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n the past ten years the Three Wise Men have established themselves as Europe's premier classical jazz trio. Founded by Dutch saxophonist Frank Roberscheuten in 2007 the band has toured Europe and proved it's outstanding format in over 700 concerts. Roberscheuten is considered one of the leading European saxophonists. His playing represents a colorful variety of influences ranging from New Orleans to Bebop based on the styles of Jazz giants like Coleman Hawkins,Johnny Hodges and Stan Getz. Italian pianist Rossano Sportiello is considered the heart of the Trio. After classical piano studies in Milano he established himself in the jazz center of the world New York City. His playing covers a stunning variety of styles mixing classical with Stride piano and Bebop. Bebop legend Barry Harrys: "Rossano is simply the best stride piano player in the world" and the New York Times quote: "Sportiello is the best Italian import since the Barolo". Viennese Drummer/Percussionist Martin Breinschmid supplies the rhythmic foundation for the Wise Men. His passion for virtuoso swing drumming à la Gene Krupa, vibraphone à la Lionel Hampton and his use of unusual percussion objects make him a unique personality in the jazz field.
Leading jazz critics have stated that the uniting element in the Three Wise Men is their love for swinging music that has lead to an almost telepathic understanding between the three musicians.
A concert by the Three Wise Men is a most entertaining journey through the world of classical jazz filled with fire, virtuosity, emotion and humor.
That's why it's a "must" not only for jazz lovers but for all people who appreciate good music.

Rossano Sportiello (IT) · Piano ~ Frank Roberscheuten (NL) · Reeds ~ Martin Breinschmid (AT) · Drums & Vibraphone

"Without being ensnared in "recreating" jazz's past, 'The Wise Men' lift our spirits, expressing their individuality while honoring the traditions of the music. They have their own joyous songs to share with us. Playing in a trio offers no place to hide; if the telepathy necessary for jazz breaks down for a second, everyone hears it. But these three musicians don't have this problem. It is as if they laugh at the same inside jokes; they know the nuances of their common language deeply and well. Each 'Wise Men' is a brilliant soloist in a wide variety of genres, but each one is more generous than narcissistic. The trio is a band - a jazz democracy where everyone pays attention and works for the benefit of the group. You'll hear them listening to each other's efforts in friendly dialogue. Their creativity is also evident in the trio's repertoire and their varied approaches to the music."
Michael Steinman

"All in all, 'Thee Wise Men' is a pretty accurate name for these three cats. Although Frank grew up in Holland, Martin in Austria and Rossano in Italy, each was wise enough, and talented enough, to have learned the American language of jazz, which they 'speak' fluently and beautifully. As a team, they are also wise enough to know how to present that music, that is, with class and conviction, dedication and love. Those essential elements are present in their live performances and recordings."
Dan Barrett

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hristina Bernard, born in Erlangen in 1995, began her young studies at the age of 16 at the Hochschule für Musik Würzburg, where she has been continuing her studies with Lutz Koppetsch since 2013. She supplemented her education with master classes with Arno Bornkamp, Joonatan Rautiola, Jan Schulte-Bunert, Vincent David, Lars Mlekusch and Johannes Thorell, among others. Christina Bernard has won numerous prizes, including first federal prizes at the Jugend musiziert competition, third prize at the Berthold Hummel competition in Würzburg, first prize at the first J. Pakalnis International competition for Wind and Percussion Instrumentalists in Lithuania, first prize at the 23rd International Louis Spohr competition and first prize as well as sponsorship prizes at the competition for the Wolfgang Fischer and Maria Fischer-Flach prize. In 2018 she received a scholarship from the Deutscher Musikwettbewerb, combined with an acceptance into the 63rd Bundesauswahl-Konzerte for young artists. Christina Bernard is a scholarship holder of the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes, from Yehudi Menuhin "Live Music Now" and was supported by the Germany Scholarship. The saxophonist gained orchestral experience as a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Germany, the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, the Essen Philharmonic, the Würzburg Philharmonic and the Thuringia Symphony Orchestra, among others. As a soloist, she has made guest appearances with the chamber orchestra in Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan and the ensemble orchestra of the National Philharmonic Society Musica Humana Juventus in Lithuania... www.christina-bernard.com

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wenty-one year old Lea Maria Löffler began her musical education with the violin at the age of four. One year later she discovered her love for the harp. Her former teachers include Judith Geissler, Silke Aichhorn, Prof. Andreas Mildner and Prof. Mirjam Schröder. From 2008-2013 she studied in the pre-college at the University of Music in Würzburg and from 2013-2016 in the pre-college at the University of Music in Detmold, where she has been continuing her bachelor studies since 2016 under the tutelage of Godelieve Schrama. From 2018-2019 she studied in the class of Isabelle Moretti at the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique et de danse in Paris. In 2018, she won a scholarship at the Deutscher Musikwettbewerb and got admission to the Bundesauswahl Konzerte Junger Künstler (National Selection of Young Musical Artists), as well as the special prize of the Verband der Harfenisten in Deutschland. Lea Maria Löffler was a laureate of the International Franz Josef Reinl harp competition in 2018, the International Félix Godefroid harp competition in 2012, and the Verband der Harfenisten harp competition in 2010. She is supported by the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes since 2018, the Dr. Franz Stüsser Stiftung since 2017, and the Werner Richard - Dr. Carl Dörken Stiftung since 2015. In 2016 she was invited by the Werner Richard - Dr. Carl Dörken Stiftung to tour as part of the Best of NRW concert series and present solo recitals. Furthermore, she was awarded with the Conrad von der Goltz scholarship of the University of Music in Würzburg, and won special prizes of the Sparkassen NRW and the Hindemith Stiftung. As a harp soloist, Lea Maria Löffler has performed with renowned orchestras, such as the Würzburger Philharmoniker and the Bergische Symphoniker. She has also gained orchestral experience with orchestras such as the National Youth Orchestra of Germany. Regular solo appearances and concert tours have taken her to a wide variety of concert halls in Germany and abroad. Lea Maria Löffler appears on television and her concerts have been broadcasted by several national radio stations such as the BR (Bavarian Broadcasting), the WDR (Westgerman Broadcasting), and the Deutschlandfunk. Several CDs bear witness to her artistic work... www.lea-maria-loeffler.de

