Soloists

Born in 2001 in Cracow, Poland. Currently studying his Masters of Arts Degree at Musik Akademie Basel in the class of Prof. Danjulo Ishizaka.

Michał Balas is an active soloist and a chamber musician. Despite his young age, he had the chance to perform in many renowned concert halls, including Berlin Philharmonic, Herkulessaal in Munich, Concert Hall of the Ferenc Liszt Academy in Budapest, Big Hall of Mozarteum University in Salzburg, Stadtcasino Basel, Warsaw National Philharmonic, Bedrich Smetana Hall in Prague, among others.

He is a winner of many international competitions. His biggest success is winning the First Prize and a Special Prize for the best performance of a piece composed by a Maltese composer during the “Classic Strings Competition” in Dubai (2022). This competition provides a tour consisting of 10 solo performances in major European concert halls. In 2018 he was awarded with First Prize and a Special Prize for the best performance of a contemporary work during the “Johansen International Competition for Young String Players” in Washington D.C. He also became the first Grand Prix Winner at the “Dominik Połoński Hommage Competition”in Łódź, Poland (2021).

In 2023 he was named “Classic FM 30 under 30 Rising Star” – a prestigious British plebiscite, that recognises successful young musicians, that already proved themself on international arenas. In 2022 he became a nominee during the “Corypheus of Polish Music Award” in the “Discovery of the Year” category. In 2021 he received a title “Polish Cello Personality 2021”.

He had the chance to meet and work with renowned musicians and professors, such as: Prof. Robert Levin, Steven Isserlis, Prof. Claudio Martinez-Mehner, Prof. Arto Noras, Prof. Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, Prof. Laurence Lesser, just to name a few. He also had the opportunity to meet and learn from world-class composers, for example György Kurtág and Krzysztof Penderecki.

Winner of the 2017 New York Respighi Prize, Tommaso made his debut as a featured soloist with the Chamber Orchestra of New York on the prestigious world stage of Carnegie Hall in 2018.

His concert carrer as flute soloist brought him to perform in many of the main world stages such as Tokyo Suntory Hall, Philharmonie Berlin, Musikverein Vienna, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Tonhalle Zurich, Mozarteum Salzburg, Smetana Hall Prague, Carnegie Hall New York, Seoul Arts Center, Herkulessaal Munich, Gran Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Beijing University Hall and Guangzhou Opera House in Cina, Salle Cortot in Paris; appearing as guest soloists with Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of New York, Berliner Symphoniker, Nürnberg Symphoniker, Munchener Kammerphilharmonie, Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, North Czech Philarmonic, State of Mexico Symphony Orchestra, Euro Sinfonietta Wien, St. Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra, Thueringen Philharmonie Gotha-Eisenach.

Many contemporary works are dedicated to Tommaso, among them "The Garden of Delights. A Flute Concerto after Bosch" by Andrea Battistoni, which he premiered on the occasion of his debut at the Berlin Phiharmonie in 2020. As a chamber musician, he has performed in many important Italian festivals including Trame Sonore in Mantua, Io Sono Musica in Mestre, Musikamera in Venice, Amici della Musica in Padua, Amici della Musica and Accademia Filarmonica in Verona, Festival Toscanini in Parma, Yamaha Piano Discovery in Milan, Serate Musicali in Milan, Festival "le Vie del Barocco" in Genoa, MantovaMusica, GAM in Turin.

The main italian music magazine “Suonare News” dedicated Tommaso an article as member of the new generation of italian musicians, and his recordings for Velut Luna (chamber music for flute, cello and piano) and Concerto Classics (music for flute and piano by Alfredo Casella) were enthusiastically reviewed by main Italian radios such as Rai Radio 3 and Radio Classica and by specialized magazines.

Belgian violinist of Russian heritage, Mr. Bouchkov is a sophisticated musician of impeccable aplomb and has carved an international career performing with leading orchestras and conductors across Europe.  He is one of the most multifaceted and unique artists of the new generation. His orchestral appearances include performances with the Mariinsky Theater Symphony Orchestra and Valery Gergiev, the HR-Sinfonieorchester and Christoph Eschenbach, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Mariss Jansons, the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra and Philippe Jordan. He has also appeared with the NDR-Sinfonieorchester Hamburg, Hessische Rundfunk Orchestra, Tonhalle Orchester Zürich, the Orchestre National de Belgique, the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale RAI in Turin, the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Liège, the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestra di Milano Giuseppe Verdi, and the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra among others, collaborating with conductors such as Stanislav Kochanovsky, Michael Sanderling, Andrey Boreyko, Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, Dmitry Liss, Christian Arming, Lionel Bringuier, Maxim Vengerov, James Judd, to name but a few.

As an active recitalist, Mr. Bouchkov has performed in many of the world’s most prestigious concert halls such as Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Hall, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Dresden Frauenkirche, Concert Hall of St. Petersburg, Tonhalle Zürich, Munich’s Prinzregententheater, Paris’ Theatre de la Ville, Maison de Radio France, and the Konzerthaus in Berlin among several other venues. A fine chamber musician, he is a regular guest of the Verbier Festival in Switzerland.

"His name often appears on international concert programmes when there is an aura of the exquisite, top-class" (Berliner Morgenpost): The Russian violin virtuoso has established himself as one of the most profound and versatile musicians of his generation. His repertoire includes over fifty violin concertos and hundreds of chamber works, some of which he premiered. He is a frequent guest at the Grands Interprètes music series in Geneva and Spectrum Concerts Berlin, bringing him to the Berlin Philharmonie in every season since 2008.

