The Artists

Composer, conductor, and creative thinker – John Adams occupies a unique position in the world of music. His works stand out among contemporary classical compositions for their depth of expression, brilliance of sound, and the profoundly humanist nature of their themes; his stage compositions, all in collaboration with director Peter Sellars, have transformed the genre of contemporary music theatre. Spanning more than three decades, works such as »Harmonielehre«, »Shaker Loops«, »El Niño« and »Nixon in China« are among the most performed of all contemporary classical music. 

As a conductor he has led the world’s major orchestras, programming his own works with a wide variety of repertoire ranging from Beethoven, Mozart and Debussy to Ives, Carter and Ellington. Among his honorary doctorates are those from Yale, Harvard, Northwestern and Cambridge universities and from The Juilliard School. A provocative writer, he is author of the highly acclaimed autobiography »Hallelujah Junction« and is a frequent contributor to »The New York Times Book Review«. Since 2009 Adams has been Creative Chair of the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

Born and raised in New England, Adams learned the clarinet from his father and played in marching bands and community orchestras during his formative years. He began composing age ten and his first orchestral pieces were performed while he was still a teenager. In 2017 Adams celebrated his 70th birthday with festivals of his music in Europe and the US, including special retrospectives at London’s Barbican, Cité de la Musique in Paris, and in Amsterdam, New York and Geneva, among other cities. In 2019 he was the recipient of both Spain’s BBVA ​»Frontiers of Knowledge« award and Holland’s »Erasmus Prize« ​for »notable contributions to European culture, society and social science.«

The Arnold Schoenberg Choir was founded in 1972 by its current artistic director Erwin Ortner and remains one of the most sought after and versatile vocal ensembles in Austria. The choir’s repertoire ranges from the Renaissance and Baroque to the present day with a focus on contemporary music. The choir has a particular interest in a cappella music, however it also regularly performs large scale works for choir and orchestra. The choir undertakes numerous concert tours and appears regularly at the Vienna Festwochen, the Salzburg festival, the Wien Modern festival, the Carinthian Summer festival and the styriarte in Graz.


As well as concert performances, the choir takes a keen interest in opera productions and regularly appears at the Theater an der Wien – the recent production of »Peter Grimes« was awarded the »International Opera Award« for the best new production of 2015 and in 2016 the Arnold Schoenberg Choir was awarded the »International Opera Award« for best opera choir of the year. Other operatic engagements include regular productions with the Vienna Festwochen and the world premiere of Berio’s »Cronaca del Luogo« at the Salzburg Festival in 1999.

For over 30 years the choir closely collaborated with Nikolaus Harnoncourt, one of many highlights being a »Grammy Award« in 2002 for their recording of Bach’s »St Matthew Passion«. Other awards include the »ECHO Klassik« Prize 2010 for Haydn’s »The Seasons« (also under Harnoncourt) the »Classical Music Award«, the »Diapason d’Or«, the »Prix Caecilia« and the Grand Prize of the »Academy Awards« for its 1996 recording of the complete choral works of Franz Schubert, which was conducted by its artistic director Erwin Ortner. Recent CD releases under its own label »ASC Edition« include »Die Nacht ist kommen« (choral works by Max Reger), »Komm, Jesu, Komm« (Bach motets) and »Stille Nacht«, a programme of a capella Christmas carols.

Born in Lvov, Poland, Emanuel Ax moved to Winnipeg, Canada, with his family when he was a young boy. His studied at the Juilliard School were supported by the sponsorship of the Epstein Scholarship Program of the Boys Clubs of America, and he subsequently won the »Young Concert Artists Award«. Additionally, he attended Columbia University, where he majored in French. Emanuel captured public attention in 1974 when he won the first »Arthur Rubinstein International Piano Competition« in Tel Aviv and in 1979 he won the coveted »Avery Fisher Prize« in New York.

A Sony Classical exclusive recording artist since 1987, recent releases include Mendelssohn Trios with Yo-Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman, Strauss' »Enoch Arden« narrated by Patrick Stewart, and discs of two-piano music by Brahms and Rachmaninoff with Yefim Bronfman. In 2015 Deutsche Grammophon released a duo recording with Itzhak Perlman of Sonatas by Fauré and Strauss, which the two artists presented on tour during the 2015/2016 season. Emanuel Ax has received »GRAMMY Awards« for the second and third volumes of his cycle of Haydn’s piano sonatas. He has also made a series of Grammy-winning recordings with Yo-Yo Ma of the Beethoven and Brahms sonatas for cello and piano. His other recordings include the concertos of Liszt and Schoenberg, three solo Brahms albums, an album of tangos by Astor Piazzolla, and the premiere recording of John Adams’ Century Rolls with the Cleveland Orchestra for Nonesuch. In the 2004/05 season Emanuel also contributed to an International »EMMY Award«-winning BBC documentary commemorating the Holocaust that aired on the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

A frequent and committed partner for chamber music, he has worked regularly with such artists as Young Uck Kim, Cho-Liang Lin, Yo-Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, Peter Serkin, Jaime Laredo, and the late Isaac Stern. Always a committed exponent of contemporary composers, with works written for him by John Adams, Christopher Rouse, Krzysztof Penderecki, Bright Sheng, and Melinda Wagner already in his repertoire, most recently he has added HK Gruber’s Piano Concerto and Samuel Adams’ Impromptus.

Emanuel lives in New York with his wife, the pianist Yoko Nozaki, and they have two children, Joseph and Sarah. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and holds honorary Doctorates of music from Yale and Columbia Universities.

is Music Director of the Teatro Real in Madrid and of the Basel Symphony Orchestra and Chief Conductor of the Dresden Festival Orchestra. From 2004 to 2016 he was chief conductor of the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, with whom he has appeared annually at the Salzburg Festival since 2000. In the UK, Ivor Bolton has been Music Director of English Touring Opera, Glyndebourne Touring Opera and Chief Conductor of the Scottish Chamber Orchestra. He enjoys a close relationship with the Bayerische Staatsoper where, since 1994, he has conducted a wide range of new productions, most notably of Monteverdi, Handel and Mozart. He has been awarded the prestigious Bayerische Theaterpreis for his outstanding work in Munich. Ivor Bolton was a frequent guest at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and at the Opéra national de Paris. Other operatic engagements include Covent Garden, Paris, Aix, Amsterdam, Barcelona, Berlin, Bologna, Brussels, Dresden, Geneva, Hamburg, Lisbon, Madrid, Sydney, Vienna and Zurich. In concert he has appeared with the world’s leading orchestras in Europe, the US and the Far East. His many recordings, apart from those with the Mozarteumorchester, include Monteverdi’s »Poppea« and Handel’s »Xerxes«, »Giulio Cesare« and »Ariodante« with the Bayerische Staatsoper, and DVDs of »Deidamia« from Amsterdam, »Theodora« from Salzburg and »Jenufa« from Madrid.

Since its inception in 1992, the Brentano String Quartet has appeared throughout the world to popular and critical acclaim. »Passionate, uninhibited and spellbinding«, raves the London Independent; the »New York Times« extols its »luxuriously warm sound [and] yearning lyricism.« Since 2014, the Brentano Quartet has served as Artists in Residence at Yale University. The Quartet also currently serves as the collaborative ensemble for the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. Formerly, they were Artists in Residence at Princeton University for many years. The Quartet has performed in the world’s most prestigious venues, including Carnegie Hall and Alice Tully Hall in New York; the Library of Congress in Washington; the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam; the Konzerthaus in Vienna; Suntory Hall in Tokyo; and the Sydney Opera House. The Quartet had its first European tour in 1997, and was honored in the U.K. with the »Royal Philharmonic Award« for »Most Outstanding Debut«. In addition to their interest in performing very old music, the Brentano Quartet frequently collaborates with contemporary composers Recent commissions include a piano quintet by Vijay Iyer, a work by Eric Moe (with Christine Brandes, soprano), and a viola quintet by Felipe Lara (performed with violist Hsin-Yun Huang). In 2012, the Quartet provided the central music (Beethoven Op. 131) for the critically-acclaimed independent film »A Late Quartet«. The quartet has worked closely with other important composers of our time, among them Elliot Carter, Charles Wuorinen, Chou Wen-chung, Bruce Adolphe, and György Kurtág. They have also been privileged to collaborate with such artists as sopranos Jessye Norman, Dawn Upshaw, and Joyce DiDonato, and pianists Richard Goode, Jonathan Biss, and Mitsuko Uchida. The Quartet is named for Antonie Brentano, whom many scholars consider to be Beethoven’s »Immortal Beloved«, the intended recipient of his famous love confession.

is a celebrated musician the world over with loyal fans in every corner of the globe. Over the last 18 years his legendary live shows have seen him perform at festivals alongside artists as diverse as Herbie Hancock, Kendrick Lamar, St Vincent and Lang Lang. In addition to his enduringly successful recording career, with eight albums under his belt and number nine about to arrive, he has also established himself as a multi-award-winning music broadcaster. Jamie approaches all aspects of his career, as he has from the beginning, as both a fan and a student with seemingly boundless creativity and enthusiasm. Half a lifetime ago he used his student loan to record his first LP, »Heard It All Before«. Since those days the mix of talent, luck and sheer hard graft has been a constant feature of Jamie’s career. The success of his major label breakthrough »Twentysomething« and its follow up »Catching Tales« saw him nominated for a »Brit«, »Grammy« and numerous other awards around the world, but the most important outcome of the five years he spent in the tireless promotion of these records is an enviable live career that is truly global. Cullum’s world tour took in over forty countries. Jamie has even become the guest director of some of his favourite festivals, producing extraordinary shows such as orchestral specials at the Royal Albert Hall for two BBC Proms, the Hollywood Bowl with the LA Philharmonic and a night of Jazz and Drum ’n’ Bass at The Forum in London. Jamie is also enjoyed by myriad radio listeners on his globally syndicated radio show. Based in jazz, but dipping into the world of hip-hop, electronic music and beyond, the show features music, interviews and live sessions. It initially airs on BBC Radio 2 and has garnered over a dozen awards since its debut in 2010. Still Jamie manages to share his time across other projects including the »Mercury Music Prize«, for which he is a judge, and charities that help promote music to young people, in addition to working with In House Records, which uses music in the rehabilitation of offenders. Jamie was also delighted to be asked to record a song for the most recent BBC’s »Children In Need« television fundraising campaign.