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lobodan Jovanović was born in 1977 in Pančevo (Serbia). He studied harpsichord and clavichord with Robert Hill and basso continuo with Michael Behringer in Freiburg i. Br. In Karlsruhe he studied fortepiano and chamber music with Kristian Nyquist. He is also trained as a professional organist. Alongside harpsichordists Colin Tilney und Huguette Dreyfus he attended various master classes as a scholarship holder. As well as this he perfected his basso continuo under Jesper Bøje Christensen.
Slobodan Jovanović has appeared in most European countries as a sought after chamber music partner and soloist. He performed as a continuo player with conductors like Reinhard Goebel, Radoslaw Szulc and in several ensembles and orchestras, among them with La Folia, L'arpa festante, Mannheimer Mozartorchester, Nationaltheater-Orchester Mannheim as well as with the Karlsruher Barockorchester. Since several years he is also accompanist (répétiteur) with the International Händel-Akademie in Karlsruhe (Germany).
During the season 2016 und 2017 Jovanović played, among other music, all six Brandenburg Concertos by J.S. Bach in diverse concerts with Philharmonie Baden-Baden - as part of the cooperation with this orchestra.
In 2002 he made his debut on ARS MUSICI label with harpsichord sonatas by Franz Anton Maichelbeck (1702-1750). The "harpsichord live electronic" project, with music from the composer Roland Breitenfeld, was brought out on CD (new works for harpsichord and live electronics) in 2001 with Slobodan Jovanović on harpsichord. Recordings of his own harpsichord compositions followed in 2004.
His own chamber music has been released in 2014 on the label IFO classics (CD audio Album: "Scene In Circle" with the german label IFO classics, performed by Ensemble Serene Destination. IFO 00 222). In July 2016 his second CD with IFO classics has been released (audio album "Images Without Frames", IFO 00 551), this time with harpsichord work by Frescobaldi, Froberger and Louis Couperin, as well with his own cycle for harpsichord Images Without Frames.
As a composer Slobodan Jovanović consistently pursues the idea of fusion of musical styles and tonal languages. In spring 2014 he started a large scale project, Evelasting Opera, in which over the long term various self-contained vocal-instrumental works ("opera") are to be created.

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lobodan Jovanović was born in 1977 in Pančevo (Serbia). He studied harpsichord and clavichord with Robert Hill and basso continuo with Michael Behringer in Freiburg i. Br. In Karlsruhe he studied fortepiano and chamber music with Kristian Nyquist. He is also trained as a professional organist. Alongside harpsichordists Colin Tilney und Huguette Dreyfus he attended various master classes as a scholarship holder. As well as this he perfected his basso continuo under Jesper Bøje Christensen.
Slobodan Jovanović has appeared in most European countries as a sought after chamber music partner and soloist. He performed as a continuo player with conductors like Reinhard Goebel, Radoslaw Szulc and in several ensembles and orchestras, among them with La Folia, L'arpa festante, Mannheimer Mozartorchester, Nationaltheater-Orchester Mannheim as well as with the Karlsruher Barockorchester. Since several years he is also accompanist (répétiteur) with the International Händel-Akademie in Karlsruhe (Germany). During the season 2016 und 2017 Jovanović played, among other music, all six Brandenburg Concertos by J.S. Bach in diverse concerts with Philharmonie Baden-Baden - as part of the cooperation with this orchestra.
In 2002 he made his debut on ARS MUSICI label with harpsichord sonatas by Franz Anton Maichelbeck (1702-1750). The "harpsichord live electronic" project, with music from the composer Roland Breitenfeld, was brought out on CD (new works for harpsichord and live electronics) in 2001 with Slobodan Jovanović on harpsichord. Recordings of his own harpsichord compositions followed in 2004. His own chamber music has been released in 2014 on the label IFO classics (CD audio Album: "Scene In Circle" with the german label IFO classics, performed by Ensemble Serene Destination. IFO 00 222). In July 2016 his second CD with IFO classics has been released (audio album "Images Without Frames", IFO 00 551), this time with harpsichord work by Frescobaldi, Froberger and Louis Couperin, as well with his own cycle for harpsichord Images Without Frames.
As a composer Slobodan Jovanović consistently pursues the idea of fusion of musical styles and tonal languages. In spring 2014 he started a large scale project, Evelasting Opera, in which over the long term various self-contained vocal-instrumental works ("opera") are to be created.

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he "Geghard" Ensemble was founded in 2001 by soloist and conductor Anahit Papayan. This female ensemble consists of eight singers. The artistic director is Mher Navoyan, Doctor of Science (Arts), medievalist-musicologist, professor of Yerevan State Conservatory after Komitas. Besides the Divine Liturgies sung each Sunday in St. Geghard Monastery (IV-XIII c.), the ensemble has also wide concert activities. The main aim of the ensemble is to present Armenian sacred and folk choral music in Armenia and abroad. The concerts are often accompanied by the lectures on Armenian music by the artistic director Mher Navoyan. The program of "Geghard" vocal ensemble includes Armenian medieval monodies from the 5th to the 15th centuries in solo and choral performances, choral arrangements of Armenian sacred and folk songs by Armenian classical and contemporary composers, works of Armenian contemporary composers and works of European classical and contemporary composers.
The ensemble has had numerous concerts in Germany (2002, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2012, 2015,2016, 2017 & 2018), Austria (2003, 2007, 2008, 2009 & 2016), Finland (2005), France (2008, 2011), Czech Republic (2008), Belarus (2010), Poland (2010 & 2015), Italy (2010), Belgium (2012), Lebanon (2013), Russia (2014 & 2016). Among the festivals in which the Geghard Ensemble has participated especially are remarkable the "Salzburg Festival" in Vienna (Austria), "Caucasus" at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg (Germany), the "Moscow Easter Festival" (Russia), the "Kirkko Soikoon" in Finland, the sacred music festival "Voix et Route Romane" in Strasbourg (France), "Musicfest of International Bachakademie" Stuttgart (Germany), "Benefit" concert series of St. Nicholas Church, Prague (Czech Repablic), Internatioanl festival "Des Voûtes célestes of Vendee" (France), "Musica Sacra International" in Marktoberdorf (Germany), "Al Bustan", Beirut (Lebanon), "International Academy of Sacred Music" in St. Petersburg (Russia). In 2010 the Ensemble has participated in two competitions of sacred music and has won the "Grand Prix" in the competition of Orthodox church music "Kolozhski Blagovest" in Grodno (Belarus) and the first prize in the international competition "Hajnowka's Days of Orthodox Music", Hajnowka, (Poland). View more information and current concert dates at www.geghardensemble.org.