Boris Brovtsyn has performed with, among others, Sir Neville Marriner, Vladimir Jurowski, Neemi Jarvi, Marek Janowski, Vassili Sinaisky, Yan Pascal Tortelier, Mikhail Jurowski, Gerd Albrecht, Alexander Vedernikov, Michael Sanderling, Arvo Volmer and Antony Wit. Mr Brovtsyn has appeared with Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, London Philharmonic, Warsaw Philharmonic, the Royal Danish Orchestra, Russian National Orchestra, Berlin Radio Symphony, São Paulo Symphony, Academy of St. Martin in the Fields and the BBC Symphony, BBC Philharmonic and BBC Scottish Symphony orchestras.

Now regarded as one of the finest cellists of the younger generation, Alexander Chaushian has performed extensively throughout the world as a soloist with orchestras such as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philharmonia, the Academy of St Martin-in- the-Fields, The London Mozart Players, The Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, The Boston Pops and The Armenian Philharmonic, and has given highly acclaimed performances in such venues as London’s Royal Festival Hall, Queen Elizabeth Hall and Wigmore Hall, Sala Verdi Milan, Konzerthaus Vienna, Suntory Hall Japan, the main Carnegie Hall New York, and Symphony Hall Boston.

He performs regularly in festivals throughout the world and is the Artistic Director of the International Pharos Chamber Music Festival in Cyprus and the Yerevan Music Festival in Armenia.
After initial studies in Armenia, Alexander Chaushian studied in the UK at the Menuhin School and the Guildhall School, London. He then pursued advanced studies at the Hochschule Berlin, graduating with distinction in 2005. He is a laureate prize winner of many international competitions including the 12th International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow and the ARD Competition in Germany. As an alumnus of Young Concert Artists, New York, he toured extensively in the USA.

Simon is a multi-festival director, conductor, renowned pianist, creative programmer with a passion for championing contemporary repertoire, and a chamber musician who regularly collaborates with artists such as Daniel Hope, Lawrence Power, Roderick Williams and Anne Sofie von Otter in repertoire from Haydn and Schumann to Adès, Byström, Dean and Reich. His own ensembles include The Kungsbacka Piano Trio and Stockholm Syndrome Ensemble (resident artists at Stockholm Konzerthus). Simon is the Artistic Director of the Change Music Festival in Norra Halland, Västerås Music Festival and Co-Artistic Director of the Wye Valley Chamber Music Festival as well as Chief Conductor & Artistic Advisor of Västerås Sinfonietta, alongside multiple guesting roles.

Simon is a multi-festival director, conductor, renowned pianist, creative programmer with a passion for championing contemporary repertoire, and a chamber musician who regularly collaborates with artists such as Daniel Hope, Lawrence Power, Roderick Williams and Anne Sofie von Otter in repertoire from Haydn and Schumann to Adès, Byström, Dean and Reich. His own ensembles include The Kungsbacka Piano Trio and Stockholm Syndrome Ensemble (resident artists at Stockholm Konzerthus). Simon is the Artistic Director of the Change Music Festival in Norra Halland, Västerås Music Festival and Co-Artistic Director of the Wye Valley Chamber Music Festival as well as Chief Conductor & Artistic Advisor of Västerås Sinfonietta, alongside multiple guesting roles.

Simon’s spicy and eclectic programming is reflected in an extraordinarily varied career as a conductor/director alongside his solo collaborations. His triumphant season has included conducting debuts with Royal Swedish Opera in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which was Norman Lebrecht’s Opera of the week and SvenskaDagbladet wrote “The Swedish Royal Opera Orchestra under the direction of Simon Crawford-Phillips manage to reveal the myriad of temperament and structure that the music contains, without the dreaminess disappearing”; Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, the world premiere of Börtz Violin Concerto for Onewith Malin Broman and Norrköpings Symfoniorkester; directing the Norwegian Chamber Orchestra in a joint programme with Pekka Kuusisto; and the world premiere of a new double concerto from Finnish composer Sauli Zinovjev for him as director/soloist and Hugo Ticciati with Tapiola Sinfonietta.

After receiving the Critics' Prize at the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow (1990), Pietro De Maria won First Prize in other prestigious international piano competitions, such as the Dino Ciani - Teatro La Scala in Milan (1990), the Géza Anda in Zurich (1994), and the Mendelssohn Award in Hamburg (1997).

An active concert pianist, he has played as soloist with the best known orchestras, with conductors of the stature of Roberto Abbado, Umberto Benedetti Michelangeli, Gary Bertini, Myung-Whun Chung, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Daniele Gatti, Alan Gilbert, Eliahu Inbal, Marek Janowski, Ton Koopman, Michele Mariotti, Ingo Metzmacher, Gianandrea Noseda, Corrado Rovaris, Yutaka Sado, Sándor Végh and Jonathan Webb.

Born in Venice in 1967, De Maria studied piano with Giorgio Vianello and Gino Gorini. Revealing a precocious talent, he won First Prize at the Alfred Cortot International Piano Competition in Milan at the age of 13. He graduated from the Conservatory of Venice and continued his studies with Maria Tipo at the Conservatory of Geneva, where he obtained the Premier Prix de Virtuosité with the highest honours in 1988.