Born in 1973 in Dakar, Pape Cheikh Diouf is from a »guewel« (griot) family originally of the Siné-Saloum Delta region in southwestern Senegal. As a youth, he was sent to his uncle’s house to learn the plumbing trade. But his passion was music, which he pursued in his spare time and ultimately decided was his path to follow. Along with his enormous talent, Pape Diouf is known and admired for representing certain human and social values that are central to Senegalese culture. His captivating sound and charismatic performance have inspired references to »the new Youssou Ndour«. Now that Ndour is Minister of Tourism and no longer performs, Pape Diouf is seen as the likely successor to the master of »mbalax«. Even in his movements and vocal style, Pape emulates his idol, who in turn has called him »the future of Senegalese music«. In 1995, at the age of 22, he joined the Lemzo Diamono Group, where his talent became widely recognized. After going solo in 1998, several frustrating years passed before his first album »Live au Biddew« (Tribu/Lampe Fall, 2003), and an U.S. tour. It was then that Pape Diouf met Mamadou »Jimi« Mbaye, lead guitarist of Youssou Ndour’s band Super Étoile de Dakar, who helped him record and produce »Partir!« (Jololi, 2004), opening the door to a promising career. It was also the launch of Pape Diouf et la Génération Consciente, his band which has now been together for more than 18 years. Since then he has released many highly succesfull albums and toured around the world. His newest album »Enjoy!« was released in 2018. Pape Diouf has emerged as one of the most important voices in contemporary Senegalese music. More than just a prolific hit maker, he draws on his family’s »guewel« traditions to sing about love, life lessons and the Wolof ideal of »teranga«: mutual respect, acceptance and hospitality that’s at the core of Senegalese life.

The pianist Julius Drake lives in London and enjoys an international reputation as one of the finest instrumentalists in his field, collaborating with many of the world’s leading artists, both in recital and on disc. He appears regularly at all the major music centres and festivals: the Aldeburgh, Edinburgh International, Munich, Schubertiade and Salzburg Music Festivals, Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Centre, New York, The Royal Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, Wigmore Hall and BBC Proms, London. Julius Drake’s many recordings include a widely acclaimed series with Gerald Finley for Hyperion, from which the Barber Songs, Schumann Heine Lieder and Britten »Songs and Proverbs« won the 2007, 2009 and 2011 »Gramophone Awards«, award winning recordings with Ian Bostridge for EMI, several recitals for the Wigmore Live label with among others Alice Coote, Joyce DiDonato, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Christopher Maltman and Matthew Polenzani, recordings of Kodály and Schoeck sonatas with the cellists Natalie Clein and Christian Poltera for the Hyperion and Bis labels, of Tchaikovsky and Mahler with Christianne Stotijn for Onyx, English song with Bejun Mehta for Harmonia Mundi and Schubert’s »Poetisches Tagebuch« with Christoph Prégardien, which won the »Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik« 2016. Julius Drake is now embarked on a major project to record the complete songs of Franz Liszt for Hyperion – the second disc in the series, with Angelika Kirchschlager, won the »BBC Music Magazine Award« 2012 – and a series of four Schubert recitals recorded live at Wigmore Hall with Ian Bostridge. Concerts in the coming seasons include a series to celebrate the Beethoven anniversary at the 92nd Street Y in New York and a Mahler series at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, recitals at La Scala, Milan, with Aleksandra Kurzak, at Wigmore Hall with Alice Coote, in Barcelona with Sarah Connolly, in Berlin with Angelika Kirchschlager, at the Schubertiade, Austria, with Christoph Prégardien, Ian Bostridge and Gerald Finley, and tours in Europe with Anna Prohaska and Eva-Maria Westbroek.

The Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company is based in equal measure in the cities of Dresden and Frankfurt am Main. Internationally acclaimed choreographer Jacopo Godani serves as artistic director of the company. The repertoire of the Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company consists primarily of works by Godani. His goal is the production of a vibrant new choreographic language, one that requires virtuosity in its expression while posing physical challenges to the performers. On this journey, dance’s traditional heritage will converge with contemporary thought, giving rise to a highly unique ensemble.  

Cooperation partners are the states of Saxony and Hesse and the cities of Dresden and Frankfurt am Main, as well as private supporters and public sponsors. Supported by the city of Dresden and the state of Saxony as well as the city of Frankfurt am Main and the state of Hesse. Company-in-Residence of both HELLERAU – European Centre for the Arts in Dresden and the Bockenheimer Depot in Frankfurt am Main.

Every year, some of the best musicians for historically informed performance practice from the finest early-music ensembles in Europe unite to the Dresden Festival Orchestra as the Dresden Music Festival's very own ensemble. With great joy of discovery, precision and a keen sense for authentic interpretations, the Dresden Festival Orchestra has explored the original sound of various epochs since its inception in 2012 and in doing so fills a void in the musical life of the city. The musicians play original instruments, varying with the era and historical background of its repertoire, which means that the strings use gut strings and the winds offer a completely new sound. The artists, all virtuosos and specialists on their instruments, are giftet with variety of styles and playing techniques, wich they bring to Dresden from orchestras such as the Academy of Ancient Music, the Orchestera of the18th Century, the Balthasar-Neumann-Ensemble, the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique, the Concentus Musicus Wien, Il Giardino Armonico or Le Cercle de l'Harmonie. Already at its celebrated premiere during the 2012 Music Festival the ensemble thrilled both audiences and critics. During the 2014 Festival season, the orchestra paid homage to Richard Strauss in his anniversary year, offering a brilliant rediscovery of his opera »Feuersnot« (a coproduction with the Sächsische Staatsoper Dresden), that was nominated for the 2015 »International Opera Award«. In October 2016 the first recording was released with Schumann’s second symphony and his cello concerto featuring Jan Vogler as solist. Renowned soloists that performed with the orchestra inculde Simone Kermes, Giuliano Carmignola, Isabelle Faust, Bejun Mehta, Waltraud Meier, Thomas Zehetmair and Valer Sabadus. Since 2012 Ivor Bolton has been chief conductor of the Dresden Festival Orchestra.

The Dresden Kammerchor is one of the leading choirs in Germany. Since its foundation in 1985 by Hans-Christoph Rademann it has become firmly established on the German and European musical scene. With initiatives such as the first complete recording of Heinrich Schütz (since 2009) and a continuing interest in researching and promoting the musical legacy of central Germany, the choir helps shape the cultural identity of this region, working internationally as an ambassador for Dresden and Saxony. In collaboration with the Dresden Barockorchester and other musical partners, numerous works have been rediscovered, performed and recorded. Recordings of works by Heinrich Schütz, Johann Adolph Hasse, Johann David Heinichen and Jan Dismas Zelenka have been honored with numerous prizes including the »Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik« (German Record Critics’ Award) of the Year 2016. Alongside the oratories and sacred works of Baroque masters such as Bach, Telemann and Händel, the choral-symphonic repertoire of the Classical and Romantic periods from Mozart via Mendelssohn to Brahms forms another main focus of the choir’s work. The Dresden Kammerchor is also renowned for the performance of challenging a cappella literature from the 19th and 20th centuries by composers such as Max Reger, Alfred Schnittke, Ernst Krenek, Olivier Messiaen and Herman Berlinski. The choir specializes in modern and contemporary music. This is reflected in numerous premieres, first performances, and new works commissioned by the choir. In 2009 Hans-Christoph Rademann and the Dresden Kammerchor initiated the first Dresden Choir Workshop for Contemporary Music, which had its fourth edition in 2018. The choir was awarded the »Ernst von Siemens Musikpreis« (Ernst von Siemens Music prize) for its services to contemporary music. The Dresden Kammerchor has received broad acclaim on its numerous concert trips in and outside Europe, i.e. USA, South Africa, India, China, Taiwan and Mexico. The choir also receives regular invitations to international music festivals of great reputation like the Rheingau Musik Festival, Festival Oude Muziek in Utrecht, Festivales Musicales Buenos Aires, Bachwoche Ansbach and Händel-Festspiele Halle and Göttingen. Frequent cooperations with renowned orchestras and conductors from Germany and abroad underscore the reputation of the choir. Among the most famous are the conductors René Jacobs, Sir Roger Norrington, Ádám Fischer, Riccardo Chailly, Herbert Blomstedt, Jos van Immerseel and the ensembles Staatskapelle Dresden, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, Concerto Köln, Academy for Early Music Berlin and Anima Eterna Brugge. The Dresden Kammerchor stays in touch with its roots trough a cooperation with the College of Music Carl Maria von Weber Dresden.

The Dresden Kreuzchor is one of the world’s oldest and most famous boys’ choirs. Its history dates back to the first mention of the city of Dresden in the early 13th century. More than 800 years later, its most important task is still the musical accompaniment of the vespers and services at Dresden’s Kreuzkirche. Here, the Dresden Kreuzchor performs in Vespers and services and regularly gives concerts with outstanding works of sacred music. They form the core of the repertoire and are an expression of the Christian-humanistic character of the choir. Alongside famous soloists, the Dresden Philharmonic and the Staatskapelle Dresden are major artistic partners. The Dresden Kreuzchor also collaborates with ensembles of early music such as the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra and the Academy for Early Music of Berlin. The repertoire of the Dresden Kreuzchor ranges from Renaissance music to premieres of contemporary works. His extensive artistic work has been documented in numerous recordings. Several times a year, the Dresden Kreuzchor goes on national and international concert tours, beyond German and European borders to Israel, Canada, Japan, South America and the USA. Moreover, it performs at international music festivals and realizes countless radio and television recordings. It represents the Saxon state capital as its oldest cultural institution on almost all continents and has recently debuted at the Shanghai International Arts Festival and the Salzburg Easter Festivals. The choir singers are also regularly invited to opera roles as soloists. The Kreuzchor singers, called »Crucians«, still graduate at the Kreuzschule; about two third of them live in the adjacent boarding school. Next to their normal classes, the 130 singers – aged nine to eighteen – have weekly singing and instrumental lessons. Their daily rehearsals and the specific sound of the choir are the basis of the success and the fame of the Dresden Kreuzchor.