Anahit Papayan ~ Soprano & Conductor
Luiza Yeremyan, Tatevik Tadevosyan, Ani Simonyan ~ Soprano
Katarine Hovhannisyan, Ruzanna Harutyunyan, Anna Arzumanyan, Ani Hovhannisyan ~ Alto

According to the tradition St. Geghard Monastery in Armenia, one of the ancient spiritual centers of Armenia, was founded at the beginning of the IV century by St. Gregory the Illuminator, the first catholicos of the Armenian apostolic church. The monastery flourished and prospered in the XII-XIII centuries, especially under the patronage of the noble families Zakarian and Proshian. Ot is famous for the rock hewn churches built at that period. The reason for the naming the monastery "Geghard" comes from the fact that the holy lance (Arm. Geghard), one of the reliques of the Armenian Church, has been preserved there for long time. It was the lance with which the Roman soldier pierced the Crucified Christ. It was Apostle St. Thaddeus, who brought the holy lance to Armenia in the I century. Now it is preserved in the museum of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. As early as in the middle ages St. Geghard Monastery was famous for its musical traditions. In the VIII century Grigor Ayrivanetsi, a great musician, was mentioned in the history of the Monastery. In XIII century Mekhitar Ayrivanetsi, a medieval famous author and great musician, lived there. Even during the Soviet era the monastery had choirs. In 2002 was established a partnership between the two UNESCO world cultural Heritage sites St. Geghard Monastery and historical Lorsch Abbey in Germany. Since the year 2000 the St. Geghard Monastery is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Prof. Mher Navoyan ~ Artistic Director, Musicologist, Honored Worker of Art of RA, Doctor of Science (Arts), Professor, Pro-Rector for Research Affairs of the Komitas State Conservatory in Yerevan, Head of Folk music Department of the Institute of Arts of the National Academy of Sciences of RA. Navoyan is author of articles and monographs in the fields of theory and history of Armenian music. In 1993 Mr. Navoyan graduated from the Komitas State Conservatory in Yerevan as an orchestral performer and in 1994 as a musicologist. Since 1995 he is a professor in Yerevan State Conservatory, the lecturer of "History of Armenian Music", "The Basis of East Classical Music", "Armenian Sacred Music", "History of World Music" etc.

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orn in Graz (Austria), Franz Vorraber has been fascinated by the piano since his early childhood. At the age of seven, he played the organ in church standing up - as he could hardly reach the pedals. At the age of thirteen, he was admitted to the piano class for exceptional students at the Music Conservatory in Graz, also learning the violin. The Viennese School in the tradition of Bruno Seidlhofer and the traditional German school of Wilhelm Kempff, handed down by Joachim Volkmann, dominated his study years. He has won many prizes for his skills on the piano. Here, just some of the awarders: the Austrian Culture Minister, the piano manufacturers Bösendorfer in Vienna and the city of Graz. He also won the Joachim Erhard prize. He completed his studies in Frankfurt and Graz receiving unanimously the highest awards. His greatest project has been the cyclical performance of Robert Schumann's complete piano works in a total of twelve evenings in different cities in Europe and Japan. The press and the public have repeatedly acclaimed him as one of the most important interpreters of Schumann in our times. He has recorded these works on a series of thirteen CDs for which he was awarded Austrian Broadcasting's Pasticcio prize in 2006. Despite all these prizes, other criteria are pivotal in Franz Vorraber's concerts: his enormous expressive force as a musician and his ability to expose the essential core of the music fascinate his public. He leaves his listeners emotionally moved. Since his debut in Tokyo at the age of 19, he has received many invitations to almost all the European countries, America and Japan, where he also holds master classes.

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he pianist Christoph Soldan (born 1964) studied under the Professors Eliza Hansen and Christoph Eschenbach at the Hamburg Musikhochschule. His break-through to active international concert playing came in a tour with Leonard Bernstein in summer 1989. About Christoph Soldan, the world-famous director said, "I am impressed by the soulful size of this young musician". Since then, Soldan has played in numerous tours with renowned orchestras across Europe and abroad. In particular, this can be seen in the CD recordings of all of Mozart's piano concertos, which were performed and recorded from 1996 until 2006. A tour of piano evenings took place in Mexico and other countries in Central America in October 1997. In August 1998 he debuted in Salzburg and in the Chamber Music Hall of the Berlin Philharmonic, and in May 1999 in the Leipzig Gewandhaus. In March 2000, there were three piano evenings in Japan. So far, there have been radio and television productions with the Hessische Rundfunk, Frankfurt, Deutschlandfunk, SWR, ORF and ZDF. The Bayerische Rundfunk broadcasted his piano evening in the Munich Residenz in October 1998 and his concert in the Bad Brückenau music festival live in 1999. Radio Bremen braodcasted his recital in Bremen in August 2002. Starting in 1996 Soldan was performing all 27 piano concertos by Mozart together with the slovakian chamber orchestra "Cappella Istropolitana", the "Chamber Orchestra of Pforzheim" and the "Silesian Chamber Orchestra" Katowice. This cycle of concerts ended in January 2006, performing the concertos for 2 and 3 pianos. Christoph Soldan developed a "pas de deux for piano and dance", together with his wife, the dancer and choreographer Stefanie Goes. The première took place in Stuttgart in May 2000. In Spring 2001 he participated the Prague Spring Festival accompanied by the slovakian chamber orchestra "Cappella Istropolitana". Two recitals in Hamburg and Berlin were followed by a live-recording of two Mozart piano concertos in the medieval monastery of Maulbronn in September 2002. In January 2004 the première of the new dance project "something about humans and angels" took place in Stuttgart followed by a concert-tour to South Africa. Since 2007 Soldan is working also as a conductor concerning the performances of piano concertos by Bach and Mozart. Christoph Soldan will be guesting in Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria, Poland and Slovakia with various programmes such as recitals, literary concerts, children's concerts, as soloist with 5 of Mozart's piano concertos, Schumann's piano concerto, mendelssohn's doubleconcerto, Chopin's e-minor concerto as well as in chamber music programmes with Brahm's piano quintet op. 34 and Schubert's "trout" quintet. Since 1994 Christoph Soldan was artistic director of the "Schubertiade auf Schloß Eyb". In 2007 together with his wife Soldan founded a theatre in the north of Baden-Württemberg between Stuttgart and Heidelberg, where all artistic programmes are taking place since then. The German press describes Christoph Soldan as an artist personality who works with the spiritual intensity and soulful dimension of a piece of music, rather than giving a purely technical virtuoso performance. This challenge to music and to himself is rarely seen today.

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he Silesian Chamber Soloists are the section leaders of the Silesian Philharmonic Orchestra in Katowice (Śląska Orkiestra Kameralna). All of them are outstanding soloists, who studied on several music-universities in Poland and Germany. In 1993 the ensemble has been founded as a quartet first and was enlarged later by an additional doublebass position. The high level of artistic performance made the quintet to the leading chamber ensemble in Silesia. Concert tours have been organized to various festivals within Poland and other European countries. The Silesian Chamber Soloists performed with great success in the "Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival", "MDR Musiksommer" and the "Rheingau Musik Festival". Cooperations were made with outstanding conductors and soloists, such as Krzysztof Penderecki, Yehudi Menuhin, Valery Gergiev, Christoph Eschenbach, Justus Frantz, Pinchas Zuckerman, Maxim Vengerov, Mscislav Rostropovich and Christoph Soldan. One special feature does result from the fact, that the concertmaster of the ensemble, Dariusz Zboch, is not only a very gifted violinist but at the same time arranging pieces of music. His last work has been published on two CD productions, a cycle of arrangements of the solid goal hits from the 60th and 70th concerning the songs of Procol Harum, Queen, Pink Floyd, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Abba and Deep Purple. This true "cross-over-project" is combining popular music with works of the classical repertoire.
Dariusz Zboch (Violin) · Jakub Łysik (Violin) · Jarosław Marzec (Viola)
Katarzyna Biedrowska (Cello) · Krzysztof Korzeń (Double Bass)

