He has made recordings for BMG (RCA), Sony, EMI and Le Chant du Monde, and now records on the La Dolce Volta label.
Gary Hoffman has lived in Paris since 1990. He performs on a 1662 Nicolo Amati, the ‘ex- Leonard Rose’.
In 2011, Mr. Hoffman was appointed Maître en Résidence for cello at the prestigious Chapelle Musicale Reine Elisabeth in Brussels.
gary-hoffman.com
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Alto solo en 2016 de l’European Union Youth Orchestra, jouant sous la
direction de Vasily Petrenko, Vladimir Ashkenazy et Bernard Haitink, Clement Holvoet mène une activité musicale riche et diversifiée. Il eut ainsi la chance ces dernières années de se produire dans les plus belles salles
d'Europe et de l'étranger (Concertgebouw d'Amsterdam, Konzerthaus de Berlin, Carnegie Hall de New-York, Palau de la Musica de Barcelone,...)
Invité comme Rising Star et Jeune Talent dans de nombreux festivals de
musique de chambre en Belgique et à l’étranger (Cowbridge Wales, Aldeburgh, Ars Musica, Festival Musiq3, Bell'Arte Rhein Main, ...) Clément Holvoet
preste auxcôtés d’artistes reconnus comme Vladimir Mendelssohn, Marie Hallynck, Jodie Devos, David Cohen, Jérôme Pernoo ou encore
David Waterman, Justus Grimm, Sergey Malov, Natalia Lomeiko et Thomas Carroll.
Il s'est produit dans plus d'une vingtaine de pays à travers le monde, en Asie, en Europe et aux États-Unis et est membre fondateur du Trio Améthys ainsi que du récent North Sea
Ensemble, un ensemble chambriste européen.
Diplômé du Conservatoire Royal de Mons et de l’Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris dans la classe de Pierre-Henri Xuereb avec Grande Distinction, il
prend régulièrement part aux concerts de l’Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie et du BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
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Chikako Hosoda étudie à Tokyo avec Hamao Fujiwara et Koichiro Harada, 1er violon du Quatuor de Tokyo, et suit en parallèle des
études d’Arts Comparés Européens à l’Université Seikei. Chikako Hosoda poursuit sa formation auprès de Philippe Koch au Conservatoire royal de Liège et se
perfectionne ensuite auprès de Gabor Takacs, Alfred Brendel et les membres du Jérusalem Quartet.
Chikako Hosoda intègre le Quatuor Tana en 2010, et pendant quatre ans collabore avec de nombreux compositeurs et donne des concerts dans le monde entier,
participant à de nombreux festivals.
Plus récemment, sa passion pour la création contemporaine s’exprime dans le Spectacle « Boussole » pour deux danseuses et une musicienne avec la compagnie
de danse Meaari.
Parallèlement à son activité d’interprète, Chikako Hosoda s’engage dans divers projets artistiques et socio-culturels du Festival d’Aix-en-Provence,
faisant découvrir la musique à un public différent, créant la rencontre entre générations et cultures très contrastées.
Chikako Hosoda enseigne le violon au Conservatoire Royal de Bruxelles.
En 2015-2018, Chikako Hosoda a joué dans le Quatuor Isasi.
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Agnieszka Kołodziej studied at the Royal Conservatory in Brussels with Prof. J. Reuling receiving the Prix du Gouvernement Belge. Formerly, she studied under Prof. St. Firlej guidance at the Bacewicz Music Academy in Poland from where she received her Master Diploma with distinction.
Ms Kolodziej was 1st prize winner of the Peggy Gordon Competition Baltimore, the E. Baert Cello Competition Brussels, and of others. After winning the 1st prize in the K. Wilkomirski International Cello Competition, she received the Golden Merit Award to study at Towson University in Baltimore.
She participated in prestigious masterclasses such as the Piatigorsky Seminar in Los Angeles, in the Ravel Academy in France, and the Music X at the Hindemith Foundation in Switzerland (performing the Pulitzer prize winner Double Sextet by Steve Reich).
Ms Kolodziej has worked with renowned cellists such as N. Gutman, F. Helmerson, R. Wallfisch and P. Wispelwey.
In 2011 she was accepted at the prestigious Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, in the solo cello section under direction of Gary Hoffman, where she graduated two years later.
Currently, she is concertmaster at the Lodz Grand Theater - Opera House in Poland. She regularly performs with Le Concert Olympique under direction of Jan Cayers.
Recently, together with label DUX she released a CD of the Xavier Mozart works.