The Dresden Philharmonic can look back on 150 years of history as the orchestra of Saxony’s capital Dresden. When the so-called »Gewerbehaussaal« opened on 29 November 1870, the citizens of the city were given the opportunity to organise major orchestra concerts. Philharmonic concerts were held regularly starting in 1885; the orchestra adopted its present name in 1923. In its first decades, composers such as Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Dvořák and Strauss conducted the Dresdner Philharmonie with their own works. The first desks were presided over by outstanding concertmasters such as Stefan Frenkel, Simon Goldberg and the cellists Stefan Auber and Enrico Mainardi. From 1934, Carl Schuricht and Paul van Kempen led the orchestra; van Kempen in particular guided the Dresden Philharmonic to top achievements. All of Bruckner’s symphonies were first performed in their original versions, which earned the orchestra the reputation of a »Bruckner orchestra« and brought renowned guest conductors such as Hermann Abendroth, Eduard van Beinum, Fritz Busch, Eugen Jochum, Joseph Keilbert, Erich Kleiber, Hans Knappertsbusch and Franz Konwitschny to the rostrum. After 1945 and into the 1990s, Heinz Bongartz, Horst Förster, Kurt Masur (from 1994 also honorary conductor), Günther Herbig, Herbert Kegel, Jörg-Peter Weigle and Michel Plasson were the principal conductors. In recent years, conductors such as Marek Janowski, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos and Michael Sanderling have shaped the orchestra. Starting in the 2019-20 season, Marek Janowski will rejoin the Dresden Philharmonic as principal conductor and artistic director. Its home is the highly modern concert hall inaugurated in April 2017 in the Kulturpalast building in the heart of the historic old town. In romantic repertoire, the orchestra has preserved its very own »Dresden sound«. Furthermore, it is characterised by a flexibility in sound and style for the music of the Baroque and First Viennese School, as well as for modern works. World premieres continue to the present to play an important part in the orchestra’s programmes. Guest performances in major concert halls around the world demonstrate the high esteem enjoyed by the Dresden Philharmonic in the world of classical music. High-calibre education and family formats round out the offering for young people; the youngest concertgoers are brought into contact with classical music by attending rehearsals and school concerts. The orchestra supports young musical talent in the Kurt Masur Academy. The Philharmonic’s discography, which has been growing since 1937, also testifies to their broad spectrum. A new climax was reached with the CD cycle conducted by Michael Sanderling dedicated to the complete symphonies of Dmitri Shostakovich and Ludwig van Beethoven (Sony Classical).

For over 30 years, four-time »Oscar«-nominee Danny Elfman has established himself as one of the most versatile and accomplished film composers in the industry. He has collaborated with directors such as Tim Burton, Gus Van Sant, Sam Raimi, Peter Jackson, Ang Lee, Rob Minkoff, Guillermo del Toro, Brian De Palma, James Ponsoldt and David O’Russell. Beginning with his first score on Tim Burton’s »Pee-wee’s Big Adventure«, Elfman has scored over 100 films, including: »Milk« (»Oscar«-nominated), »Good Will Hunting« (»Oscar«-nominated), »Big Fish« (»Oscar«-nominated), »Men in Black« (»Oscar«-nominated), »Edward Scissorhands«, »Batman«, »To Die For«, »The Nightmare Before Christmas«, »Alice in Wonderland«, »Silver Linings Playbook«, »American Hustle«, »Avengers: Age of Ultron«, »Spiderman«, »A Simple Plan«, »Midnight Run«, »Sommersby«, »Dolores Claiborne», and the Errol Morris documentaries »The Unknown Known«, and »Standard Operating Procedure«. Elfman’s other scores include the Warner Bros. blockbuster »Justice League«, Gus Van Sant’s »Don’t Worry He Won’t Get Far On Foot«, »The Grinch« for Universal, Tim Burton’s live action remake of Disney’s »Dumbo«, and the latest installment from Sony Pictures »Men In Black«: International starring Chris Hemsworth and Tessa Thompson. Upcoming for Elfman is the Universal Pictures’ family comedy »The Voyage of Doctor Dolittle« starring Robert Downey Jr. and Tom Holland.  

A native of Los Angeles, Elfman grew up loving film music. He travelled the world as a young man, absorbing its musical diversity. He helped found the band Oingo Boingo, and came to the attention of a young Tim Burton, who asked him to write the score for »Pee-wee’s Big Adventure«. 34 years later, the two have forged one of the most fruitful composer-director collaborations in film history. In addition to his film work, Elfman wrote the iconic theme music for the television series »The Simpsons« and »Desperate Housewives«.  

Elfman has expanded his writing to composing orchestral concert works which include: »Serenada Schizophrana«, a symphony commissioned by the American Composer’s Orchestra, which premiered at Carnegie Hall in 2005, »Rabbit and Rogue«, for the American Ballet Theater choreographed by Twyla Tharp, performed at The Metropolitan Opera house in 2008, and »IRIS« for Cirque du Soleil directed by French choreographer Philippe Decouflé. In 2011, Danny Elfman’s Music from the Films of Tim Burton live orchestral concert, premiered at Royal Albert Hall, and has since toured around the world and won two »Emmys«. In 2017 Elfman premiered his first violin concerto in Prague, which was performed by the Czech National Orchestra. 2019, his first Piano Quartet commissioned by the Berlin Philharmonic Piano Quartet premiered at the Berlin Philharmonie.

graduated as a composer and orchestra conductor at the Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi in Milan. He is Music Director of the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma and he holds the same position at the Orchestra Mozart Bologna. He is also Artistic Advisor of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra (MCO).

He was Chief Conductor of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra (RCO) in Amsterdam and he previously held prestigious roles at important musical institutions like the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre National de France, the Royal Opera House of London, the Teatro Comunale di Bologna, and Zurich’s Opernhaus. The Berliner Philharmoniker, the Wiener Philharmoniker, the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, and the Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala are just a few of the renowned symphonic institutions he works with.

Some of the numerous and important new productions he has conducted include the »Falstaff« staged by Robert Carsen (in London, Milan, and Amsterdam); the »Parsifal« staged by Stefan Herheim opening the 2008 Bayreuther Festspiele (one of the very few Italian conductors to have been invited to the Wagnerian festival); the »Parsifal« staged by François Girard at the Metropolitan Opera in New York; four operas at the Salzburger Festspiele (»Elektra«, »La bohème«, »Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg«, »ll Trovatore«).

The year 2016 saw the beginning of a three-year concert cycle named »RCO meets Europe«, that involved 28 member states of the European Union and it included the project »Side by Side«, a project allowing musicians from local youth orchestras to perform the first musical number of the program next to the members of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Maestro Gatti, thus fostering an incredibly fruitful human and musical exchange. The Italian appointment took place in Turin at the Auditorium of the Lingotto building.

Daniele Gatti was awarded the »Premio Franco Abbiati« from Italian music critics as best conductor in 2015, and in 2016 he was awarded the »Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur« from the French Republic for his work as Musical Director of the Orchestre National de France.

Under Sony Classical he has recorded works by Debussy and Stravinsky with the Orchestre National de France, and a DVD of Wagner’s Parsifal staged at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. Under the label RCO Live he has recorded Berlioz’s »Symphonie Fantastique«, Mahler’s First, Second and Fourth Symphonies, a DVD of Stravinsky’s »Le Sacre du Printemps« together with Debussy's »Prélude à l'Après-midi d'un Faune« and »La Mer«, a DVD of Strauss's »Salome« performed at the Dutch National Opera, a CD of Bruckner's Symphony n. 9 together with the Prelude and the Karfreitagszauber (Good Friday Music) from Wagner's »Parsifal«. In November 2019 a DVD of Wagner's »Tristan und Isolde«, staged at the Teatro dell'Opera di Roma, was released by C Major.

The young Moscow-born, Israeli pianist Boris Giltburg is lauded across the globe as a deeply sensitive, insightful and compelling interpreter. He has appeared with many leading orchestras worldwide, such as Philharmonia Orchestra, London Philharmonic, NHK Symphony, Israel Philharmonic , WDR Koeln, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie, St Petersburg Philharmonic and Seattle Symphony.

He made his BBC Proms debut in 2010, his Australia debut in 2017 (with the Adelaide and Tasmanian Symphony orchestras) and has frequently toured to South America and China. He has played recitals in leading venues such as Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, Carnegie Hall, London Southbank Centre, Auditorium Radio France, Toppan Hall Tokyo and Shanghai Oriental Arts Centre.

To celebrate the Beethoven anniversary in 2020 Giltburg embarked upon a unique project to learn all the sonatas across the year, filming and blogging about the process, and appearing on BBC TV. He is recording the complete Beethoven piano concerti for Naxos with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and Vasily Petrenko.

He has a close relationship with the Pavel Haas Quartet, winning a »Gramophone Award« 2018 for their Dvořák Piano Quintet on Supraphon, and joining them in 19/20 at the Wigmore, Bristol and Cambridge. They will also embark on a US and North America tour, performing in Kansas City, Salt Lake City, Vancouver, Quebec and Montreal.

Boris Giltburg is an avid amateur photographer and blogger, writing about classical music for a non-specialist audience.

The Hagen Quartet celebrates its 40th anniversary in the 2020/21 season, with concert programs featuring the ten great string quartets and the clarinet quintet by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the piano quintets by Dmitri Shostakovich and Robert Schumann, the string quintet by Franz Schubert and the clarinet quintet by Jörg Widmann. This combination of Mozart's quartets and quintets with guest musicians will be performed especially in the concert series of the Hagen Quartet in the Vienna Konzerthaus. This season, the four musicians will tour to London, Brussels, Munich, Berlin, Amsterdam, Wroclaw, Barcelona, Madrid, Turin, Hamburg, the Schubertiade in Schwarzenberg, the Salzburg Festival and the Lucerne Festival, to name but a few cities and festivals.