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laus Mertens works with many important names in “Early Music”, as it is generally known – specialists like Ton Koopman, Frans Brüggen, Nicholas McGegan, Philippe Herreweghe, René Jacobs, Sigiswald Kuijken, Gustav Leonhardt and Nikolaus Harnoncourt. He also works with many well-known classical conductors - Gary Bertini, Herbert Blomstedt and Sir Roger Norrington, for example. This has resulted in some very successful work with famous orchestras, including the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, the Concertgebouw Orchester Amsterdam, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, all the big Berlin orchestras, as well as Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Dresden Philharmonic, Zurich’s Tonhalle Orchestra, the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra.
Klaus Mertens is very well known and greatly in demand, particularly as an interpreter of the Baroque oratorio. He has repeatedly made recordings of Bach’s main vocal works with different conductors. In October 2003, he completed a recording of Bach’s entire cantatas. This was a ten-year project connected with extensive concert tours in Europe, America and Japan and marked a high point in his singing career. This was the first time ever that a singer had recorded the entire vocal works of Johann Sebastian Bach and also performed them in concert.

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lrich Wedemeier first studied classical guitar under Klaus Hempel at the University of Music and Theatre in Hanover. This was followed by the study of lute instruments under Stephen Stubbs. Besides performing as a soloist and a member of early music ensembles in international concerts, he also makes CD and radio recordings a regular focus of his work. Ulrich Wedemeier is much in demand as a guest at many opera houses. He is a specialist in historical guitars, playing rare 18th and 19th century original instruments.

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imone Eckert studied music under Professor Ingrid Stampa at the Hamburg University of Music, then at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis under Hannelore Mueller and Jordi Savall. After being awarded her Diploma in Early Music, she founded the Hamburg Ratsmusik Ensemble in 1991. She has been lecturing in music at the Hamburg Conservatory since 1992 and also holds various seminars in viola da gamba in Germany and England. She is an editor of Early Music for publishing houses such as Dovehouse Editions, New York, the Merseburger Verlag, Kassel etc. Her regular engagements include performances with the Staatsoper Hamburg as well as performances as a soloist and head of ensemble all over Germany, in Japan and in many European countries.

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he path that Lilya Zilberstein has taken reflects the triumph of a calling, a dogged determination to overcome obstacles that would have shattered any other talent: the eighties in the USSR were times of overt, yet unofficial antisemitism. Despite all the first prizes won at important Russian and Soviet competitions - at the Russian Federation's 1985 competition, for example - she was told in no uncertain terms that she was persona non grata at the Moscow Conservatory because of her Jewish origins. Permission to take part in international piano competitions was withheld, in particular when it came to the International Tchaikovsky Competition.
The one exception to this in 1987 was more of a coincidence than anything else: she was given permission to take part in the Busoni Competition in Bozen. Her triumph there was a sensation, and five years passed before a first prize was ever awarded in Bozen again. Her debut in the West marked the turning point of Lilya's career, and experts in the music branch pricked up their ears. By August 1998, she had received the International Accademia Musicale Chigiana Prize in Siena. Holders of this award include Gidon Kremer, Anne-Sophie Mutter and Krystian Zimerman. Fast on the heels of this honour came extended tournées in numerous countries throughout Western Europe as well as an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon.
Since that time, Lilya Zilberstein has been a presence on the great stages of the world. In 1991, she debuted at the Berlin Philharmonic with Claudio Abbado conducting, which laid the foundations for repeated collaboration between them. She has participated in concerts with the most renowned international orchestras, including the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Moscow Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra, the London Symphony and Royal Philharmonic Orchestras, the orchestra of Milan's La Scala and many, many more. Besides Claudio Abbado, she has worked with conductors such as Paavo Berglund, Semyon Bychkov, Christoph Eschenbach, Vladimir Fedossejew, Dmitrij Kitajenko, James Levine, Marcello Viotti, Hugh Wolff and Michael Tilson Thomast.
Deutsche Grammophon and Lilya Zilberstein have produced legendary CDs. A particular highlight is the benchmark recording of the Rachmaninov Piano Concertos with Claudio Abbado and the Berlin Philharmonic. And in addition to her career as a soloist, Lilya Zilberstein is a passionate performer of chamber music and works with the great soloists of the day. The piano duo of Martha Argerich and Lilya Zilberstein has been highly acclaimed all over the world for many a year now. Over and above this, she regularly goes on world tournées with violinist Maxim Vengerow. The international press agrees on one thing: there is no superlative too good for her! Lilya Zilberstein belongs firmly in the circle of those magical sorcerers of sound on the piano.

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ensitivity, musical expression and a flawless, transparent technique: Aleksandra Mikulska embodies to the highest degree all of these qualities once demanded by Chopin himself. Teachers, critics, members of the jury as well as audiences all unanimously agree on this. For a long time now Aleksandra Mikulska has not only distinguished herself through her very own, extraordinarily genuine interpretation of Chopin, which won her the prestigious special award as best Polish female pianist at the International Frédéric Chopin Competition in Warsaw in 2005 and ensured an enthusiastic reception of her début Chopin CD in 2010. With her "passionate" and "enrapturing" performances of Haydn, Beethoven and Chopin, she presented audiences at the Lake Constance Festival in 2010 and 2011 with some of the "finest hours of piano music".
Attending the class for gifted children at the Karol Szymanowski Music High School in Warsaw, gaining several promotion awards from the Polish government as well as winning prizes at international competitions laid the groundwork for the top-class international training of the young pianist.
Even while still at grammar school, Aleksandra Mikulska was already being coached by Peter Eichler in Mannheim, and, after gaining her high-school diploma, she continued to study with him at the Karlsruhe Academy of Music. Parallel to her studies there, international masterclasses with Diane Andersen and Lev Natochenny amongst others provided further stimuli. After graduating with honours she moved to the piano academy "Accademia Pianistica incontri col maestro" in Imola, Italy, the land of music, where she was coached mainly by Lazar Berman and Michael Dalberto till 2008. From 2006 she also worked with Prof. Arie Vardi at the Hanover Academy of Music, where she gained her concert diploma in 2010.
Aleksandra Mikulska unites the three musical traditions of Poland, Germany and Italy in a unique, personal and unmistakable style. She is a frequent guest at international festivals such as the Lake Constance Festival, the Maulbronn Monastery Concerts, the piano cycle "Musik am Hochrhein" (Switzerland), the Merano Festival in Italy and the Lapland Piano Festival. Furthermore, she also gives solo recitals all over Europe and performs with orchestras in Germany, Italy and Belgium.
One focus of her artistic efforts is the dissemination of music by the great composers of her native country. Aleksandra Mikulska is vice-president of the Chopin Society in the Federal Republic of Germany in Darmstadt and board member of the German-Polish Association of Baden-Württemberg. Furthermore, she is a member of the Karol Szymanowski Society in Zakopane (Poland) and has close ties with the music society De Musica in Warsaw and the German-Polish Cultural Society "Salonik".
Her recording début in 2010 was devoted to the works of Frédéric Chopin. In the Autumn of 2011 Aleksandra Mikulska published her second CD with the title "Expressions" including works by Haydn, Szymanowski und Chopin. Both recordings enjoyed great popularity with audiences and the specialist press. Meanwhile she has presented her third album which includes Chopin's four ballades. (Translation by Jill Rabenau)