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Natalia Kotarba is a Polish violinist born in Cracow, currently based in
Brussels. She holds degrees Cum Laude from the Academy of Music in Cracow and
from the Royal Conservatory in Brussels, where she also pursued her
Concertmusicus (artist diploma) programme in the class of Philippe Graffin.
Natalia embraces keenly all aspects of a musician’s life. Among the artists she has
had the opportunity to collaborate with in a chamber music setting are Jean-Claude
Vanden Eynden, Philippe Graffin, Gordan Nikolic, Krzysztof Penderecki and the
Oxalys Ensemble. She has appeared at music festivals such as Midis-Minimes and
Ysaye’s Knokke in Belgium, Harmos Festival in Portugal, Istanbul Music Festival in
Turkey, Elba Isola Musica d’Europa festival. She is part of the Belgian Sonos
Ensemble, artist-in-residence in Tongeren (Belgium) for the season 2018/19.
Natalia has also collaborated with orchestras such as Deutsches Radio
Kammerorchester, Le Concert Olympique and Polish Art Philharmonic. As a soloist
she recently appeared in the Bach double concerto with the Brussels Royal
Conservatory String Orchestra. She has had the honour to perform at Bozar in the
presence of the monarchs of Belgium and the Netherlands during the celebration of
the 60th anniversary of Benelux in June 2018.
Natalia is a laureate of the Polish National Chamber Music Competition in
Bydgoszcz in piano trio category (2014) and a laureate of La Fondation Chopin, a
Belgian institution who awards prizes for succesful music students at the beginning
of their careers (2017). Most recently, as a member of the newly formed Karski
Quartet she has been awarded the Grand Prix of the 4th International Music
Competition Triomphe de L’Art in Brussels (November 2018).
She has had the opportunity to develop her skills in masterclasses with renowned
artists and pedagogues such as Miriam Fried, David Waterman, Alasdair Beatson, or
Quatuor Ebene. She has also been strongly influenced by jazz improvisation lessons
she took as a teenager with the renowned Polish jazzman Jarosław Śmietana.
Natalia finds it important in her work to be open to different styles and kinds of
music, which helps her create personal and honest interpretations of musical
works. She is also a dedicated teacher and a great enthusiast of music-educational
projects which help introduce children and young adults to the beautiful world of
music. In August 2018 she served on the faculty during the Masterclasses for young
musicians in Oslo, teaching violin and chamber music.
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Karin Lechner naît à Buenos Aires en Argentine. Elle passe son enfance à Caracas au Venezuela où elle commence sa formation musicale sous la direction de sa mère, la pianiste Lyl Tiempo. Elle fait sa première apparition publique à l’âge de cinq ans et c’est également à Caracas qu’elle fait ses débuts avec orchestre, à l’âge de 11 ans. Karin Lechner s’installe ensuite en Europe. A Londres, elle étudie sous la conduite de Maria Curcio et à Paris, sous celle de Pierre Sancan. Martha Argerich, Nelson Freire, Daniel Barenboim et Rafael Orozco l’orientent et la guident sur la route de la musique. A 13 ans, elle se produit pour la première fois à Washington ainsi qu’au Concertgebouw d’Amsterdam où elle assure, comme soliste avec l’orchestre Philharmonique d’Amsterdam, le concert d’ouverture du Holland Festival.
Depuis lors, elle mène une carrière internationale active qui inclut des prestations en Autriche, Belgique, Pays-Bas, France, Allemagne, Italie, Norvège, Espagne, Suède, Suisse, ainsi comme aux Etats-Unis, Argentine, Brésil, Uruguay, Venezuela, Mexique et Japon.
Karin Lechner a joué dans les centres musicaux les plus prestigieux du monde: le Kennedy Center de Washington, le Concertgebouw d’Amsterdam, la Philharmonie de Berlin, le Suntory Hall de Tokyo et le théâtre Colón de Buenos Aires. Elle participe assidûment aux festivals internationaux importants comme ceux de Menton, Toulouse, Montpellier, Colorado, Verbier, Lugano , Shlesswig-Holstein.et Salzbourg.
Karin Lechner collabore fréquemment avec des artistes distingués comme Martha Argerich, Janos Starker, Barbara Hendricks, Viktoria Mullova et Mischa Maisky dans des concerts de musique de chambre. Elle joue régulièrement à deux pianos avec son frère, le pianiste Sergio Tiempo, avec qui elle a un duo permanent, et a enregistré plusieurs disques. Elle fait également partie du Trio Carlo Van Neste aux cotés de la violoniste Maya Levy et du violoncelliste Alexandre Debrus.