The Hagen Quartet will travel again to the United States and Japan. The Hagen Quartet’s unprecedented 3 1/2-decade career began in 1981. Its early years, marked by a series of prizes in chamber music competitions and an exclusive recording contract with Deutsche Grammophon that was to produce around forty-five recordings over the following twenty years, enabled the group to work its way through the immensely vast repertoire for string quartet in which this ensemble’s distinctive profile has emerged. Subsequent recordings for myrios classics with Brahms' Clarinet Quintet together with Jörg Widmann and with Mozart's string quartets were highly praised by the international press and received prizes such as the »ECHO Klassik« in Germany and the »Diapason d’Or« in France. In 2019 a recording with the 3rd string quartet and the piano quintet by Brahms together with Kirill Gerstein has been released and in autumn 2020 a recording with the Clarinet Quintets of Mozart and Jörg Widmann (first recording). In January 2019, the Hagen Quartet was awarded the »Concertgebouw Prijs« for the artistic appeal it has radiated over many years and the contribution it has made to the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Collaborations with artistic personalities such as György Kurtág and the late Nikolaus Harnoncourt are as important to the Hagen Quartet as its concert appearances with performers including Maurizio Pollini, Mitsuko Uchida, Krystian Zimerman, Heinrich Schiff, Jörg Widmann, Kirill Gerstein, Sol Gabetta, Gautier Capuçon and Igor Levit. The ensemble’s concert repertoire and discography feature attractive and intelligently arranged programmes embracing the entire history of the string quartet genre, from its pre-Haydn beginnings right through to Kurtág. The Hagen Quartet also works closely with composers of its own generation: not only reviving existing works, but also commissioning and premiering new pieces. Recently, Myrios Classics released a recording featuring Brahms’ String Quartet No. 3 and his Piano Quintet, with Kirill Gerstein as guest pianist.

Many young string quartets regard the Hagen Quartet as a model in terms of sound quality, stylistic variety, ensemble playing and serious commitment to the works and composers of the genre. As teachers and mentors at the Salzburg Mozarteum and the Hochschule in Basel, as well as in international masterclasses, the quartet’s members pass on their great wealth of experience to younger colleagues. The Hagen Quartet plays on old Italian master Instruments.

Daniel Harding is Music and Artistic Director of the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, with whom in 2017 he celebrated his 10-year anniversary, and Conductor Laureate of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, with whom he has worked for over 20 years. In the 2014/15 season he devised and curated the celebrated Interplay Festival with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, presenting a series of concerts and related inspirational talks and installations involving artists, academics, scientists and philosophers. The influential programming continues to be a popular feature at Berwaldhallen.

A renowned opera conductor, he has led critically acclaimed productions at the Teatro alla Scala Milan, Theater an der Wien, Wiener Staatsoper, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden and at the Aix-en-Provence and Salzburg Festivals. He continues to work regularly with the Wiener Philharmoniker, Berliner Philharmoniker, Bayerischer Rundfunk Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Filarmonica della Scala Orchestra, Dresden Staatskapelle and the London Symphony Orchestra. In 2018 he was named Artistic Director of the Anima Mundi Festival. He is a qualified airline pilot.

Following his First Prize triumph at the 2018 »Queen Elisabeth Competition«, Samuel Hasselhorn is quickly establishing himself as a multifaceted artist, on the international level, who is at home equally in the genres of opera, Lied, and oratorio. Highlights of the 2020/21 season for German baritone Samuel Hasselhorn are his role debut as Wolfram von Eschenbach (»Tannhäuser«) with Opéra de Rouen, the title role in Viktor Ullmann’s opera »Der Kaiser von Atlantis« with the Swedish Radio Orchestra, a tour of St. Matthew Passion with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, and recitals with Helmut Deutsch, Malcolm Martineau, and Graham Johnson. He released his latest album »Stille Liebe« with pianist Joseph Middleton under the record label Harmonia Mundi in September 2020.

Hasselhorn was a member of the Vienna State Opera for two seasons where he was given the opportunity to perform a wide repertoire of roles such as the title role in Don Giovanni, Figaro (»Il barbiere di Siviglia«), Belcore (»L‘elisir d’amore«), Harlekin (»Ariadne auf Naxos«), Ping (»Turandot«), Schaunard (»La Bohème«) Ottokar (»Der Freischütz«), Don Fernando (»Fidelio«). He also made his debut in 2019/20 at the Opéra de Rouen and the Musikverein Vienna.  

Samuel Hasselhorn is recipient of the 2018 Emmerich Smola Prize, First Prize winner of the 2017 Das Lied International Song Competition in Heidelberg, First Prize winner of the 2015 Young Concert Artists Auditions in New York, and First Prize winner of the 2013 International Schubert Competition in Dortmund. Other notable prizes include Second Prize at the 2015 »Wigmore Hall/Bollinger International Song Competition« in London, Third Prize in the »Hugo Wolf Competition« in Stuttgart in 2016, and the »Prix de Lied« in the 2013 »Nadia and Lili Boulanger Competition« in Paris.  

His first two CDs »Nachtblicke«, and the highly acclaimed »Dichterliebe²« were released in 2014 and 2018 with GWK RECORDS. Samuel Hasselhorn earned his degree in Opera Performance from the Hannover University of Music, Drama, and Media with Professor Marina Sandel, in addition to a semester abroad at the Paris Conservatory with Malcolm Walker. He received further musical influences in masterclasses with Kiri Te Kanawa, Kevin Murphy, Thomas Quasthoff, Helen Donath, Annette Dasch, Susan Manoff, Jan-Philip Schulze, Anne Le Bozec, and Martin Brauß. Samuel received grants from the Walter and Charlotte Hamel Foundation, the Gundlach Music Award, and was recipient of the prestigious Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes.

For twenty years, Helsinki Baroque Orchestra’s performances and recordings have captivated audiences with their potent combination of emotional eloquence and infectious vitality. Their programmes frequently include first modern performances of unpublished or reconstructed masterpieces, and also shed unexpected and often provocative new light on more familiar works. Their music-making has contributed to the ensemble’s reputation as a major exponent of German and Baltic music.

At home, groundbreaking productions of Monteverdi, Handel, Hasse, and Koželuch operas have earned the orchestra wide recognition. Since 2011, Helsinki Baroque Orchestra’s monthly series at the Helsinki Musiikkitalo has reached a large, new, and enthusiastic public. A visionary selection of repertoire and guest artists has ignited the audience in an unprecedented way, and in the process catalysed early music’s elevation to something of a cult status in Finland. Recurring soloists and guest directors include Max Emanuel Cenčić, Franco Fagioli, Isabelle Faust, Reinhard Goebel, Werner Güra, Erich Höbarth, René Jacobs, Sophie Karthäuser, Julia Lezhneva, Riccardo Minasi, Enrico Onofri, Sonia Prina, Valer Sabadus, Carolyn Sampson, Skip Sempé, and Dmitry Sinkovsky.

Helsinki Baroque’s sound has enthralled listeners from the Cologne Philharmonie to Tokyo’s Suntory Hall and the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, and at major festivals such as Bergen, Bremen, Rheingau, and Jerusalem. Equally at home in more intimate spaces, the orchestra has launched its own midsummer festival in the idyllic setting of Janakkala’s medieval stone church.

The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra introduced its new brand identity in 2012, coinciding with the arrival of our Music Director Jaap van Zweden. The new identity represents the swinging movements of the baton in the hand of the conductor rather like a wand in the hands of a wizard, creating and orchestrating magical experiences that are at once elevating, enriching and enchanting. 

The logo symbolises the HK Phil stepping towards a new tomorrow, continuing to cast new spells in our symphonic endeavour.  The Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra (HK Phil) is recognised as Asia’s foremost classical orchestra. Presenting more than 150 concerts over a 44-week season, the HK Phil attracts more than 200,000 music lovers annually. In 2019, the HK Phil received the prestigious »Gramophone Award« (Orchestra of the Year) – the first orchestra in Asia to receive this distinction. Jaap van Zweden, one of today’s most sought-after conductors, has been the orchestra’s Music Director since the 2012/13 concert season, a position he will continue to hold until at least 2022. Maestro van Zweden is also Music Director of the New York Philharmonic since the 2018/19 season. Yu Long has been Principal Guest Conductor since the 2015/16 season.  

Under the dynamic leadership of Jaap van Zweden, the HK Phil has attained new heights of artistic excellence, garnering international critical acclaim. The orchestra successfully completed a four-year journey through Wagner’s Ring Cycle, performing and recording one opera from the cycle each year from 2015 to 2018. The concert performances and live Naxos recordings were enthusiastically received by audiences and praised by critics at home and abroad.

Thanks to a significant subsidy from the Hong Kong SAR Government and long-term funding from Principal Patron Swire, the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust and other supporters, the HK Phil presents an annual schedule of core classical repertoire and innovative popular programming, extensive education and community programmes, and collaborations with, among others, Opera Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Arts Festival and the Hong Kong Ballet. Conductors and soloists who have recently performed with the orchestra include Vladimir Ashkenazy, Joshua Bell, Charles Dutoit, Christoph Eschenbach, Matthias Goerne, Stephen Hough, Evgeny Kissin, Lang Lang, Yo-Yo Ma, Ning Feng, Leonard Slatkin and Yuja Wang.

The HK Phil promotes the work of Hong Kong and Chinese composers through an active commissioning programme, and has released recordings on the Naxos label featuring Tan Dun and Bright Sheng conducting their own compositions. Its acclaimed education and community engagement programmes in schools, hospitals and outdoor spaces bring music into the hearts of tens of thousands of children and families every year.     

Born in the Czech Republic, Jakub Hrůša is Chief Conductor of the Bamberg Symphony, Principal Guest Conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra, and Principal Guest Conductor of the Czech Philharmonic. He is a frequent guest with many of the world’s greatest orchestras. In addition to his titled positions, he also enjoys close relationships with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, The Cleveland Orchestra , Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, the New York Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, Vienna Symphony, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Vienna Radio Symphony, Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

As a conductor of opera, he has been a regular guest with Glyndebourne Festival, conducting »Vanessa«, »The Cunning Little Vixen«, »A Midsummer Night’s Dream«, »Carmen«, »The Turn of the Screw«, »Don Giovanni« and »La bohème«, and serving as Music Director of Glyndebourne On Tour for three years. Elsewhere he has led productions for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (»Carmen«), Vienna State Opera (a new production of »The Makropulos Case«), Opéra National de Paris (»Rusalka« and »The Merry Widow«), Frankfurt Opera (»Il trittico«) and Zurich Opera (»Makropulos Case«), among others.