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ver the years, the Rubin Quartet, founded in 1992 and named after the ruby, has gained a unique reputation among string quartets. Since its foundation, the quartet has been characterized by a very wide repertoire and vivid performances. In its first year, the Rubin Quartet won first prize at the Bubenreuth/Erlangen international string quartet competition, in 1997, the prize for best Mozart performance in Evian, and in 2000, first prize at the "R. Hartung Stiftung" international string quartet competition. The Rubin Quartet began performing at the Amsterdam Concertgebow in 1995. Since then, they have given regular performances there, with Ian Bostridge and Julius Drake among others. The quartet performs at Europe's leading concert venues and at a number of prestigious festivals, such as Luberon string quartet festival, Fréjus, Santander, Valladolid, Milan, Bremen Musikfest, Rheingau-Musikfestival, Schwetzinger Festspiele and the "Printemps des Arts de Monte-Carlo". In 1998, the quartet performed at the Dortmund "Streichquartett-Event". In 2000/2001 they were invited to perform at the Oslo Chamber Music Festival with the pianist Andrej Gavrilov. In 2002, the Rubin Quartet embarked on a long-term association with the Scène nationale in Poitiers, France. They performed Bela Bartók's six string quartets there in 2002/2003, building up from public rehearsals to master classes, performances and concerts. Composers such as Carola Bauckholt, Caspar Johannes Walter, Franz Olbrisch and Reinhard Febel regularly write works for the quartet, which premieres them at Festivals, such as the "Tage für zeitgenössische Kammermusik" in Witten, Wien Modern, the "Rheinisches Musikfest" and Musique-Action Vand'oeuvre-lès-Nancy. The Rubin Quartet's close association with composers such as Helmut Lachenmann, Györgi Kurtág, Silvia Fómina and Sofia Gubaïdulina has provided the quartet with tremendous artistic impetus, just as the encounter with Amadeus Quartet, Raphael Hillyer and Jörg Wolfgang Jahn.

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he pianist Christoph Soldan (born 1964) studied under the Professors Eliza Hansen and Christoph Eschenbach at the Hamburg Musikhochschule. His break-through to active international concert playing came in a tour with Leonard Bernstein in summer 1989. Of Christoph Soldan, the world-famous director said, "I am impressed by the soulful size of this young musician." Since then, Soldan has played in numerous tours with renowned orchestras across Europe and abroad. In particular, this can be seen in the CD recordings of all of Mozart's piano concertos, which were performed and recorded from 1996 until 2006. A tour of piano evenings took place in Mexico and other countries in Central America in October 1997. In August 1998 he debuted in Salzburg and in the Chamber Music Hall of the Berlin Philharmonic, and in May 1999 in the Leipzig Gewandhaus. In March 2000, there were three piano evenings in Japan. So far, there have been radio and television productions with the Hessische Rundfunk, Deutschlandfunk, SWR, ORF and ZDF. The Bayerische Rundfunk broadcasted his piano evening in the Munich Residenz in October 1998 and his concert in the Bad Brückenau music festival live in 1999. Radio Bremen braodcasted his recital in Bremen in august 2002. Starting in 1996 Soldan was performing all 27 piano concertos by Mozart together with the slovakian chamber orchestra Cappella Istropolitana, the South-West German Chamber Orchestra of Pforzheim and the Silesian Chamber Orchestra Katowice. This cycle of concerts ended in January 2006, performing the concertos for 2 and 3 pianos. Christoph Soldan developed a "pas de deux for piano and Dance", together with his wife, the dancer and choreographer Stefanie Goes. The première took place in Stuttgart in May 2000. In Spring 2001 he participated the Prague Spring Festival accompanied by the slovakian chamber orchestra "Cappella Istropolitana". Two recitals in Hamburg and Berlin were followed by a live-recording of two Mozart piano concertos in the medieval monastery of Maulbronn in september 2002. In January 2004 the première of the new dance project "something about humans and angels" took place in Stuttgart followed by a concert-tour to South Africa. Since 2007 Soldan is working also as a conductor concerning the performances of piano concertos by Bach and Mozart. In the 2015/2016 season, Christoph Soldan will be guesting in Germany, Italy, Spain, Austria, Slovakia and the United States with various programmes such as recitals, literary concerts, childrens concerts, as soloist with 5 of Mozart's piano-concertos as well as in chamber music programmes with Brahm's piano quintet op. 34. Since 1994 Christoph Soldan was artistic director of the "Schubertiade auf Schloß Eyb". In 2007, together with his wife, Soldan founded a theatre in the north of Baden-Württemberg between Stuttgart and Heidelberg, where all artistic programmes are taking place since then. The German press describes Christoph Soldan as an artist personality who works with the spiritual intensity and soulful dimension of a piece of music, rather than giving a purely technical virtuoso performance. This challenge to music and to himself is rarely seen today.

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he Silesian Chamber Soloists are the section leaders oft he Silesian Philharmonic Orchestra in Katowice (Śląska Orkiestra Kameralna). All of them are outstanding soloists, who studied on several Music-Universities in Poland and Germany. In 1993 the ensemble has been founded as a quartett first and was enlarged later by an additional doublebass position. The high level of artistic performance made the quintet to the leading chamber ensemble in Silesia. Concert tours have been organized to various festivals within Poland and other European countries. The Silesian Chamber Soloists performed with great success in the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, MDR Musiksommer und im Rheingau Musik Festival. Cooperations were made with outstanding conductors and soloists, such as Krzysztof Penderecki, Yehudi Menuhin, Valery Gergiev, Christoph Eschenbach, Justus Frantz, Pinchas Zuckerman, Maxim Vengerov, Mscislav Rostropovich and Christoph Soldan. One special feature does result from the fact, that the concertmaster of the ensemble, Dariusz Zboch, is not only a very gifted violinist but at the same time arranging pieces of music. His last work has been published on two CD productions, a cycle of arrangements of the solid goal hits from the 60th and 70th concerning the songs of Procol Harum, Queen, Pink Floyd, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Abba oder Deep Purple. This true "cross-over-project" is combining popular music with works of the classical repertoire. In 2015 und 2016 there are 5 concert tours, that take place together with the german conductor and pianist Christoph Soldan throughout several european contries. As repertoire there will be performed 4 piano concertos by Mozart, Schubert´s trout-quintett, Brahm´s piano-quintett opus 34 und Chopin´s piano-concerto in e-minor.
Dariusz Zboch (Violin) · Jakub Łysik (Violin) · Jarosław Marzec (Viola)
Katarzyna Biedrowska (Cello) · Krzysztof Korzeń (Double Bass)