His repertory ranges from Bach to Ligeti and he is the first Italian pianist to have played Chopin’s complete piano works in six public concerts. He has also been focusing on Bach, presenting both books of The Well-Tempered Clavier as well as the Goldberg Variations in his concerts and, more recently, he has performed Beethoven’s entire production of Sonatas and Concertos.

He has recorded Chopin’s complete piano works, The Well-Tempered Clavier and the Goldberg Variations for Decca, Chopin’s Piano Concertos with Daniele Rustioni and the Orchestra della Toscana for Dynamic, receiving important acknowledgments from international publications of prestige such as Diapason, International Piano, MusicWeb-International and Pianiste. His next project will be to perform Beethoven’s entire production of Sonatas and Concertos.

Peter Donohoe was born in Manchester in 1953. He studied at Chetham’s School of Music for seven years, graduated in music at Leeds University, and went on to study at the Royal Northern College of Music with Derek Wyndham and then in Paris with Olivier Messiaen and Yvonne Loriod. He is acclaimed as one of the foremost pianists of our time, for his musicianship, stylistic versatility and commanding technique.

In recent seasons Donohoe has appeared with Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic and Concert Orchestra, Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra, St Petersburg Philharmonia, RTE National Symphony Orchestra, Belarusian State Symphony Orchestra, and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. He has undertaken a UK tour with the Russian State Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as giving concerts in many South American and European countries, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Russia, and USA. Other past and future engagements include performances of all three MacMillian piano concertos with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra; a ‘marathon’ recital of Scriabin’s complete piano sonatas at Milton Court; an all-Mozart series at Perth Concert Hall; concertos with the Moscow State Philharmonic Orchestra, St Petersburg Symphony Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Orchestraat Royal Festival Hall; and a residency at the Buxton International Festival.

Donohoe is also in high demand as a jury member for international competitions. He has recently served on the juries at the International Tchaikovsky Piano Competition in Moscow (2011 and 2015), Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels (2016), Georges Enescu Competition in Bucharest (2016), Hong Kong International Piano Competition (2016), Harbin Competition (2017 and 2018), Artur Rubenstein Piano Master Competition (2017), Lev Vlassenko Piano Competition and Festival (2017), Alaska International e-Competition (2018), Concours de Geneve Competition (2018), Ferrol Piano Competition (2022), and Hong Kong International Piano Competition (2022), along with many national competitions both within the UK and abroad.

Pianist Danny Driver is recognised internationally as an artist of sophistication, insight and musical depth. His studies at Cambridge University and the Royal College of Music inspired his holistic approach to performance, from which he derives a vibrant brand of programming that he brings to concert halls and music festivals across the UK, Europe, Asia and North America. His breadth of repertoire and musical curiosity are also reflected in his recordings for Hyperion, in which he has explored both mainstream and neglected music from the baroque period through to the present day, recently releasing Ligeti’s complete Études for Piano to widespread international acclaim.

A Gramophone Award nominated artist, Driver has performed with orchestras across the globe including the BBC Scottish Symphony, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, BBC NOW, Hallé, Minnesota, Bournemouth Symphony, Philharmonia, American Symphony, RTÉ Concert, Hong Kong Pro Arte, Queensland Symphony, Kuopio Symphony, and Uppsala Chamber Orchestra. His many collaborations with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra have included performances across the UK, at London’s Cadogan Hall and at the BBC Proms (where he has performed twice as a soloist). He has worked with conductors including Andrew Litton, Charles Dutoit, Martyn Brabbins, Dalia Stasevska, Alexander Shelley, Mario Venzago, Anna-Maria Helsing, Marzena Diakun, Rebecca Miller, Rory Macdonald and Sir James Macmillan.

Driver’s recital career to date has included numerous appearances at London’s Wigmore Hall, including four live-streamed solo and chamber recitals during the 2020-21 lockdown period, and a three-concert series in 2021-22 devoted to György Ligeti and his musical world. Elsewhere Driver has given solo recitals at the Southbank Centre’s International Piano Series, Music Toronto, San Francisco Performances, Montreal’s Salle Bourgie, and Klavierraritäten Husum, while enjoying ongoing associations with festivals such as the Lammermuir (Scotland), Lichfield (England) and Bard Summerscape (USA).

Born in 2001, he graduated at the age of 15 with top marks and Honorable Mention at the Martucci Conservatory of Salerno, under the guidance of Maestro Maurizio Aiello. In October 2015, at the age of only 14, he was admitted to the Stauffer Academy of Cremona in the class of Maestro Salvatore Accardo. In 2016 he received the Diploma of Honor at the High Specialization courses at the Chigiana Academy of Siena. Since 2016 he has been attending the Advanced Specialization course at the Perosi Academy in Biella in the class of Maestro Pavel Berman. He is currently studying in the class of M° Pierre Amoyal at the Mozarteum in Salzburg.

He participated in various national and international competitions, always ranking first: CAM Castellaneta, Barletta, Eratai, Denza, Trofeo Città di Greci, Campagnano di Roma, Puccini - Città di Eboli, Media Musicale, Antonello da Caserta, Jacopo Napoli, Campi Flegrei, Don V. Vitti, Napoli Nova, Luciani di Cosenza, Caccamo Benedetto Albanese, P. Mandanici - Barcellona P. di Gotto, 2013 Lions Prize San Severino Market, A. Vivaldi -Sapri Competition, Orfeo Stillo- Cosenza, A. Apreda - Sorrento, V. Scaramuzza Crotone, Paisiello Lecce, City of Magliano Sabina - Rome.