As a recording artist, his most recent releases are the first two instalments of a new cycle of Dvořák and Brahms Symphonies, and Smetana’s »Má vlast« with Bamberg Symphony (Tudor). Other releases have included concertos for Orchestra by Bartók and Kodály with RSB Berlin (Pentatone). He has also recorded Berlioz’s »Symphonie fantastique«, Strauss’s »Eine Alpensinfonie« and Suk’s »Asrael Symphony« with Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra (Octavia Records); the Tchaikovsky and Bruch violin concertos with Nicola Benedetti and the Czech Philharmonic (Universal); and nine discs (with Pentatone and Supraphon) of Czech repertoire with PKF-Prague Philharmonia, where he was Music Director from 2009 until 2015. Jakub Hrůša studied conducting at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, where his teachers included Jiří Bělohlávek. He is currently President of the International Martinů Circle and The Dvořák Society, and was the inaugural recipient of the »Sir Charles Mackerras Prize«.

Hailed by the »New York Times« as »an interpretive dynamo«, conductor and cellist Eric Jacobsen has built a reputation for engaging audiences with innovative and collaborative programming. Jacobsen is Co-Artistic Director and conductor of The Knights, and also serves as the Music Director for the Orlando Philharmonic Orchestra and the Greater Bridgeport Symphony. Jacobsen founded the adventurous orchestra The Knights with his brother, violinist Colin Jacobsen, to foster the intimacy and camaraderie of chamber music on the orchestral stage. As conductor, Jacobsen has led the »consistently inventive, infectiously engaged indie ensemble« (»New York Times«) at Central Park’s Naumburg Orchestral Concerts, Celebrate Brooklyn! Festival, (Le) Poisson Rouge, the 92nd Street Y, Carnegie Hall, and Lincoln Center, at major summer festivals such as Tanglewood, Ravinia, and Ojai, and on tour nationally and internationally, including at the Cologne Philharmonie, Düsseldorf Tonhalle, Hamburg Elbphilharmonie, Salzburg Großes Festspielhaus, Vienna Musikverein, National Gallery of Dublin, and the Dresden Musikfestspiele.

Recent collaborators include violinists Itzhak Perlman and Gil Shaham, singers Dawn Upshaw, Susan Graham, and Nicholas Phan, and pianists Emanuel Ax and Jean-Yves Thibaudet. Also, in demand as a guest conductor, Jacobsen has led the symphony orchestras of Baltimore, Detroit, Virginia, Alabama, the New World, Naples, St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, the ProMusica Chamber Orchestra, and the Deutsche Philharmonie Merck.

Under Jacobsen’s baton, The Knights have developed an extensive recording collection, which includes the critically acclaimed albums »Azul«, with longtime collaborator Yo-Yo Ma, as well as the Prokofiev Concerto in the Grammy-nominated Gil Shaham album »1930s Violin Concertos«. The Knights issued three albums for Sony Classical including »Jan Vogler and The Knights Experience: Live from New York«; »New Worlds«, and an all-Beethoven album, as well as the »smartly programmed« (»National Public Radio«) »A Second in Silence« on the Ancalagon label. Jacobsen’s first release on Warner Classics was »The Ground Beneath Our Feet. We Are The Knights«, a documentary film produced by Thirteen/WNET, premiered in September 2011.

A dedicated chamber musician, Jacobsen is a member of Yo-Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble, participating in residencies and performances at the Hollywood Bowl, Carnegie Hall, and across the U.S., Central Asia, Middle East, Far East, and Europe. In addition, as a founding member of the string quartet Brooklyn Rider – dubbed »one of the wonders of contemporary music« (»Los Angeles Times«) – he has taken part in a wealth of world premieres and toured extensively in North America, Europe, and Asia, and is credited with helping to ensure »the future of classical music in America« (»Los Angeles Times«).

In December 2012, Jacobsen and his brother Colin were selected from among the nation’s top visual, performing, media, and literary artists to receive a prestigious United States Artists Fellowship. Eric splits his time between New York and Orlando. He is married to singer-songwriter Aoife O’Donovan.

Now embarked on its second decade, Juilliard’s full-scholarship Historical Performance program offers a comprehensive two-year immersion in music of the 17th and 18th centuries on historical instruments. Thanks to the generous support of Bruce and Suzie Kovner, the Historical Performance graduate program is tuition-free. Along with a high-profile concert season of opera, orchestral, and chamber music at the level of technical excellence and musical integrity for which Juilliard is renowned, this intensive program also offers an academic curriculum focused on the study of historical sources, theory, and practice. Its faculty is made up of many of the leading performers and scholars in the field. 

Juilliard415, the school’s principal period-instrument ensemble, has made significant contributions to musical life in New York and beyond, bringing major figures in the field of early music to lead performances of both rare and canonical works by composers of the 17th and 18th centuries. The many distinguished guests who have led Juilliard415 include Harry Bicket, William Christie, Monica Huggett, Nicholas McGegan, Rachel Podger, Jordi Savall, and Masaaki Suzuki. Juilliard415 has now performed on five continents, with notable appearances at the Boston Early Music Festival, Leipzig Bachfest, and Utrecht Early Music Festival (where Juilliard was the first-ever conservatory in residence), and most recently its second 10-concert tour of New Zealand.

Recent highlights include performances with William Christie and Les Arts Florissants at the Philharmonie de Paris, Handel’s »Rinaldo« conducted by Nicholas McGegan, the Juilliard415 debut of Pablo Heras-Casado in a program of music from the Spanish Baroque, and the second of a continuing series of side-by-side collaborations with Philharmonia Baroque in San Francisco and with its frequent musical collaborator, the Yale Institute of Sacred Music.

In collaboration with Juilliard’s Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts, Juilliard415 has performed major oratorios and baroque operas every year since its founding, including a rare fully-staged production of Rameau’s »Hippolyte et Aricie« during the 2017/18 season. During the 2018/19 season, the ensemble presented Purcell’s »Dido and Aeneas« at Opera Holland Park in London and the Royal Opera House of Versailles.

Graduates of Juilliard Historical Performance have gone on to join many leading period-instrument ensembles, including Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, the Handel and Haydn Society, Les Arts Florissants, Mercury Chamber Orchestra, and Portland Baroque Orchestra. They have also launched their own new ensembles like Ruckus, The Sebastians, House of Time, New York Baroque Incorporated, and New Vintage Baroque.

Since it was founded in 2008, the Chamber Orchestra Vienna – Berlin can look back on an unparalleled success story. Consisting of leading members of the Vienna and Berlin Philharmonic, it fascinates audiences and press alike with its unique ideal of music. In their agile performances, the musicians combine the specific sound beauties of the two top orchestras.

Sir Simon Rattle laid the foundation stone for this ensemble with the wish to conduct a joint concert by the Vienna and Berlin Philharmonic orchestras on his 50th birthday: making music together was so fruitful that the spontaneous desire to continue this experience arose. From this idea the »Chamber Orchestra Vienna - Berlin« was born. Since then, concert masters, soloists and section leaders of the two orchestras have come together regularly to create a unique artistic exchange between two legendary Philharmonic orchestras and playing cultures, which is equally exhilarating for the audience and for the musicians.

Artistic director and concert master of the Chamber Orchestra Vienna – Berlin has been Rainer Honeck (concert master of the Vienna State Opera Orchestra since 1984 and concert master of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra since 1992) from the beginning. The most sought-after soloists of our time such as Anne-Sophie Mutter, Jonas Kaufmann, Yuja Wang, Thomas Quasthoff, Yuri Bashmet, Yefim Bronfman, Antoine Tamestit, Denis Matsuev, Rudolf Buchbinder, Daniel Müller-Schott and Gautier Capuçon appreciate their exceptionally fine interaction with the Chamber Orchestra Vienna – Berlin.

Guest performances have taken the ensemble to important international concert halls from Moscow to Amsterdam, from Milan to Helsinki. The Chamber Orchestra Vienna – Berlin celebrated its American debut in 2019. The concerts there formed the end of a brilliant tour with Anne-Sophie Mutter, which took place in 25 locations, among others Elbphilharmonie Hamburg and Wiener Musikverein, as well as in Athens, Madrid, Lucerne and Berlin.

The French conductor Louis Langrée has been Music Director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra since 2013. In recent seasons he has toured with them to Asia and Europe, with appearances including the Hong Kong Arts Festival, Edinburgh International Festival, BBC Proms (London) and La Seine Musicale (Paris). He is also Music Director of the Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center in New York, a position that he has held since 2002. Recent conducting projects include Louis Langrée’s debuts with the Czech Philharmonic at the Prague Spring International Music Festival, the Orchestre National de France and the Konzerthausorchester Berlin. Return engagements included the Wiener Symphoniker, Leipzig Gewandhaus and Philadelphia Orchestra.

Louis Langrée has conducted the Berliner Philharmoniker, Wiener Philharmoniker and London Philharmonic Orchestras. He has worked with many other orchestras around the world including the Orchestre de Paris, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome, Budapest Festival Orchestra, and the NHK Symphony Orchestra; Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Freiburger Barockorchester and the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. Festival appearances have included Wiener Festwochen and the Salzburg Mozartwoche. He has also conducted at La Scala, Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the Opéra Bastille, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and the Dresden Staatsoper.

Louis Langrée has conducted several world premieres including works by Daníel Bjarnason, Magnus Lindberg and Caroline Shaw.

He has held positions as Music Director of the Orchestre de Picardie (1993–98), Opéra National de Lyon (1998–2000), Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège (2001–06), and Glyndebourne Touring Opera (1998–2003). He was also Chief Conductor of the Camerata Salzburg (2011–16). His recordings with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra feature Copland’s »A Lincoln Portrait« (narrated by Dr. Maya Angelou) and world premieres by Sebastian Currier, Thierry Escaich, David Lang, Nico Muhly and Zhou Tian (which was nominated for a »Grammy Award«). His recordings have received several »Gramophone Classical Music Awards« and »Midem Classical Awards«. He is a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres and Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur.

Ute Lemper's career is vast and varied. She has made her mark on the stage, in films, in concert and as a unique recording artist on more than 30 CDs over 30 years of career. She has been universally praised for her interpretations of Berlin Cabaret Songs, of the works of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht and the Chansons of Marlene Dietrich, Édith Piaf, Jacques Brel, Léo Ferré, Jacques Prévert, Nino Rota, Astor Piazzolla, and many others, for her own compositions, as well as for her portrayals in musicals and plays on Broadway, in Paris, Berlin, and in London's West End.

Ute Lemper was born 1963 in Munster, Germany and completed her piano, dance, and theater studies at Cologne Dance Academy, the Max Reinhardt Seminary Drama School in Vienna as well as in Salzburg and Berlin. Countless musical roles in London, New York, Las Vegas, Berlin, and Vienna resulted in awards such as the French »Molière Award« (1986), and the »Olivier Award« (1998).