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everin von Eckardstein was born in 1978 in Düsseldorf, Germany. He took his first piano lessons when he was six years old. At the age of 12 he was accepted into Barbara Szczepanska's young talent class at the Robert Schumann Musikhochschule in Dusseldorf. During his school years, von Eckardstein continued his piano studies in Hannover and in Salzburg with Karl-Heinz Kaemmerling. After his graduation from high school, he attended the Universität der Künste, Berlin, to take lessons with Klaus Hellwig. Following his degree in 2002, he continued his studies also at the International Piano Academy Lake Como, Italy.
Von Eckardstein won numerous competitions, both national and international ones. Among these are the Hamburg Steinway Competition (1st prize in 1990), the Incontro Internazionale Giovani Pianisti in Italy (1st prize in 1991), the Feruccio-Busoni Competition in Bozen (1998), and the ARD Competition in Munich (2nd prize in 1999). In 2000, von Eckardstein received the third prize and in addition the special prize for best interpretation of contemporary music at the Leeds International Piano Competition. Many of the music critics that were present at the time, unanimously chose Severin von Eckardstein as their winner.
In June 2003 Severin von Eckardstein won the first prize at the highly prestigious international Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels. During the final round of the competition, he gave a phenomenal performance of works by Beethoven and Prokofiev. This combination certainly shows the amazing versatility of this young master pianist.
Meanwhile he has played on many great stages in the world. Among others he gave highly appreciated concerts in Berlin, Munich, London, New York, Miami, Amsterdam, Tokyo and Seoul. Prestigious festivals invited him, such as "Klavier Festival Ruhr", the "Aldeburgh Festival", "La Roque d'Anthéron" in France and the "Gilmore Festival", Michigan/USA.
Having participated several times in the series "Meesterpianisten" in the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, von Eckardstein just opened the Jubilee Concert of this top-class piano series which has been existing for 25 years by now.

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he German pianist Magdalena Müllerperth excited audiences in many concerts in Germany, Denmark, Belgium, Italy, Austria, The Czech Republic, France and Switzerland and was also invited to perform in Russia, Ukraine and the USA. In 2008 she performed there as a soloist with the Minnesota Orchestra in Minneapolis. With an impressive recital program she gave her debut recital in 2009 at the Klosterkonzerte Maulbronn and the Liederhalle Stuttgart, Germany. In 2011 she performed Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue" at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden.
Magdalena Müllerperth, born in 1992 in Maulbronn, Germany, began piano lessons at the age of five. When she was seven, she became a student, and in 2003 junior student at the University of Music Karlsruhe, of the renowned Prof. Sontraud Speidel. From 2007 until 2010 she studied with Prof. Alexander Braginsky at Hamline University, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. At the moment she is a student of the pianist Jerome Rose at Mannes College - The New School of Music in New York City.
Since 1999, she earned many international prizes and awards, amongst others the First Prize at "Les Reoncontres Internationales des Jeunes Pianistes" in Belgium (2002), the First Prize and Premio della Critica (RAI) at the Concorso Europeo di Musica "Pietro Argento" in Italy (2004), a First Prize at the national competition "Jugend musiziert" (2005) and the First Prize at the Minnesota Orchestra, Young People's Symphony Concert Auditions in Minneapolis, USA (2008). Since 2007 Magdalena Müllerperth is "Youth Ambassadress of Music" of her hometown Maulbronn.
For her outstanding achievements Magdalena Müllerperth was awarded scholarships from the Mayer Foundation, the Karin Riese Foundation, "Lichtenberger Musikpreis", the "Kunststiftung Baden-Wuerttemberg", the Foundation "Deutsches Musikleben" and the "Richard Wagner Association".

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he beginnings of the Ensemble Hamburger Ratsmusik go back as far as the 16th century. As the city fathers considered good instrumental music to be an important part of civic representation at official ceremonies and in the main churches they made sure that respected musicians worked for them. Based on the principal "for the glory of God - and the pleasure, delight and benefit of Hamburg" the city boasted an elite ensmble of eight civic instrumentalists who were able to compete with many a princely court orchestra. The ensemble enjoyed its heyday during the 17th century under such leading musicians as William Brade and Johann Schop. During the 18th century, Georg Philipp Telemann and Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach called on the services of Hamburg's civic instrumentalist for their performances, before the ensemble fell victim to effiency measures in the 19th century.
Since we re-established the ensemble in 1991 we have built up an extensive and remarkable repertoire with devotion and enthusiasm in more than fourteen years of working together. For us, the music of our predecessors, with its close dependance on rhetoric and articulation rich in nuances, is so eloquent that it is closer to human speech than any other form of music. With its clear structures and varied rhythms, borrowed from centuries-old dances, the music of the 16th to 18th centuries developed its own "swing". The adventure of re-descovering unknown early music, lying dormant in Europe's libraries, is also tempting and the "resuscitation" of these treasures is our exciting objective. We present audiences with these works at concerts, on recordings for radio broadcast and CD release and in publications for international publishing houses.
The Hamburger Ratsmusik has appeared at numerous festivals, including the Handel Festival in Göttingen and Halle, the International Bach-Fest Leipzig, the Baroque Festival at Bad Arolsen and many others. The ensemble has also gained a nationwide reputation through first recordings for the Christophorus, Thorofon and NCA labels, as well as broadcasts for the NDR, MDR, Radio Bremen, WDR, SWR and HR broadcasting companies. 2006 the Hamburger Ratsmusik was awarded the Echo Klassik, the most important German music award. The international press praises the "subtlety" and the "excellent knowledge of baroque style" of the ensemble's interpretations - and the Hamburger Ratsmusik itself as a "leading ensemble for early music".

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t the age of eight, when asked what she wanted to be Simone Eckert answered: "gamba player". Ignoring the warning that she should get a "proper job" she lives and works as a freelance musician in Hamburg. She studied at the Musikhochschule Hamburg and at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensiswith H. Mueller and J. Savall. She finished her studies in 1990 with a diploma in early music. In 1991 she founded the ensemble Hamburger Ratsmusik. She has taught, since 1992 at the Hamburger Konservatorium and holds seminars on the viola da gamba in both Germany and England. Apart from the repertoire of the renaissance, baroque and early classics she also concentrates on modern music for the viol. A large number of works have been dedicated to her and performed by her for the first time. She performs as a soloist, ensemble leader and lecturer in Germany, other European countries an Japan.