C’est à l’âge de 13 ans que Karin Lechner a enregistré, chez EMI, son premier disque: des œuvres de Johan-Sebastian Bach, Robert Schuman et Frederic Chopin. A 15 ans, elle enregistra chez CBS, les concerts n°1 de Ludwig van Beethoven et le K 467 de Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, ensuite un récital incluant des œuvres de Ludwig van Beethoven, Robert Schumann et Maurice Ravel. Accompagnée du Franciscan Quartet, elle sortit un disque avec les concerts K. 413, 414 et 415 de Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Et deux autres albums, accompagnée par l’Orchestre Symphonique de Berlin où elle interprétait les Concerts n° 1 et n° 2 de Johannes Brahms.
Elle débuta comme chef d’orchestre, à Londres, au St’ John’s Smith Square, dans le Concerto 1 de Ludwig van Beethoven pour piano que joua sa fille Natasha Binder qu’elle dirigea également à Bruxelles dans Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
Karin Lechner vient d'enregistrer, sous le label Pavane Records, les deux Trio de Félix Mendelssohn au sein du Trio Carlo Van Neste
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After receiving a Master of Economics from Hokkaido University, Katsura Mizumoto moved to Germany,
and graduated from the Hochschule für Musik in Frankfurt with highest distinction. She followed Masterclasses by Leon Fleischer, Paul-Badura Skoda,
Vitaly Margulis among others, Katsura has won prizes at international competitions including A.M.A Calabria, the German Academischer Austausch Service
in Germany, the Hochschule Competition in Berlin. Katsura is currently soloist and chamber musician in Europe, USA and Japan. She also performed chamber
music with renowned musicians such as Charles Neidich, Nobuko Imai, Philippe Graffin, Michael Sanderling
and she has been invited to international music festivals in Europe and Japan. She has been a teacher at Hochschule für Musik in Frankfurt and she is now
piano accompanist for the string section at the Royal Conservatory in Brussels.
katsuranokai.ecnet.jp
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Amy Norrington enjoys a varied career as chamber musician, soloist and guest principle cellist in various orchestras throughout
Europe. She is a regular guest with chamber ensembles and at festivals all over Europe and performs regularly in all the major chamber music concert halls in
Europe, including recent appearances at the Liszt Academy Hall in Budapest and at Wigmore, London.
Amy is a member of ensemble Oxalys and of the piano trio Talisma and enjoys her collaborations with artists such as Pekka Kuusisto, Philippe Graffin,
Alina Ibragimova, Steven Isserlis, Jeremy Denk, Denes Varjon, Yura Lee, Alasdair Beatson, Lilli Maijala and Aleksandar Madzar. She plays as guest solo
celllist with La Monnaie, Brussels Philarmonic Orchestra, the Flemish Opera, De Filarmonie Antwerp, Symphonie Orkest van Brugge and the Scottish Chamber
Orchestra.
Amy Norrington is professor of cello at the Lemmens Institute in Leuven, Belgium and gives masterclasses regularly at Rencontres Musicales Internationales
d’Enghien, The Royal Academy of Music London, Chethams School of Music UK, the Brussels Conservatoire and at various summer music festivals in Belgium,
Italy, Sweden, Holland and Germany. She is also the director of the Resonances Chamber Academy.
Amy is the founder and Artistic Director of the acclaimed International Chamber Music Festival in Belgium, ‘Festival Resonances’.
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Polish violinist Kaja Nowak plays as soloist and chamber musician throughout
Europe. Having made her solo debut with the Rzeszow Philharmonic Orchestra in
Poland at the age of thirteen, she has since performed with orchestras in Poland,
Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands. As a chamber musician, Kaja has
collaborated with artists such as Ivry Gitlis, Philippe Graffin, Jean-Marc Philips
Varjabedian, Gary Hoffman, Nobuko Imai or Christian Ivaldi among others, as well
as with many exciting musicians of her generation. She has been invited to perform
at chamber music festivals in France, Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands such as
Schiermonnikoog, Consonances, Musique de Chambre a Giverny, Resonances,
Midis-Minimes, Rome Chamber Music Festival...; she has also participated in the
Open Chamber Music sessions at IMS Prussia Cove in the UK. Kaja has performed
chamber music in venues such as Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Anton Philipszaal in
The Hague, or Flagey in Brussels. She has been awarded several prizes for her solo
and chamber music performances, most recently the Grand Prix at the 4th
International Competition Triomphe de l'Art in Brussels as a member of the newly
formed Karski Quartet.