Maurice Béjart specifically created the ballet »La mort subite« for Ute Lemper, which had its world premiere in Paris in 1990. After several tours around the globe, Ute Lemper started turning to the big screen more often as well. In film, her many credits include »L'Autrichienne« (Pierre Granier-Deferre), »Prospero’s Books« (Peter Greenaway), »Moscow Parade« (Ivan Dykhovichny), »Prêt-à-Porter« (Robert Altman), »Bogus« (Norman Jewison) and the most recent releases, »Combat de fauves« (Benoît Lamy), »A River Made to Drown In« (James Merendino), and »Appetite« (George Milton). She has appeared on television in »Rage/Outrage«, »The Dreyfus Affair« (Arte), »Tales from the Crypt« (HBO), »Ute Lemper Sings Kurt Weill« (Bravo), and many others. In the last years, Ute Lemper has been touring the world with Lieder by Astor Piazzolla, Jacques Brel, and Hanns Eisler as well as with creations of her own. Simultaneously, she developed the stage show »Nomade« with Robert Carsen, which premiered to high acclaim at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris in June 2003.

Furthermore, she launched a song project devoted to Charles Bukowski and was nominated for a »Grammy« for her CD: »Berlin Days/Paris Nights« with the Vogler Quartet and Stefan Malzew on Piano, featuring songs between love and war composed by Hans Eisler, Kurt Weill, Jacques Brel, Édith Piaf, and Astor Piazzolla, as well as folksongs in Yiddish and in Russian. The group did an extensive North American Tour in 2012.

In 2015, Ute Lemper completed her compositions »9 Secrets«. The album is a song cycle consisting of 9 songs, all based on the words of best-selling author Paulo Coelho’s book »Manuscript found in Accra«. The finished album is a poetic symphony of Coelho's words and combines various musical influences and genres.

The 2018/19 season saw Alexander Liebreich begin his tenure as Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra. He held the position of Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (NOSPR) since 2012 until the end of the 2018/19 season. In 2014 he inaugurated the new NOSPR concert hall in Katowice, the orchestra’s home, with a performance including the Brahms Piano Concerto No. 1 with Krystian Zimerman. The collaboration with the orchestra and the label Accentus Music features recordings of pieces by Lutosławski alongside other great Polish works. Their third CD release was winner of the »International Classical Music Awards 2017« (category »Best Collection), featuring works by Karol Szymanowski and Witold Lutosławski.

In 2018 he took over as Artistic Director of the Richard Strauss Festival in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, opening the first edition in June 2018 with Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin and the Chor des Bayerischen Rundfunks. Next to that he was elected head of the Richard-Strauss-Society, following Wolfgang Sawallisch and Brigitte Fassbaender in this position. Alexander Liebreich continues as the Artistic Director until 2023.

He was Artistic Director of the festival Katowice Kultura Natura from 2015 to 2018. During that time some of Europe’s finest orchestras, ensembles and soloists have been invited to the Festival, including the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Tonhalle Orchestra Zürich and Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Leif Ove Ansdnes, András Schiff, Bejun Mehta, Stefano Bollani, Artemis Quartett and Quatuor Ebène.

He held the position of Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Munich Chamber Orchestra from 2006 to 2016. Their first collaborative CD, featuring works by Joseph Haydn and Isang Yun, was released to great critical acclaim in January 2008. The ECM Classics release of Tigran Mansurian’s »Requiem«, with RIAS Kammerchor received a nomination for a Grammy Award in 2018 and won the »International Creative Media A Award 2018« in the category »Contemporary Music«.

As one of Germany’s foremost conductors, Alexander Liebreich’s extensive career takes him around the world. As a guest conductor he has worked with many prestigious orchestras including the Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, the Radio Symphony Orchestra Berlin, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Orquestra Sinfônica do Estado de São Paulo, the Dresden Philharmonic, the NHK Symphony Orchestra and the Tonhalle Orchestra Zürich. Recent and future engagements include debuts with the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, the Oregon Symphony, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the Singapore Symphony Orchestra, and many others. He regularly performs with distinguished soloists such as Lisa Batiashvili, Krystian Zimerman, Frank Peter Zimmermann, Gautier Capuçon, and Isabelle Faust.

Alongside his concerts and opera performances, Liebreich has established a reputation for producing innovative projects. In 2011 he became the first European Artistic Director of the Tongyeong International Music Festival in South Korea, one of the biggest and most important festivals in Asia. With the goal of encouraging intercultural encounters, he implemented the »east-west-residence-programme«, inviting guest artists like Heiner Goebbels, Unsuk Chin, and Martin Grubinger to South Korea.

In October 2016 the Bavarian Ministry of Education, Culture, Science, and Art announced that Alexander Liebreich is the recipient of the »Bavarian Culture Prize Special Award«. Alexander Liebreich, was born in Regensburg and studied at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München and the Salzburg Mozarteum, and gained much of his early artistic experience with both Michael Gielen and Nikolaus Harnoncourt. He was significantly influenced by his mentor Claudio Abbado, who invited him to join and assist productions at Salzburger Osterfestspiele with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and in Bolzano with the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra.

The London Symphony Orchestra is built on the belief that extraordinary music should be available to everyone, everywhere. From orchestral fans in the concert hall to first-time listeners across the UK, Europe and the world. The London Symphony Orchestra was established in 1904, as one of the first orchestras shaped by it’s musicians. Since then, generations of remarkable talents have built the LSO’s reputation for uncompromising quality, and inspirational repertoires. Today, the LSO is ranked among the world’s top orchestras, with a family of artists that includes Music Director Sir Simon Rattle, Principal Guest Conductors Gianandrea Noseda and François-Xavier Roth, and Conductor Laureate Michael Tilson Thomas.

The LSO is Resident Orchestra at the Barbican in the City of London, and also reaches international audiences through touring, artistic residencies and digital partnerships, including with Aix-en-Provence, the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, and global broadcasters.

Through a world-leading education and community programme, LSO Discovery, the LSO connects people from all walks of life to the power of great music. Based at LSO St Luke’s, the Orchestra’s community and music education centre and a leading performance venue on Old Street, LSO Discovery’s reach extends across East London, the UK and the world. LSO musicians are at the heart of this unique programme, leading workshops, mentoring bright young talent, performing at free concerts for the local community and using music to support adults with learning disabilities. LSO musicians also visit children’s hospitals, and lead training programmes for music teachers.

The ambition behind all of this work is simple: to share the transformative power of classical music with people who would not normally experience it. The impact is unrivalled, and every year, LSO Discovery reaches thousands of people of all ages.

In 1999, the LSO formed its own recording label, LSO Live, and revolutionised how live orchestral music is recorded, with over 150 recordings released so far. Overall, the LSO has made more recordings than any other orchestra. As a leading orchestra for film, the LSO has entertained millions with classic scores for »Star Wars«, »Indiana Jones«, »The Shape of Water«, and many more. The LSO also uses streaming services to reach a worldwide audience totalling millions of music-lovers who listen online every month. Through inspiring music, educational programmes and technological innovations, the LSO’s reach extends far beyond the concert hall.

Thanks to the generous support of the City of London Corporation, the Arts Council England, corporate supporters and individual donors, the LSO is able to continue sharing extraordinary music with as many people as possible, across London, and the world.

Fabio Luisi is Music Director Designate of the Dallas Symphony, General Music Director of the Zurich Opera, Chief Conductor of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra and Music Director Designate of Maggio Musicale Fiorentino. He was Principal Conductor at the Metropolitan Opera in New York (2011-2017); prior to this he served as Chief Conductor of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra (2005-2013), GMD of the Staatskapelle Dresden and the Saxon State Opera (2007-2010), Music Director and Principal Conductor of the MDR Symphony Orchestra Leipzig (1999-2007), Music Director of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (1997-2002) and of the Tonkünstler Orchestra in Vienna (1995-2000). Fabio Luisi is also Music Director of the Festival della Valle d’Itriain Martina Franca (Apulia, Italy) and he is guest conductor of several major ensembles including the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Cleveland Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, the NHK Tokyo, the Munich Philharmonic, the Filarmonica della Scala, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam, the Saito Kinen Orchestra and in all major opera houses worldwide. Luisi’s CD recordings to date include operas such as Verdi’s »Aroldo«, »Alzira« and »Jerusalem« and Bellini’s »I Puritani« and »I Capuleti e i Montecchi«, all of Schumann’s and Honegger’s symphonies, and the symphonies and the oratorio »Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln« by the largely forgotten Austrian composer Franz Schmidt. He has also recorded various symphonic poems by Richard Strauss and an acclaimed performance of Bruckner’s Ninth Symphony together with the Staatskapelle Dresden (which was awarded the 2009 »ECHO Klassik«). His recordings of Wagner’s »Siegfried« and »Götterdämmerung« with the MET Orchestra earned him a »Grammy«; in 2013 he won Italy’s coveted »Premio Franco Abbiati«. In 2014 he was awarded the »Grifo d’Oro« by the City of Genoa. The Philharmonia Zurich’s new Philharmonia Records label has also issued several recordings with Luisi at the rostrum, including CDs of works by Berlioz, Wagner, Verdi, Rachmaninov, Bruckner, Rimsky-Korsakov and Frank Martin. Fabio Luisi is the holder of the »Bruckner Ring« awarded by the Wiener Symphoniker, and is also Cavaliere of the Italian Republic and Commedatore of the Ordine della Stella.

The Swedish baritone Peter Mattei has this season made his role debut as Wozzeck at the Metropolitan Opera in New York. This spring included a performance of Schubert’s »Winterreise« at Carnegie Hall in New York, together with pianist Lars David Nilsson. The same constellation was last season on a highly acclaimed Nordic concert tour with »Winterreise«, performances that led to a recording (BIS) as well as a tv version for the Swedish Television. The previous season Peter appeared as Don Giovanni, both at the Metropolitan Opera and at Wiener Staatsoper.

Peter Mattei has established himself as one of the most sought after singers of his generation and has worked with conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Daniel Barenboim, Riccardo Muti, Riccardo Chailly, James Levine, Antonio Pappano, Zubin Mehta, Herbert Blomstedt, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Sir John Eliot Gardiner, Daniel Harding, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, and others.