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orothee Mields is one of the leading interpreters of 17th- and 18th-century music and is beloved by audiences and critics alike for her unique timbre and moving interpretations. Her flawless technique and the ethereal clarity of her voice also make her ideally suited for works by contemporary composers. She appears regularly with the Collegium Vocale Gent, Bach Collegium Japan, Netherlands Bach Society, Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, RIAS Kammerchor, Orchestra of the Eighteenth Century, L'Orfeo Baroque Orchestra, Lautten Compagney and Klangforum Wien under such conductors as Stefan Asbury, Ivor Bolton, Frans Brüggen, Beat Furrer, Paul Goodwin, Philippe Herreweghe, Gustav Leonhardt, Emilio Pomárico, Hans-Christoph Rademann, Masaaki Suzuki and Jos van Veldhoven. Dorothee Mields is a welcome guest at international festivals, including the Leipzig Bach Festival, Suntory Music Foundation Summer Festival in Japan, Boston Early Music Festival, Flanders Festival, Vienna Festival, the Handel Festival in Halle and the Tanglewood Festival. A steadily growing discography with several award-winning recordings documents her artistic achievements. The artist studied in Bremen and Stuttgart and currently lives with her family near Hagen, Germany.

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he Arte Ensemble, founded in 1993 from soloists of the NDR Radiophilharmonie, is playing in various sections from quintet to nonett under the artistically guide of the famous concert-master Kathrin Rabus - musically partner by example of Gideon Kremer or Andras Schiff and violinplayer in the Kandinsky Streichtrio. Some of the musicians also are members of other wellknown chambermusic groups like the Ma`alot Bläserquintett or Klavierduo "Reine Elisabeth" (Wolfgang Manz - Rolf Plagge). The Arte Ensemble is a very welcome guest in the big concert-halls and festivals and refers to a lot of recordings of german broadcast transmitters like NDR Hamburg, BR München, HR Frankfurt and Deutschland Radio Berlin. The Arte Ensemble has published two CDs in co-operation with NDR and the labels CPO and NOMOS. Special attention by the press and the audience was given to the songs after compositions of Giuseppe Verdi: Verdiana - Composizioni da camera.

Kathrin Rabus & Birte Paeplow ~ Violin
Christian Pohl ~ Viola · Ute Sommer ~ Violon Cello
Albert Sommer ~ Double Bass · Guido Schaefer ~ Clarinet
Theodor Wiemes ~ French Horn · Uwe Grothaus ~ Bassoon

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n July 1990 Rolf Plagge became the first German pianist ever to win a prize in the prestigious Moscow Tchaikovsky Competition. He had already been awarded numerous prizes in national and international competitions in Vienna, Bratislava, Montevideo, Bonn, and several times in Italy. In 1987 he won the 3rd prize in the esteemed 'Reine Elisabeth' Competition in Brussels and has since been a frequent performer in Belgium. Rolf Plagge is regularly performing in many European countries, including Russia, as well as in the US and Latin America, Japan, South Korea, South East Asia, Australia. Apart from giving solo performances with various German orchestras (State Symphony Orchestra of Thuringia, Bochum Symphonic Orchestra, Bremen Philharmonic, Munich Chamber Orchestra, Rheinische Philharmonie, Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz etc.) as well as with international orchestras, including Baltic Philharmonic, Filharmonia Narodowa Warschau, Orchestre National de France; Polish Chamber Philharmonic, Salt Lake City Symphony Orchestra, Israel Sinfonietta, Orchstre National de Belgique etc.
Plagge was born in 1959 in Westerstede, North Germany, where he received his first piano lessons at home. By 1969 he was studying at the Bremen Conservatory with Prof. Peter-Jürgen Hofer. After winning several prizes and scholarships he continued his studies with various famous teachers: in Freiburg with Vitaly Margulis, in Vienna with Paul Badura-Skoda, at the Juilliard School in New York with Gyorgy Sandor and finally in Hannover with Karlheinz Kämmerling. Since 1991 he is holding a teaching position as professor at the University of Music "Mozarteum" in Salzburg, also giving piano masterclasses in Europe and many other countries, including US, South America, Japan, Korea, Australia.

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he primary occupation of the Wolfgang Bauer Consort is the performance of authentic Baroque chamber music pieces. The English Baroque term "Consort" accurately describes an ensemble comprising one or two soloists and a continuo of cello and harpsichord. The Consort's open structure provides the fundament for the comprehensive array and musical diversity of this performance in the monastery church, whose outstanding acoustics and atmosphere are able to document the complete range of Baroque virtuosity.
Wolfgang Bauer studied in Berlin with Konradin Groth at the Berlin Philharmonic's Orchesterakademie. At the age of 21 he was taken on by the RSO Franfurt while still a student as principal solo trumpeter. He stayed with that orchestra for 12 years and was also solo trumpeter with the symphony orchestra of Bavarian Radio.
He has attended intensive study courses with Lutz Köhler and Ed. H. Tarr. His breakthrough as a soloist came in 1993, when Wolfgang Bauer won the German Music Competition and the ARD International Music Competition in Munich in quick succession. Since then, he has been acknowledged as one of the leading trumpeters of his generation and has appeared as a soloist with famous orchestras like the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra London, the Orchestre National de France, the SO of Bavarian Radio, the radio symphony orchestras of Stuttgart and Frankfurt, the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, the Radio Philharmonic of Hanover, the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Polish Chamber Philharminic, and the Württemberg and Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra under conductors like Lorin Maazel, Carl St Clair, Donald Runnicles, Dimitri Kitayenko, Andrey Boreyko, Denis R. Davis and Eliahu Inbal. In 2000 Wolfgang Bauer was appointed a professor of trumpet at the "University of music and performing arts" in Stuttgart. In 2009 he was honoured with the ECHO Klassik as "best instrumental soloist of the year".
Since its foundation in 1994 the "Wolfgang Bauer Consort" was invited to festivals like the "Rheingau Music Festival", the "Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival" and the "Summer Festival" in Bad Kissingen. Beside tv- and radio-productions for "Hessischer Rundfunk" (Hessian Broadcasting) and "Norddeutscher Rundfunk" (North German Broadcasting) the Consort released a honoured CD for children in 2005 and another live-recording from Maulbronn Abbey, which includes the 2nd Brandenburg Concerto by J.S. Bach et al.
This concert was performed by Dietlind Mayer, Violin at "il capriccio" for example, Ludwig Hampe, sought specialist on the viola d'amore and soloist in the "Frankfurt Opera Orchestra", and Petra Müllejans, one of the leading baroque violinists in Europe. She is professor at the Academy of Music in Frankfurt and concert master, musical director, soloist and chamber musician of the "Freiburg Baroque Orchestra". One focus of her musical work is chamber music from the 17th and 18th century, which she performs with the "Freiburg Baroque Consort" and the Ensemble "The Age of Passions". The woodwind group was Georg Siebert (oboe), Ingo Goritzki (oboe) - professor at the Academy of Music in Stuttgart - and Arie Hordijk on bassoon. The Trumpet section consisted of Wolfgang Bauer, Tobias Ziegler and Martin Maier (Stuttgart State Opera), supported on timpani by Gregor Daszko.
The basso continuo (figured bass) with Thomas Strauss on harpsichord and Clemens Weigel on cello form the basis of the Consort. Both are renowned baroque specialists. Thomas Strauss is cantor in Oppenau, Clemens Weigel is cellist on "Gärtnerplatztheater" Munich. The double bass is performed by Davide Vittone.