Kaja studied with Robert Naściszewski in Rzeszów, with Konstanty Andrzej Kulka in Warsaw and with Philippe Graffin in
The Hague and Brussels. She lives in Brussels and plays on a Carlo Antonio Tanegia violin. It
is kindly loaned to her by Helen Brunner, to whom Kaja was for several years
interpreter and assistant during her classes at the yearly Zenon Brzewski
International Music Courses in Łańcut (Poland).
kajanowak.com
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Tony Nys started his musical training at the age of five taking up violin lessons with Tomiko Shida. Later he continued his studies
at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel with Clemens Quatacker and Philippe Hirschhorn. Between 1994 and 1997 he was the first violin of the Fétis string
quartet, attending masterclasses with the Alban Berg Quartet, the Borodin Quartet and the Amadeus Quartet. Ever since chamber music has been a natural
environment for him. As a violist in the Danel Quartet from 1998 till 2005 he played worldwide in numerous festivals, recordings and performances of
newly composed pieces.
Besides he shared the concert stage with renowned artists and ensembles such as the Borodin Quartet, the Brodsky Quartet, the Petersen Quartet,
Vladimir Mendelssohn, Garth Knox, Gérard Caussé, Alina Ibrahimove, Frank Braley and many others. Tony Nys has a special interest in contemporary
music and worked with composers as Helmut Lachenmann, Wolfgang Rihm, Mauricio Kagel and Pascal Dusapin. With the Danel Quartet, he has been teaching
at the Witten-Herdecke University in Germany and at the CNSM in Lyon. Since 2007 he is a founding member of the TrioFenix and the Malibran quartet
He has regularly worked as a freelance musician with ensembles such as Prometheus, Ictus, Ensemble Modern, Explorations, Oxalys, B'Rock…
Tony Nys has been viola solo in La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra since 2007 and in that position he was also invited by the Frankfurt Rundfunkorchester,
the Munich Staatsoper, Le Concert Olympique, Brussels Philharmonic,…. He is a regular guest in the Mahler Chamberorchestra.
Tony is the head of strings and teaches viola and chamber music at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel. He also teaches at the Thy Chamber Music
Festival in Denmark.
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Capucine Prin is born in Paris in 1988 and starts studying the oboe at the age of eight with Olivier Doise. She continues her studies in the
Paris Conservatoire (CRR) in the class held by Nora Cismondi and Michel Bénet, graduating with a Bachelor in Arts in 2014. At the same
time, she is graduated with a Bachelor of Musicology in the Paris Sorbonne University, and is part of the youth orchestra Ostinato for
two years, where she learns the profession of orchestral musician. She also benefits from the teaching of Jacques Tys, Hélène
Devilleneuve, Christian Schmitt and Dominik Wollenweber.
In 2012, she wins the 2nd prize at the Léopold Bellan competition in Paris.
She enters then the High School of Music of Lausanne in Switzerland in the class held by Jean-Louis Capezzali and is graduated with a
Master in Pedagogy, and Master in Arts of Interpretation in 2018.
She now teaches in the musical school of Epalinges and is part of the Orchestre des Lauréats du Conservatoire as 2nd oboe and solo
English Horn. She is also regularly called upon to perform with french and swiss professional orchestras such as the Opéra de Limoges,
the Orchestre de Pau, the Sinfonieorchester of Basel or the Da Vinci Orchestra, and various festivals of chamber music and orchestra.
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Edward Rushton studied piano and composition at Chetham's School of Music in Manchester, before going on to read Music at King's
College, Cambridge and Composition at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. In 2001 he graduated with distinction from Irwin Gage's masterclass in
Lied interpretation at the Zurich University of Applied Arts. He has been teaching piano accompaniment at the Hochschule Luzern — Musik since 2000. He has
performed as a song-pianist and chamber musician throughout Europe with such singers as Juliane Banse, Sybille Diethelm, Jeannine Hirzel, Lena Kiepenheuer,
Theresa Kronthaler, Yvonne Naef, Robin Adams, Richard Burkhard, Michael Mogl, René Perler, Jakob Pilgram, Lázsló Polgár, Jonathan Sells and Simon Wallfisch.