Pavel Gililov was born in 1950 in the Ukraine. As a child prodigy he was supported by Dimitri Kabalewsky. He completed his piano studies at the Leningrad Conservatory with honours.

Still a student, Pavel Gililov won the National Piano Competition in Moscow in 1972. He is the winner of the International Chopin Competition in Warsaw and the International Viotti Piano Competition in Vercelli (1st prize).

In 1978 Pavel Gililov emigrated to the West and continued his concert and teaching activities.

From 1979 to 2013 he was a professor at the Cologne University of Music and since 2007 he is professor for piano at the University Mozarteum Salzburg.

The engagements with the leading orchestras and his numerous performances in the most important cultural metropoles of the world were enthusiastically received by the audience and critics. The CD recordings for Deutsche Grammophon Gesellschaft, RCA Victor, Toshiba EMI, Orfeo and others established his reputation.

He participated in numerous festivals: Newport (USA), Barcelona, ​​Salzburg Festival, Berliner Festwochen, Edinburgh, Schleswig Holstein and many others.

In addition to his solo career, he also devotes himself to the field of chamber music: Pavel Gililov was a member of the Berlin Philharmonic Piano Quartet. Pierre Amoyal, Dimitri Sitkovetsky, Tabea Zimmermann and Mischa Maisky were his regular chamber music partners.

For over 25 years he had a duo with Boris Pergamenschikow and several years a piano trio with Viktor Tretjakov and Karine Georgian.

In 2005, Pavel Gililov founded the International Telekom Beethoven Competition Bonn and has always been its artistic director and president of the jury.

Pavel Gililov leads numerous international masterclasses worldwide and is a sought-after juror in prestigious competitions.

Several works by contemporary composers have been dedicated to him and premiered by him.

Highlights of the 2018/19 season include appearances at the Merano Festival, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg and Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg under the baton of Valery Gergiev.

Concert pianist Andrey Gugnin is rapidly gaining international acclaim as a passionately virtuosic performer, who possesses an “extraordinarily versatile and agile technique, which serves an often inspired musical imagination” (Gramophone). One of his recent achievements is winning the prestigious 12th International German Piano Award in 2023. In 2024, Andrey Gugnin won first place at the Classic Piano International Competition in Dubai, claiming the grand prize with a performance of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3. In 2020, the BBC Music Magazine Awards named Gugnin the winner of the Instrumental Award for his recording Shostakovich: 24 Preludes - Piano Sonatas 1 & 2 (Hyperion). Since winning the prestigious Sydney International Piano Competition in 2016, Gugnin has gone from strength to strength in concerts and recordings which exhibit his impassioned interpretations.

In addition to winning in Sydney, Gugnin also received prizes at this illustrious competition for Best Overall Concerto, Best 19th/20th Century Concerto, Best Violin and Piano Sonata, and Best Preliminaries for his first-round recital. He won the Gold Medal and Audience Award at the XCI International Gina Bachauer Piano Competition in 2014, and second prize at the 2013 Beethoven International Piano Competition in Vienna.

Increasingly in demand as a concerto soloist, Gugnin has been invited to perform as a guest artist with notable orchestras worldwide, such as the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Danish Radio Orchestra, the Mariinsky Symphony Orchestra, the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra, Utah Symphony, West Australian Symphony Orchestra and the Sydney Symphony, and has performed under the distinguished batons of Maestro Valery Gergiev, Jaap Van Zweden, Reinbert de Leeuw, Daniel Raiskin, Stanislav Kochanovsky and Asher Fisch. He has also collaborated in a more chamber context with the Asko Schönberg ensemble, Orchestre de Chambre de Genève, Jerusalem Camerata and Camerata Salzburg and on several occasions as the duo partner of violinist Tasmin Little.

Chloë Hanslip (b. 1987) has already established herself as an artist of  distinction on the international stage. Prodigiously talented, she made her  BBC Proms debut at fourteen and  her US concerto debut at fifteen and has   performed at major venues in the UK (Royal Festival Hall, Wigmore Hall),   Europe (Vienna Musikverein, Hamburg Laeiszhalle, Paris Louvre and Salle  Gaveau, St Petersburg Hermitage) as well as Carnegie Hall, Metropolitan Arts  Space in Tokyo and the Seoul Arts Centre.  Her performances have included the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen  Rundfunks, Philharmonia Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, London  Philharmonic, Beethoven Orchester Bonn, Bern Symphony Orchestra,  Bremen Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony, Royal Liverpool  Philharmonic, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, Lahti Symphony, Moscow  State Symphony,Norwegian Radio, Real Filharmonia Galicia, Vienna  Tonkünstler Orchester, Hamburg Symfoniker, Czech National Symphony,  Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI, Orchestra Regionale Toscana,  Helsingborg Symphony, Royal Flemish Philharmonic and the Tampere Philharmonic Orchestra. Further afield  her engagements include the Cincinnati Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Houston Symphony, Tokyo  Metropolitan Symphony, Malaysia Philharmonic, Adelaide Symphony, Auckland Philharmonina and the  Singapore Symphony Orchestra. She has collaborated with conductors such as Sir Andrew Davis, Mariss  Jansons, Paavo Järvi, Charles Dutoit, Giordano Bellincampi, Jakub Hrusa, Pietari Inkinen, Susanna Mälkki,  Gianandrea Noseda, Tadaaki Otaka, Vasily Petrenko, Vassily Sinaisky, Dmitri Slobodeniouk, Alexander  Vedernikov, Juraj Valcuha and Xian Zhang.  