Wolfgang Bauer, Martin Maier & Tobias Ziegler ~ Baroque Trumpet
Georg Siebert & Ingo Goritzki ~ Oboe · Arie Hordijk ~ Bassoon
Petra Müllejans & Dietlind Mayer ~ Violin
Ludwig Hampe ~ Viola · Clemens Weigel ~ Cello
Davide Vittone ~ Double Bass · Thomas Strauss ~ Harpsichord
Gregor Daszko ~ Timpani

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lrich Herkenhoff was born in 1966 in Osnabrueck, Germany. He had his first piano lesson at the age of six and, at 14, he first saw the pan flute in a concert given by the Rumanian, Gheorghe Zamfir. This inspired him to intensively study the instrument allowing him to eventually achieve the reputation as "the best non-Rumanian pan flute virtuoso". After studying the flute at the Richard Strauss Conservatory in Munich and subsequently the pan flute in an advanced class with Prof. Jochen Gaertner, Ulrich Herkenhoff rapidly become an internationally renowned soloist. He received special assistance from Georghe Zamfir's discoverer, the Swiss music ethnologist and publisher, Marcel Cellier, to study and promote Rumanian folklore. In 1990, he recorded his first CD of Rumanian improvisations with Cellier on the organ. With his interpretations of "classical" works, Ulrich Herkenhoff has inspired many contemporary composers to pen original compositions for the the pan flute.

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he Art of Pan is his ambitious project to see the pan flute established as a serious concert instrument. In 1992, he was honored with the Gastieg culture circle's recognition and, in 1996, with the Bavarian state's prize for young artists. In 2000, the German Phonographic Academy awarded him a much coveted Echo, the classic prize as soloist of the year. Herkenhoff has also become in demand for film music. Among the many films he has been involved with is the Oscar winning Lord of the Rings. His latest contribution was in 2004. in Budapest, performing Ennio Morricone's music for the film version of Imre Kertsz's book Fateless. Herkenhoff is also dedicated to the academic advancement of the pan flute, having published many works for the pan flute. He has made all the instruments he plays himself.

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lrich Herkenhoff has had a long term musical relationship with the organist and pianist, Matthias Keller. Born in 1956, Keller studied piano, church organ and music education at Munich's Music Conservatory. In addition to his artistic activities, he is also author and producer for various Radio networks (Bavaria, Hessen, North Germany etc.). As a music journalist he has been published in the Süddeutschen Zeitung, Fono Forum, Klassik Heute, Opernwelt, Münchner Abendzeitung and the Berner Zeitung. Keller teaches the History and Aesthetics of Film Music in the Munich Conservatory. Regular seminars and workshops for German television, the Goethe Institute and others have led him to such exotic places as Ghana. His personal contacts to such leading film composers as Angelo Badalamenti, John Barry, Bruce Broughton, Patrick Doyle, Elliot Goldenthal, James Newton, Howard Shore, David Raksin, Ennio Morricone, Laurence Rosenthal, Enjott Schneider, Hans Zimmer, Don Davis, John Debney, Mark Mancina, among others, has enabled him to become the best informed journalist in this area. He also has a broad knowledge in vocal, crossover and improvisational music as well as piano and organ literature.
Matthias Keller is editor of the contemporary composer lexicon and jury member for the German record critics' film music prize. As of April 2000, he is a producer for Bavarian radio's classic program. Just to round off the spectrum of his musical activities, he is also an arranger and composer.

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ince their debut at the Wigmore Hall, London, in 1994 the Dusseldorf-based Orpheus Quartet has been a regular guest to this wonderful chamber music hall, renowned for its uncompromizing standards of performance. The Quartet's concert of 28 May 2000 inspired The Strad magazine to another admiring retrospective, rounding off in the same breath: "One had to marvel at the Orpheus Quartet's sense of timbre, at its unified view of the music and its ability to create both textural variety and impetus."
The Orpheus Quartet spends a lot of time commissioning and playing contemporary music and looks very seriously at all possibilities to broaden the standard repertoire with interesting and forgotten compositions. This has given them an exceptionally wide scope. Not surprisingly. their recordings have been greeted with international acclaim. In January 1993 the Quartet was awarded the Grand Prix du Disque de l'Academie Charles Gros for their interpretation of Malipiero's eight String Quartets, a world premiere recording. The disc of Schubert's Quintet in C major with Pieter Wispelwey, cello, was awarded a Diapason d'Or (1994).
The Orpheus Quartet, a truly international ensemble (French - Dutch - Rumanian), was founded in 1987 by Charles-André Linale (violin), Emilian Piedicuta (violin), Emile Cantor (viola) and Laurentiu Sbarcea (violoncello). Wherever they concertize, audiences and press alike are impressed by the intensity and musical expression of their interpretations. Furthermore, they won in fact every competition they participated in: the Valentino Bucchi International Chamber Music Competition in Rome (1988). the Karl Klingler Competition in Munich (1990) and the first International Chamber Music Competition of Japan, held in Osaka (1993). The result of this were many invitations from all over Europe, The United States and Japan.
After their much praised US debut in 1999, successive tours in april 2000 and november 2001 have been accomplished to great public acclaim. In october 2002 an US tour took place. In the 2000-2001 season the Orpheus Quartet has performed as much as six times in London, four alone in Wigmorehall where they a.o. gave a very successful Schubert-weekend. They made 2 tours with different pianists, one with Homero Francesch (Italy and Germany) and two with their long time friend Menahem Pressler. (Germany, Netherlands, UK, USA and Canada). The Orpheus Quartet gave the opening and closure concertin the Ticino Musica festival (Ascona-Locarno) in summer 2001 and were immediately reinvited for the summer 2002.
Ever since their foundation the Orpheus Quartet has given much of their time to teach and apart from their regular classes in Mainz, Essen, Wuppertal, Aachen and Utrecht, the members of the quartet always give master classes during the Summer in countries such as Spain, Belgium, The Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden and Switzerland.
Further informations about each member of the ensemble and current concert-dates can be found at the homepage of the Orpheus Quartet.

The Ensemble:
Charles-André Linale - 1st Violin · Emilian Piedicuta - 2nd Violin
Emile Cantor - Viola · Laurentiu Sbarcea - Cello

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s Duo Sonare Thomas Offermann & Jens Wagner have enriched the world of music since 1984 with their elegant interpretations of modern and classical guitar music. “One of the top ensembles of its kind – for music of the 19th century maybe even the best.” Their selected transcriptions are full of humour and originality. Their repertoire, performed on instruments of the respective musical era, brings the full opulence of chamber music to a felicitous consensus that proves how refreshingly old music can be presented to a contemporary audience. It is therefore no surprise that the duo has gained an international following on its concert tours and master courses in over forty countries.