He is a member of the Harry White Trio, and of the Miravia Duo, with pianist Alison Cullen. His love for Lieder and song led him in 2015 to found, togther
with a group of like-minded singers and pianists, the company "Besuch der Lieder" in order to further the performance of Lieder in private spaces in
Switzerland. His discography includes CDs for Guild, Musiques Suisses, Musicaphon, Bis, Lyrita and Nimbus with singers Jeannine Hirzel, Robin Adams,
Sybille Diethelm, Valentin Gloor, Simon Wallfisch and Saxophonist Harry White.
Edward is also in demand as a composer. His operas have been performed throughout Switzerland, Germany, the UK and in Philadelphia. Composing for voice
and piano also forms a core part of his oeuvre, and he has already written over twenty song cycles and individual works in this, one of his favourite
genres.
edwardrushton.net
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With a discography of over 70 discs Raphael Wallfisch is one of the most recorded classical artists in the world. A
BBC survey named Wallfisch’s recording of the Dvorak Cello Concerto the best recording of the work in the past 25 years. With concert appearances around
the world, Wallfisch is at the height of his powers with a masterful technique and a soaring, singing sound that evokes a tradition continued from his
teacher, Piatigorsky. Raphael Wallfisch has been at the forefront of playing and commissioning new works by contemporary composers, working with Sir Peter
Maxwell Davies, Kenneth Leighton, James MacMillan, Rodion Schedrin, John Tavener and many others.
www.raphaelwallfisch.com
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Born in London in 1982,
Simon Wallfisch studied cello and voice at the Royal College of Music in London 2000-2006, then at the
Hanns Eisler Berlin 2006-2007 and the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Hochschule für Musik und Theater 2007-2009. He was engaged as a young artist at the Zurich
International Opera Studio 2009-2011, and since then has sung leading roles in Staatsoper Nürnberg, Oper Leipzig, Netherlands Reis Opera, English Touring
opera, Landestheater Gera-Altenburg, Dessau and Magdeburg Theaters. He regularly gives recitals across the world including Wigmore Hall, Hamburg Laeiszhalle,
Berlin Konzerthaus, He continues to play the cello with major London Orchestras including English Chamber Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. He
teaches cello and voice at the London College of Music and Royal College of Music, was the Music Director at the Osnabrück Institue Für Musik Summer
programme in 2018, and has recorded several discs with duo partner Edward Rushton.
www.simonwallfisch.com
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Diede Verpoest, violinist and violist, a son of musician parents, grew up
in a house full of music. He received his very first violin lessons from his father.
He went on to graduate with highest honours from the August De Boeck school
of music, studying also with Eric Sluys, and later graduating also with highest
honours from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels in the class of
Philippe Graffin. He has also followed viola lessons with Tony Nys. Presently he
serves as assistant in the Royal Conservatory of Brussels, in the violin class of
Naaman Sluchin.
Diede is a very versatile musician. As a violinist, he is active in many groups, such as
his duo with pianist Klaus Vermeulen, the Tmesis Ensemble (laureate of Supernova
Competition 2016, ensemble-in-residence at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels)
and the Sonos Ensemble (a group consisting of a string quintet, wind quintet and
piano, artist-in-residence in Tongeren for the 2018/2019 season); thus cultivating
his love of classic chamber music repertoire as well as looking to discover and
promote works that are new or little known. He is equally active as a viola soloist
(having recently performed the Sinfonia Concertante together with Nicolas Dupont
under the baton of Dirk Vermeulen) and chamber musician – Diede is the violist of
the St. George Quintet, praised by The Strad for their „expressive fluency and
phrasing”, and the newly formed Karski Quartet. Apart from the many ensembles
he is part of, Diede is a sought-after musician, freelancing and performing in
chamber music festivals such as Resonances Festival, Delft Chamber Music Festival
or Ysaye's Knokke. He has also made several recordings for Euroclassical.
Diede has been awarded several prizes in recognition of his talent. As a violinist he
was awarded the 1st Prize in the Dexia Classics competition in 2010 and the
Mathilde Horlait-Dapsens Prize for his final recital at the Royal Conservatory of
Brussels. With the Tmesis Ensemble he became laureate of the 2016 Supernova
competition, resulting in performances during the Klarafestival in Brussels, and
other festivals such as Harmos (Portugal), Schiermonnikoog (Netherlands), Midis-
Minimes and Klara in De Singel (Belgium) and a CD recording contract with the
Etcetera label. Most recently, as a member of the Karski Quartet he was awarded
the Grand Prix at the 4th International Music Competition Triomphe de l'Art in
Brussels.