Chloë has an extensive discography and her latest releases include the complete Beethoven Violin Sonatas in  three volumes on Rubicon Classics with regular duo partner, Danny Driver: “instantly engaging, thanks to the  warmth and clarity of Hanslip’s playing and the obvious rapport between the musicians.” (Strad).

The violinist Daniel Hope has toured the world as a virtuoso soloist for 30 years and is celebrated for his musical versatility as well as his dedication to humanitarian causes. Winner of the 2015 European Cultural Prize for Music, whose previous recipients include Daniel Barenboim and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Daniel Hope appears as soloist with the world’s major orchestras and conductors, also directing many ensembles from the violin. Since the start of the 2016/17 season Hope is Music Director of the Zurich Chamber Orchestra – and from the 2018/19 Season also Music Director of the New Century Chamber Orchestra in San Francisco.

In 2019 he became Artistic Director of the Frauenkirche Cathedral in Dresden, and from 2020 he will assume the role of President of the Beethovenhaus Bonn, an honorary position following in the footsteps of Kurt Masur and Joseph Joachim.

Daniel Hope was raised in London at Highgate School and the Royal Academy of Music, studying the violin with Zakhar Bron, Itzhak Rashkovsky and Felix Andrievsky. The youngest ever member of the Beaux Arts Trio with whom he performed over 400 times during its final six seasons, today Daniel Hope appears at all the world’s greatest halls and festivals: from Carnegie Hall to the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, from Salzburg to Schleswig-Holstein and from Aspen to the BBC Proms and Tanglewood. He has worked with conductors including Kurt Masur, Valery Gergiev and Christian Thielemann, and with the world’s greatest symphony orchestras including Berlin, Boston, Chicago, Paris, London, Los Angeles and Tokyo. Devoted to contemporary music, Hope has commissioned over thirty works, enjoying close contact with composers such as Alfred Schnittke, Toru Takemitsu, Harrison Birtwistle, Sofia Gubaidulina, György Kurtág, Peter Maxwell-Davies and Mark-Anthony Turnage.

Cyprien Katsaris, the French-Cypriot pianist and composer, was born in Marseilles in 1951. He first began to play the piano in Cameroon where he spent his childhood, at the age of four, with Marie-Gabrielle Louwerse. A graduate of the Paris Conservatoire where he studied piano with Aline van Barentzen, Monique de la Bruchollerie, and chamber music with René Leroy and Jean Hubeau, he won the International Young Interpreters Rostrum-UNESCO (Bratislava 1977), the First Prize in the International Cziffra Competition (Versailles 1974) and he was the only western-European prize-winner at the 1972 Queen Elisabeth of Belgium International Competition.

His major international career includes performances with the world’s greatest orchestras: Berlin Philharmonic, Staatskapelle Dresden, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam, Philharmonia (London), NHK Symphony Orchestra (Tokyo), Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Beijing Symphony Orchestra. He has collaborated with conductors such as Leonard Bernstein, Kurt Masur, Myung Whun Chung, Sir Neville Marriner, Sir Simon Rattle, Antal Doráti, Mstislav Rostropovich, Charles Dutoit, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Christoph von Dohnányi and Karl Münchinger, who on the festive occasion of his farewell concert in 1986, with the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, personally invited Mr. Katsaris to perform the Haydn D major Concerto. Mr. Katsaris has recorded extensively for Teldec (Grand Prix du Disque Frédéric Chopin, Warsaw 1985; Grand Prix du Disque Franz Liszt, Budapest 1984 and 1989; British Music Retailers Association’s Award 1986; Record of the Year 1984, Germany, for the 9th Symphony of Beethoven/Liszt), Sony Classical, EMI, Deutsche Grammophon, BMG/RCA, Decca, Pavane, and now on his own label, PIANO 21. In addition to the standard repertory, such as the complete Concertos by Mozart, recorded live and performed in Salzburg and Vienna with Yoon K. Lee and the Salzburger Kammerphilharmonie, he has revived long lost works such as the Liszt/Tchaikovsky’s Concerto in the Hungarian style which he has recorded with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra. In 1992, the Japanese NHK TV produced with Cyprien Katsaris a thirteen-program series on Frédéric Chopin which included masterclasses and his own performance. On 17 October 1999, the New York concertgoers offered Mr. Katsaris a standing ovation in Carnegie Hall for his recital dedicated to Frédéric Chopin, performed on the day of his 150th death Anniversary.

Winner of the First Prize in the 2010 Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels, Belgian pianist Denis Kozhukhin has established himself as one of the greatest pianists of his generation.

He has appeared with many of the leading international orchestras, such as the Chicago, London and San Francisco Symphony orchestras, Israel, London and Rotterdam Philharmonic orchestras, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Staatskapelle Berlin, Philadelphia Orchestra and Philharmonia Orchestra. He is also frequently invited to play at the prominent festivals of Verbier, Gstaad, Grafenegg, Dresden, Intonations, Tsinandali, Klavier Ruhr, Lanaudiere and Jerusalem, as well as the BBC Proms.