He has delighted audiences at the Metropolitan Opera, Opéra national de Paris, the Royal Opera House in London, Teatro alla Scala, Bayerische Staatsoper, Opernhaus Zürich, San Francisco Opera, and the Royal Swedish Opera as well as the prestigious festivals of Salzburg, Aix-en-Provence, and others. Peter Mattei has been a frequent guest at the Metropolitan Opera, where he has been seen in roles such as Amfortas in »Parsifal«, Wolfram in »Tannhäuser«, the title role of Eugen Onegin, Figaro in »Il Barbiere di Siviglia«, the Count in in a new production of »Le nozze di Figaro«, and Marcello in »La Bohème«.

Mattei’s concert repertoire includes Mendelssohn’s »Elias«, Brahms’ »Ein deutsches Requiem«, Mahler’s »Des Knaben Wunderhorn«, Bach’s passions, Handel’s »Messiah«, Zemlinsky’s »Lyrische Symphonie« and Britten’s »War Requiem«. His recent performance of »Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen« at the Carnegie Hall with the Met Orchestra under the baton of James Levine was nothing but a sensation.

His discography includes DVDs of »Don Giovanni« (Aix-en Provence), »Le nozze di Figaro« (Opéra national de Paris), »Eugen Onegin« (Salzburg), »Parsifal« (Metropolitan), and others.

Peter Mattei studied at the Royal Academy of Music and at the University College of Opera in Stockholm. He made his debut in 1990 as Nardo in Mozart's »La finta giardiniera« at the Drottningholm Court Theatre.

One of today’s most sought-after lyric coloratura sopranos, Erin Morley has been praised for the silken clarity of her voice and the needlepoint precision of her coloratura (»New York Times«). Her performances have garnered huge critical acclaim and she regularly appears on the world’s greatest opera stages such as the Metropolitan Opera, Wiener Staatsoper, Bayerische Staatsoper, Opéra national de Paris, Glyndebourne Opera, Santa Fe Opera and Los Angeles Opera.

Recent performances include Konstanze in »Die Entführung aus dem Serail«, and Sophie in »Der Rosenkavalier« at Opéra de Paris; Gilda in »Rigoletto«, Zerbinetta in »Ariadne auf Naxos« and Sophie at Wiener Staatsoper; Fiakermilli in »Arabella» and Gilda at Bayerische Staatsoper; Lucia di Lammermoor in Nancy; Queen of the Night in »The Magic Flute«, and many others.

Another role Morley has made her own is Cunegonde (»Candide«) which she has performed in stellar company at LA Opera with James Conlon and actors Kelsey Grammer and Christine Ebersole; ND with Yannick Nézet-Séguin and Phildalephia Orchestra with Alek Shrader, Bradley Cooper and Carey Mulligan: A graduate of the Metropolitan Opera’s Lindemann Young Artist Development Program, Morley has now sung more than 100 performances at the Metropolitan Opera. She was hailed by critics as »a major success« when she stepped in last-minute to sing Sophie in an entire run of »Der Rosenkavalier« in the 2013/14 season. Since then Met audiences have also seen her as Sophie in Robert Carsen’s new production of »Der Rosenkavalier«; as Olympia in »Les Contes d’Hoffmann«; and as Pamina in »The Magic Flute«, among others.

Equally at home on the concert platform Morley has performed with leading orchestras such as Cleveland Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, LA Philharmonic, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, and Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. She has appeared on tour with Harry Bicket and The English Concert, Louis Langrée and the Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, and with the Met Chamber Ensemble in Carnegie’s Zankel Hall.

A dedicated recitalist, her appearances include recitals with pianist Vlad Iftinca; and with pianist Ken Noda. Her many recordings include Sophie in the Met’s »Grammy Award«-nominated »Der Rosenkavalier« on DVD/Blu-Ray for the Decca label; Sandrina in »La Finta Giardiniera« with Emmanuelle Haïm in Opéra de Lille’s production for the Erato label; Woglinde in »Götterdämmerung« in the Metropolitan Opera’s »Grammy Award«-winning Lepage »Ring«-Cycle for Deutsche Grammophon; Mahler’s 8th Symphony with Gustavo Dudamel and the LA Philharmonic for Deutsche Grammophon, among others.

Morley spent her early years studying violin and piano, and frequently collaborated with her violinist mother. An undergraduate of the Eastman School of Music, she went on to earn her Master of Music voice degree from Juilliard School and her Artist Diploma from the Juilliard Opera Center in 2007, where she received the Florence & Paul Derosa Prize. Morley also trained at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis as a Gerdine Young Artist, at the Ravinia Festival Steans Institute, and the Wolf Trap Opera Company as a Filene Young Artist. She won the 1st Prize in the »Jessie Kneisel Lieder Competition« in 2002, 1st Place in the »Licia Albanese – Puccini Foundation Competition« in 2006, 3rd Place in the »International Song Competition« of London’s Wigmore Hall in 2009, and received the »Richard Tucker Career Grant« in 2013.

has a unique place on today’s music scene. Following the tradition of great masters such as Rachmaninov, Busoni and Enescu, Mustonen combines the roles of his musicianship as composer, pianist and conductor in an equal balance that is quite exceptional. During an illustrious career spanning 35 years, Mustonen has brought his extraordinary musical insight to many of world’s most significant musical centres, whether it be in a triple role or as soloist, conductor, recitalist or chamber musician. His intelligence and inspiring presence have led him towards many close musical connections with some of today’s most eminent musicians, and appearances with orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic, New York and Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestras, Royal Concertgebouw Orkest, Orchestre de Paris and all the London orchestras. Mustonen’s life as a composer is at the heart of his piano playing and conducting. He has a deeply held conviction that each performance must have the freshness of a first performance, so that audience and performer alike encounter the composer as a living contemporary. As a conductor, Mustonen has worked with all the major Finnish orchestras and many more around the globe. In recent years, Mustonen has conducted the world premieres of both of his large-scale orchestral works: Symphony No.1 »Tuuri« with the Tampere Philharmonic in 2012; and Symphony No.2 »Johannes Angelos« with the Helsinki Philharmonic in 2014. Under Mustonen’s baton, the 1st Symphony has gone on to receive further performances around the world. Mustonen also conducted the world premiere of his Sonata for Violin and Orchestra in 2014 with the Melbourne Symphony, and last season conducted the work with the Helsinki Philharmonic. As a recitalist, Mustonen works regularly with Pekka Kuusisto, with whom he premiered his Violin Sonata in 2013, and Steven Isserlis. One of Mustonen’s important musical friendships is with Rodion Shchedrin, who dedicated his Piano Concerto No. 5 to Mustonen and invited him to perform at his 70th, 75th and 80th birthday concerts.

is renowned for interpretations of clarity, elegance and intelligence. He is passionate about introducing concert and opera audiences throughout the world to new and rediscovered music and offering fresh insights into established repertoire.

Nagano opened the 2019/20 season, his fifth as General Music Director of Staatsoper Hamburg, with a new production of Shostakovich’s »The Nose«. Other new productions this season included Strauss’ »Elektra« amongst others.

In his parallel position as Chief Conductor of Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg, he toured Japan with concerts featuring Beethoven, Liszt, Mahler, Widmann and Brahms. His opening concerts of the 2019/20 season with Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (OSM) marked the start of the final season for him as Music Director. Since the beginning of this collaboration in 2006, Nagano has conducted commissions by OSM and has also seen the inauguration of the new concert hall La Maison Symphonique. In autumn 2019, OSM and Nagano embarked on a tour of South America with violinist Véronika Eberle. Moreover Nagano returned to Japan, this time with NHK Symphony Orchestra to conduct Jorg Widmann’s »Arche«, a work commissioned for the inauguration of Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie Concert Hall, and continued his relationships with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin (of which he is Honorary Conductor), Munich Philharmonic, and others. Highlights from the 2018/19 season included guest engagements with Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Orquestra Simfonica de Barcelona, , SWR-Sinfonieorchester, and the Detroit Symphony and Minnesota Orchestras. At the Bayerische Staatsoper, where he was General Music Director from 2006 to 2013, Nagano commissioned new operas including »Babylon« by Jörg Widmann.

As a successful recording artist with over 100 releases on CD and DVD, one of Kent Nagano’s most recent releases is the live recording of the premiere concert of Widmann’s »Arche« with Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg. Nagano has recorded with many leading soloists including Diana Damrau, Christian Gerhaher, Rafał Blechacz and Jean-Yves Thibaudet.

Born in California, Nagano maintains close connections with his home state and was Music Director of the Berkeley Symphony Orchestra from 1978– 2008. His early professional years were spent in Boston, working in the opera house and as assistant conductor to Seiji Ozawa at the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Nagano’s success in America led to European appointments: Music Director of Opéra national de Lyon (1988–1998) and Music Director of the Hallé Orchestra (1991–2000). Nagano is honorary doctorate of Concordia University and San Francisco State University.

is a singer songwriter and percussionist of Yemenite / Israeli / American origin that has been blessed with an angelic voice and magnetic stage presence. Together with her long-standing musical director and guitarist Gil Dor, Noa has thrilled, captivated and mesmerized audiences the world over with her unique, passionate and intelligent style of writing and performing.

Her indefatigable, courageous work for peace in her country, and her numerous voluntary engagements throughout the world have earned her a long list of titles and accolades, including UN Goodwill Ambassador for the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization), Commendatore Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana (Italy’s version of knighthood), the »Chrystal Award« of the WEF (World Economic Forum) in Davos, the »Dove of Peace« by Shimon Peres, and many more. Noa is a gifted, committed artist of the type rarely seen in the popular music scene today. She has been compared to Barbra Streisand, Joan Baez, Nana Mouskouri, Joni Mitchell, and Elis Regina amongst others. Her talent and artistic integrity have caught the attention, and hearts, of some of the musical legends of our time, including Quincy Jones, Sting and Pat Metheny, who produced her first international Geffen Records release, »Noa«, in 1994.

Noa has performed her original version of »Ave Maria« for Pope John Paul the 2nd at Vatican, she was the only major Israeli artists to agree to perform at the historic peace rally where Yitzhak Rabin was murdered, she has co-written and recorded the theme song for Roberto Benigni’s Oscar-award winning film, »Life is beautiful«, collaborated with a long list of renowned artists the world over and written hundreds of songs in English and Hebrew. She has a loyal following in Europe and Israel, where she was born and now lives, and a growing audience in the US, where she was raised.