Diede has been inspired by many musicians, among them Vaclav Remeš, Josef
Klusoň, Sakari Tepponen, Elisabeth Zeuthen Schneider, Helge Slaatto, Joe Puglia,
Marc Danel, Guy Danel, Dirk Vermeulen, Jan Vermeulen, Thomas Dieltjens,
Benjamin Dieltjens, Jan Michiels, Amy Norrington... Apart from the classical music
repertoire, Diede feels very much drawn to the worlds of folk music, jazz and free
improvisation. He is a member of the folk ensemble Roots, who have toured in
Flanders and recorded two CD albums.
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Pierre Henri Xuereb is a French violist, performer on both the viola d'amore and the grand'viola.
A student of Serge Collot at the Paris Conservatory, at the age of 16 he received first prize in viola. Following this he studied for a time in the United States with William Primrose and Walter Trampler, both at the Juilliard School and Boston University, from which latter he received his Bachelor of Music degree in 1982.
In 1980 Xuereb took a position performing with the Ensemble intercontemporain of Pierre Boulez, leaving the group in 1982. Since 1989 he has taught his instrument at the Paris Conservatory and at the École normale de musique de Paris. He teaches frequent master classes, and appears with the Patrick Gallois Quintet and the Ensemble Alternance; he also teaches at the Royal Conservatory of Liège.
With the luthier Friedrich Alber Xuereb he has designed a five-string viola called the grand'viola; he has used it to perform works for forgotten instruments such as the Sonate per grand'viola e orchestra of Niccolò Paganini, the Arpeggione Sonata of Franz Schubert, and the Sixth suite for viola pomposa of Johann Sebastian Bach. His discography runs to around twenty recordings, and he is noted for his championship of contemporary classical music.
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With her deep musicality and virtuosity, Jing Zhao is considered one of the most promising artists now establishing an international career. Jing Zhao, the leading Chinese cellist of her generation, won the 1rst prize of the prestigious ARD international competition in Munich in 2005 and went on to receive the 2009 Exxon Mobil Music award in Japan. The Great Seiji Ozawa chose her as soloist, together with the violinist Vadim Repin, the pianist Lang Lang and the Singer Kathleen Battle, for the opening new-year concert of the China National Center for the Performing Arts . He had already been instrumental in helping her move to Berlin where she studied at the Karajan Academy, as well as studying privately with Yo-Yo Ma and Maestro Rostropovich.
M.Rostropovich recognizing her exceptional talent, made it possible for her to enter the Class of the renowned Prof David Geringas in the Berlin Hochschule fur Musik Hanns Eisler. She has performed with noted conductors such as Seiji Ozawa, Lorin Mazel, Ricardo Muti, Andris Nelsons, Myung-whun Chung, Muhai Chang, Mikhael Pletnev, Yuri Bashmet, Kenichiro Kobayashi, Jean Fournet and Eliahu Inbal among others. Orchestras that have invited her include the NHK Symphony, the New Japan Philharmonic, the Beijing Symphony, the Bayerische Rundfunk Orchestra, the Munich Chamber Orchestra,Berliner Symphony Orchestra, The Hong Kong Philharmonic, the KBS Philharmonic in Seoul, the NDR Symphony orchestra, the Philharmonica della Scala, the Sydney Symphony and the Singapore Symphony.
While in Berlin, Jing Zhao became a very sought after chamber music partner, collaborating with artists such Emmanuel Pahud, Guy Braustein , Daishin Kashimoto, Paul Meyer, Boris Berezovsky, Eric le sage, Antoine Tamestit, Konstantin Lifschitz and Trevor Pinnock. She toured in Asia with Myung -whun Chung, where they were invited to perform together with H I H Crown Prince Nahurito of Japan.
The great pianist Martha Argerich has chosen to perform and record the Tchaikowsky trio with Jing Zhao and Dora Schwarzberg during her festival in Lugano, where she is now a regular guest. Other festivals where she performs include the celebrated Jerusalem festival, Zagreb international festival, Zagreb chamber music festival, Roland’s Ecke in Bonn WH, Bad Kissingen, Istanbul international festival, Argerich’s Beppu festival, Folles Journees, Pietrasanta in Concerto.
Jing Zhao has recorded 5 cd’s for Victor entertainment in Japan. In 2017 she has recorded two CD's with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra featuring a Russian album with the Shostakovich cello concerto, a Chinese album and two Tan Dun's Cello Concertos in London with Maestro Tan Dun conducting. Jing Zhao plays on a Montagnana Cello (1738) on generous loan from a private Foundation.
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