The past season has featured collaborations with a number of European orchestras, including the return at the BBC Proms with BBC Symphony, debuts with Danish National, Gulbenkian and Indianapolis Symphony orchestras, a tour with the HR-Sinfonieorchester, a residency with the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra performing Rachmaninov’s four piano concertos, and concerts with the Oslo and Stockholm Philharmonic orchestras, the NDR Radiophilharmonie (Hannover) and WDR Sinfonieorchester (Cologne). He has appeared in recital at the Chicago Symphony Hall, Boulez Saal, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Musikverein, Berlin Philharmonie, Frankfurt Alte Oper, Zurich Tonhalle and Bozar.

Won the second prize at the highly prestigious Queen Elisabeth Competition in 2007 and embarked on a brilliant international career, which brought her to almost all corners of the world. She made her studies with Marina Kapatsinskaya at the Sofia State Music Academy in Bulgaria, and then at the Queen Sofia Higher Music School, Madrid with the legendary prof. Dmitri Bashkirov. She also worked, later on, with prof.El Bacha at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium and over the years had received the precious advice of renowned musicians, such as Leon Fleisher, Rosalyn Tureck, Mennahem Pressler, Alicia de Larocha and Andras Schiff. She is as well a Laureate of various other highly prestigious international piano and chamber music competitions, including “Paloma O’Shea” Piano Competition in Santander and “Vittorio Gui” Chamber music Competition in Florence.

Won the second prize at the highly prestigious Queen Elisabeth Competition in 2007 and embarked on a brilliant international career, which brought her to almost all corners of the
world. She made her studies with Marina Kapatsinskaya at the Sofia State Music Academy in Bulgaria, and then at the Queen Sofia Higher Music School, Madrid with the legendary
prof. Dmitri Bashkirov. She also worked, later on, with prof.El Bacha at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium and over the years had received the precious advice of renowned musicians, such as Leon Fleisher, Rosalyn Tureck, Mennahem Pressler, Alicia de Larocha and Andras Schiff. She is as well a Laureate of various other highly prestigious international piano and chamber music competitions, including “Paloma O’Shea” Piano Competition in Santander and “Vittorio Gui” Chamber music Competition in Florence.

Plamena performs with leading orchestras, such as Staatskapelle Berlin, the philharmonic orchestras of Rotterdam, Radio France, Luxembourg, Tokyo, National Orchestra of Belgium, BBC Philharmonic Manchester, RAI Torino Orchestra, Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, Sinfonia Varsovia, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, MDR Orchester Leipzig, RTVE Symphony Orchestra Madrid, Enescu Philharmonic orchestra and the Youth national Philharmonic in Bucarest, Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra, Sofia Philharmonic and the
symphony orchestras of St. Petersburg, Trondheim, Taipei, New Zealand, etc.

Born in Chieti, Giuliano Mazzoccante studied under the guidance of Lucia Passaglia at the Conservatory “L. Cherubini” in Florence graduating with highest honours ande later, he studied with Lazar Berman. With him, his concert repertoire deepened and improved with particular attention to the music of F. Liszt. He perfected Chamber Music at the International School of Chamber Music in Duino under the guidance of “Trio of Trieste” achieving a “Diploma with Merit”.

Winner of more than 50 national and international competitions, including “M. Clementi” in Florence, “Agorà 80″ in Rome, “F. Liszt” in Lucca, and “Città di Stresa”, he was awarded in prestigious competitions such as “International Music Tournament” in Rome, “Prix Venice”, “Ecomusic” in Monopoli and he is the winner of the 40th International Piano Competition “Arcangelo Speranza” in Taranto. In 2009 he was awarded in the “4th International Tbilisi Piano Competition” in Georgia (WFIMC).

Mazzoccante has been engaged in a remarkable concert activity both as a soloist and as a chamber musician at major Italian venues and overseas in Europe, USA and Asia. He is regularly invited to hold concerts and master classes at international venues and festivals such as “Mozarteum” in Saltzburg, “ClaviCologne Festival” in Germany, the “Malta International Music Festival”, “VIPA” International Music Festival, ecc.

He has been a regular guest of the “International Sommer-Akademie Schloss Pommersfelden” (Germany) where he has performed as a soloist and in chamber music performances and where he teaches chamber music since 2010. He has appeared as a soloist with different orchestras such Camerata Baltica, Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, Kiev Philharmonic Orchestra, Sinfonica Abruzzese, Sinfonica di Lecce, Sinfonica di Bari, Solisti Aquilani.

He plays with prestigious musicians such Karl Leister (historical 1st clarinettist of the Berlin Philharmonic), Francesco Manara and Fabrizio Meloni (1st violinist and 1st clarinettist of Teatro alla Scala in Milan), Dora Schwarzberg,  Pavel Berman,, Romain Garioud, ecc.

Dumitru Pocitari was born in 1991 in Moldova. He comes from a family with great musical traditions. He started his music studes at the age of seven.

Between 2000-2012, he won numerous prizes and medals at international violin competitions in Romania, Kasakhstan, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Russia and Israel.

He has participated in master classes with professors such as Eduard Wulfson, Phillipe Bride, Bujor Prelipcean, Serban Lupu, Zakhar Bron, Julian Rachlin, Alexandra Soumm, Nikolaj Znaider and Pinchas Zukerman. As a soloist, he performed with "Moscow Virtuosi under the baton of Vladimir Spivakov at the "Ascending Stars" festiwal in Kremlin.” He also performed under the baton of Zubin Mehta with The Symphony Orchestra of the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music in Tel-Aviv, at the Alte Oper in Frankfurt and with the Israel Philharmonic at The Charles Bronfmann Auditorium.

Dumitru has performed several times with outstanding pianists, such as Marta Argerich, Fazil Say, Yefim Bronfman, Behzod Abduraimov, Daniil Trifonov and Leif Ove Andsnes, at chamber music concerts in Israel and Italy. He has been a member of the Israel Philharmonic since 2014 and in 2019 he became the first concertmaster of the orchestra.

In 2022, he won first place in the International "Classic Strings" Competition in Dubai, receiving two special awards in the final: for the best sound and for the best interpretation of the obligatory Concerto written by Alexey Shor.

Alessandro Taverna established his international career by winning major prizes at Minnesota Piano-e-Competition, London International Piano Competition, Leeds International Piano Competition and Busoni Piano Competition in Bolzano. Since then he has performed in the most important concert halls including Teatro alla Scala Milan, Teatro San Carlo Naples, Teatro La Fenice Venice, Musikverein Vienna, Konzerthaus Berlin, Gasteig Munich, Wigmore Hall and Royal Festival Hall in London, Bridgewater Hall Manchester, Salle Cortot in Paris, Philharmonic Hall Liverpool, Metropolitan Theater in Tokyo, Lincoln Center in New York, Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, Auditorium Parco della Musica Rome.

He performed with prestigious orchestras such as Filarmonica della Scala, Münchner Philharmoniker, RAI National Symphony Orchestra, Santa Cecilia Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony, Bucharest Philharmonic, Scottish Chamber, Orchestra of the Accademia Teatro alla Scala and Malta Philharmonic Orchestra.

Gabriel Schwabe is a laureate of three of the world‘s most prestigious cello competitions: the Grand Prix Emanuel Feuermann in Berlin, the Concours Rostropovich in Paris and the Pierre Fournier Award in London. As a soloist he has worked with important orchestras such as the London Philharmonia, the Radio Symphony Orchestra Berlin, the NDR Radio Philharmonic, the Royal Northern Sinfonia, the DSO Berlin, the Malmö and Norrköping Symphony Orchestras and the NCPA Orchestra Beijing with conductors such as Marek Janowski, Eivind Gullberg-Jensen, Dennis Russell-Davies, Cornelius Meister, Giancarlo Guerrero, Michael Sanderling and Marc Soustrot.

In chamber music, Gabriel Schwabe regularly performs with artists such as Isabelle Faust, Christian Tetzlaff, Lars Vogt, Kirill Gerstein and Enrico Pace. In 2010 he gave his recital debut at London’s Wigmore Hall. He is a regular guest at festivals such as the Jerusalem Chamber Music Festival, Kronberg Festival, Amsterdam Biennale and Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival.

Since 2015, he has been an exclusive recording artist with record label Naxos. His debut CD (Brahms Sonatas and Songs with pianist Nicholas Rimmer) was released the same year. Releases with the Malmö Symphony Orchestra under Marc Soustrot, the Royal Northern Sinfonia under Lars Vogt and the Deutsches Sinfonieorchester Berlin under Antoni Wit followed to great critical acclaim.

Gabriel Schwabe was born in Berlin to German-Spanish parents. He studied with Catalin Ilea at the University of Arts in Berlin and with Frans Helmerson at the Kronberg Academy and recieved further stimulus from Janos Starker, Gary Hoffmann and Gidon Kremer.

He is a cello professor at the HfMT Cologne and the Conservatorium Maastricht. He is married to violinist Hellen Weiß and plays a cello by Giuseppe Guarneri (Cremona, 1695).

Critically acclaimed as “one of the great Bach interpreters of his generation”, Stepan Simonian is driven by a yearning to explore and illuminate the multiple facets of the great works of piano repertoire, particularly by Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Beethoven, Mozart, and Bach. 

His Silver Medal at the International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition in 2010, his training within a well-cultured piano school tradition at Moscow Conservatory under Pavel Nersessian, as well as with Oleg Boshniakovich, then with Evgeni Koroliov in Hamburg, all form part of the experiences that have marked his musical taste, his interpretations, and his teaching.

Born in Moscow in 1981, Simonian won First Prize at the 2005 Virginia Waring International Piano Competition, and Third Prize at the 2008 Jose Iturbi International Piano Competition, both in the US.

In recognition of his achievements in chamber music, he was awarded the prestigious Berenberg Cultural Prize in 2009 in Hamburg, where he has made his home. In 2014 he won Third Prize at the Aram Khachaturian International Piano Competition in Yerevan, Armenia.

Stepan Simonian is invited to perform at some of the most important festivals and concert venues throughout Europe and the US. He has appeared as a soloist with many national and international orchestras and conductors. 

Camille Thomas is a dynamic and captivating artist known for her vibrant personality and profound musicality. She believes in the unifying and inspiring power of music, saying, "I strongly believe that music has the power to expand the heart, intensify our feelings, and give hope for the beauty and greatness of the human soul."

Born in 1988 in Paris, Camille began playing the cello at age four. She studied with esteemed teachers Marcel Bardon, Stephan Forck, Frans Helmerson, and Wolfgang-Emanuel Schmidt, quickly establishing herself in the classical music world. Camille has performed with renowned conductors and orchestras globally and plays the famous 'Feuermann' Stradivarius from 1730, on loan from the Nippon Music Foundation.

Since signing with Deutsche Grammophon in 2017, Camille has risen to prominence as one of the most exciting young musicians in the classical scene. In March 2023, she released "The Chopin Project," a trilogy of albums dedicated to Chopin's favorite instrument, the cello. This project includes "The Franchomme Legacy," exploring Chopin's relationship with cellist Auguste Franchomme, "Complete Chamber Music," featuring all of Chopin's chamber works, and "Cello Arrangements," presenting famous Chopin pieces arranged for cello.

Camille Thomas performs regularly with distinguished ensembles and at prestigious venues. She has performed or is set to perform at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Duszniki, Biarritz, the Kronberg Festival, and with the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington DC under Gustavo Gimeno. As a residency artist with the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra, she will collaborate with Sergey Smbatyan for four concerts. Additionally, she has engagements with the Portland Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonieorchester Aachen, Stuttgart Philharmoniker, Philharmonie Zuidnederland, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, Kaohsiung Symphony Orchestra, RSO Vienna, NHK Symphony, and Nagoya Philharmonic.

Described as an ‘endlessly fascinating artist’, Ashley Wass’s musical career is one of unusual creativity and variety. Alongside his work as soloist and chamber musician, he is co-founder of Mash Productions, was Artistic Director of the Lincolnshire International Chamber Music Festival for eleven years, has devoted over 15 years to music education, and is currently the Director of Music at the Yehudi Menuhin School. The diverse list of people and organisations with whom he has collaborated include film festivals, art galleries and animators, children’s television presenters and stars of the stage and screen, illustrators, literary festivals and renowned authors, and mime artists and comedians.

Ashley began playing the piano at the age of five, and studied music at Chetham’s School of Music from age 11. In his teens he studied on a scholarship at the Royal Academy of Music, where his teachers included Christopher Elton, Maria Curcio and Hamish Milne. His watershed moment came in 1997 when he won the London International Piano Competition (the only British winner this far), a success that led to a recording contract with Naxos, making him the first solo artist to obtain an exclusive deal with the label. His debut recording was a highly praised CD of César Franck piano music, released in 1999. He was also a prizewinner at the Leeds Piano Competition, and is a former BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist.

Ashley has performed at many of the world’s finest concert halls, including the Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Hall and the Vienna Konzerthaus. He has performed regularly as soloist with all of the BBC orchestras, the Philharmonia, Orchestre National de Lille, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Slovak Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, RLPO, and Bournemouth Symphony under the baton of conductors such as Simon Rattle, Osmo Vanska, Donald Runnicles, Ilan Volkov and Vassily
Sinaisky.

Zee Zee (Zhang Zuo) has performed with leading orchestras worldwide such as the BBC Symphony, BBC Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Belgian National Orchestra, Sinfonieorchester Basel, Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Tonhalle Zurich, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Minnesota Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Seattle Symphony, and Pasadena Symphony.

Zee Zee regularly works with some of today’s leading conductors, including Marin Alsop, Charles Dutoit, Domingo Hindoyan, Michał Nesterowicz, Yan Pascal Tortelier, Paavo Järvi, Neeme Järvi, and Xian Zhang. She played at prestigious venues and festivals including Wigmore Hall, Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, Vancouver Recital Society, Lucerne Festival, the Gilmore Festival, Aspen Festival and Ravinia Festival.

A passionate chamber musician, Zee Zee frequently performs with the Z.E.N. Trio alongside violinist Esther Yoo and cellist Narek Hakhnazaryan. The trio tours throughout the world. They had their first U.S. tour in October 2019 and will tour in Australia in August 2022.

In October 2019, Universal released her first album, featuring Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G and Liszt’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with Paavo Järvi and the Philharmonia Orchestra. Zee Zee’s latest solo album "Journey", which features works from Wagner, Schönberg, and Liszt, was released in May 2022.

Distinguished by his emotionally gripping performances and gift for musical storytelling, Itamar Zorman is regarded as a singularly soulful and evocative artist. The recipient of an Avery Fisher Career Grant and a Borletti-Buitoni Trust award, Itamar Zorman was also a laureate of the 2011 International Tchaikovsky Competition. He has given recitals at Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, the Louvre Recital Series in Paris, the Laeiszhalle Hamburg, Muziekgebouw Frits Philips in Eindhoven, the HR-Sendesaal Frankfurt and the Kolarac Hall in Belgrade, and at festivals including the Kronberg Academy, Rheingau, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Delft and the Copenhagen Summer Festival, as well as Marlboro, Classical Tahoe and Chamberfest Cleveland in the US.

Itamar Zorman’ solo career encompasses four continents. He has appeared with orchestras in the USA, Europe, Asia and South America, including the American Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Belgrade Philharmonic, Kremerata Baltica, Het Gelders Orkest, Israel Philharmonic, the Tokyo Symphony, the KBS Symphony Seoul, as well as the St. Petersburg Philharmonic and the Russian State Symphony Orchestra “Novaya Rossiya. A committed chamber player, he has led the Mahler Chamber Orchestra  play-directed Camerata Nordica and is a founding member of the Israeli Chamber Project.  He is also a member of the Lysander Piano Trio, with which he won the 2012 Concert Artists Guild Competition.