Called »a vocalist of unerring instinct« by the »New York Times«, Aoife O’Donovan is one of the most sought after vocalists and songwriters of her generation and her career has allowed her to collaborate with some of the most eminent names in music across a wide variety of genres. The most recent example is I’m With Her, the band comprised of Sara Watkins, Sarah Jarosz and O’Donovan. Their debut album »See You Around«, released in February 2018, has garnered praise from »NPR«, who instantly hailed the collection as »willfully open-hearted«, and »The Guardian« called their sound both »ethereal and purposeful«. As a solo artist, O’Donovan has released two studio albums. »In the Magic Hour« (2016), a 10-song album full of the singer’s honeyed vocals mixed with gauzy, frictionless sounds: splashing cymbals, airy harmonies, and the leisurely baritone musings of an electric guitar. »Mojo« described the record as »exhilarating and exploratory«, while the »New York Times« named »The King of All Birds« one of the Best Songs of 2016. Aoife toured 2016 in support of the album and ended that year releasing a live album »Man In A Neon Coat: Live From Cambridge« with her touring band. Her debut solo album, 2013’s »Fossils«, is a moody collection of original songs with a country lilt. The record received critical acclaim and was featured on a number of »Best of 2013« lists including »NPR Music«, »American Songwriter«, »New York Magazine«, and »No Depression«. O’Donovan spent the preceding decade as co-founder and lead singer of the band Crooked Still, and as a featured vocalist on »The Goat Rodeo Sessions«, the Grammy-winning album by Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan, Edgar Meyer and Chris Thile. Throughout her career, she has also collaborated with artists such as Alison Krauss and jazz trumpeter Dave Douglas, and is currently a member of the house band on the radio variety show »Live From Here«. Spring 2020 will bring a new program from Aoife entitled »Songs and Strings« where, alongside a string quartet, she will perform the song cycle »Bull Frogs Croon«. Written and developed with Jeremy Kittel and Teddy Abrams, the piece uses stunning text by the late and former Poet Laureate of Oregon, Peter Sears, which premiered in 2015 at the Britt Festival. The remainder of the evening will mix songs from her expansive career with a few traditional favorites.

The ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra is a top orchestra of world renown; it defines itself in the Vienna orchestral tradition. Marin Alsop took over as Chief Conductor in September 2019. The Vienna RSO is known for its exceptional, bold programming. By combining nineteenth-century repertoire with contemporary pieces and rarely performed works of other periods, the programming often places Romantic era classics in unexpected contexts.

The Vienna RSO regularly performs in two subscription series in Vienna, in the Musikverein and the Konzerthaus. In addition, it appears every year at major Austrian and international festivals. The orchestra has close ties to the Salzburg Festival, musikprotokoll im steirischen herbst and Wien Modern. Tours to Japan and China are a regular part of the Vienna RSO schedule as well. The orchestra has also played concerts in Thailand and Taiwan as well as the USA, South America and Germany at the Berlin, Cologne and Essen Philharmonic Halls and at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg among others. Since 2007, the Vienna RSO has successfully collaborated with the Theater an der Wien, thereby gaining an excellent reputation as an opera orchestra. Yet the Vienna RSO is also entirely at home in the film music genre. For example, in 2012, the Vienna RSO recorded the soundtrack to the film »Die Vermessung der Welt« (»Measuring the World«). Every year, the orchestra is conducted by composers who have won an »Oscar« for Best Achievement in Music written for Motion Pictures at the »Hollywood in Vienna« Gala.

Most of the Vienna RSO performances are broadcast on the radio. Through its growing presence on television, as well as its collaboration with the FM4 young people's station, the Vienna RSO is constantly reaching out to new music lovers.

Leonard Bernstein, Christoph von Dohnányi, Christoph Eschenbach, Michael Gielen, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, Barbara Hannigan, Jakub Hrůša, Susanna Mälkki, Andris Nelsons, Kirill Petrenko, and Giuseppe Sinopoli are among the guests who have stood on the podium of the Vienna RSO. Composers Luciano Berio, Péter Eötvös, Hans Werner Henze, Ernst Krenek, and Krzysztof Penderecki have all conducted the orchestra. Internationally renowned soloists who make regular appearances with the Vienna RSO include Renaud und Gautier Capuçon, Christian Gerhaher, Martin Grubinger, Hilary Hahn, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, Gidon Kremer, Lang Lang, Anna Netrebko, Heinrich Schiff, and Christian Tetzlaff.

The broad scope of the Vienna RSO’s recording activities includes works in every genre, among them many first recordings that represent modern Austrian classicists and contemporary Austrian composers. This is how the Neue Musik aus Österreich series of CD recordings came about. Orchestral works by Friedrich Cerha, the recording of all nine symphonies by Egon Wellesz and first recordings of music by Erich Zeisl are all part of this series. In 2012 and 2016 two CD sets my RSO I and my RSO II with twenty-four and twelve CDs were released. In 2019 the Live-recording of Gottfried von Einem‘s Der Prozess, performed at the Salzburg Festival 2018, was awarded the »Diapason d’Or« and the »Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik«.

The Vienna RSO has also launched a broad-based educational program, comprising workshops for children and young people, as well as the Inside my RSO, my RSO music lab, and Classical Temptation concert series. Highly talented musicians have been admitted to the orchestra’s own academy since 1997 and the Vienna RSO plays regularly for the final concerts of the conducting classes at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. The Vienna RSO grew out of Austrian radio’s main orchestra in 1969. Under the leadership of its chief conductors, Milan Horvat, Leif Segerstam, Lothar Zagrosek, Pinchas Steinberg, Dennis Russell Davies, Bertrand de Billy, and Cornelius Meister, the orchestra has continuously expanded its repertoire, gaining growing international renown.

The biggest appreciation so far of Marialy Pacheco’s qualities has been the winning of the »Montreux Solo Piano Competition 2012«. She is the first woman to win this prize in 15 years history of the competition. In the explanation of the decision Jury president Leszek Możdżer said: »Deciding between the three contenders was tough. In the end, the contestants’ joy in performing and her authenticity guided our decision making.«

Born in Havana 1983, Marialy Pacheco was raised in a musical family and began piano studies from an early age at the Conservatorio Alejandro García Caturla. At 15 she attended the Escuela Nacional de Artes, followed by three years of composition studies under Tulio Peramo Cabrera at the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana.

In 2002 she won the Cuban »Jo Jazz Competition«, with Grammy award-winner Chucho Valdés presiding over the jury. Two years later she recorded her first album »Bendiciones«. On the occasion of the 185-year-old jubilee of Bösendorfer, Marialy Pacheco guested in 2013 as the only Jazz-act, beside classical stars like Valentina Lisitsa and Maria Mazo in the Musikverein Wien. In 2014, Marialy was announced as first female jazz pianist worldwide to be an official »Bösendorfer Artist«.

In spring 2014, her new album »Introducing« (Neuklang/Edel:Kultur) was released. After several solo albums, it is a trio album, with Juan Camilo Villa Robles on bass and Miguel Altamar de la Torre (both from colombia) on drums. As »special guests« she got the honor to get german trumpet player and »Echo Jazz« winner Joo Kraus and moroccan Rhani Krija, percussionist of Sting. In August 2014, she gave her debut as classical pianist and showed her musical variety, when she performed Bach’s g-moll concerto with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra in Brisbane/Australia, conducted by Gustavo Gimeno.

Marialy Pacheco has performed at national and international festivals like Montreux Jazz Festival, Rheingau Musik Festival, Piano City Milano, Havana Jazz Festival, and Beethovenfest Bonn, among others. In April 2017 Marialy released her new album »DUETS« – an intimate and many-faceted album to which Marialy invited her favourite musicians and friends like Hamilton de Holanda, Omar Sosa, Joo Kraus, Rhani Krija, Miguel Zenón and Max Mutzke.

In December 2018, Marialy signed with Ellora Managament in the US for worldwide management and representation among artists like HIROMI and Ahmad Jamal. Marialy Pacheco is the only female pianist in the currently row of famous Cuban jazz piano players like Roberto Fonseca, Omar Sosa or Gonzalo Rubalcaba.

The Philharmonic State Orchestra is Hamburg’s largest and oldest orchestra, looking back on many years of musical history. When the Philharmonic Orchestra and the Orchestra of the Hamburg Municipal Theatre merged in 1934, two tradition-steeped orchestras combined. Philharmonic concerts have been performed in Hamburg since 1828, artists such as Clara Schumann, Franz Liszt and Johannes Brahms being regular guests of the Philharmonic Society. The history of the opera company goes back even further: Hamburg has been home to musical theatre since 1678, even if a regular opera or theatre orchestra was only formed later. To this day, the Philharmonic State Orchestra has embodied the sound of the Hansa City, a concert and opera orchestra in one. During its long history, the orchestra encountered great artist personalities.

Apart from composers of the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries, such as Telemann, Tchaikovsky, Strauss, Mahler, Prokofiev and Stravinsky, since the 20th century chief conductors such as Karl Muck, Joseph Keilberth, Eugen Jochum, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Horst Stein, Aldo Ceccato, Christoph von Dohnányi, Gerd Albrecht, Ingo Metzmacher and Simone Young have shaped the orchestra’s sound. Renowned conductors of the pre-war era such as Otto Klemperer, Wilhelm Furtwängler, Bruno Walter, Karl Böhm and Hans Schmidt-Isserstedt gave brilliant performances, as did outstanding conductors of our times: suffice it to mention Christian Thielemann, Semyon Bychkov, Kirill Petrenko, Sir Neville Marriner, Valery Gergiev and Sir Roger Norrington.

Starting with the 2015/16 season, Kent Nagano has taken on the position of Hamburg’s General Music Director and Chief Conductor of the Philharmonic State Orchestra and the Hamburg State Opera. In his first season Kent Nagano initiated a new project, the Philharmonic Academy, focusing on experimentation and chamber music. In 2016 Nagano and the Philharmonic undertook a successful three-week concert tour in South America, a tour of Spain followed in 2019. Since 2017 Kent Nagano and the Philharmonic State Orchestra have continued the traditional Philharmonic Concerts at the new Elbphilharmonie, for which they commissioned Jörg Widmann to compose the oratorio ARCHE, which was given its world premiere during the hall’s opening festivities. The concert recording has been released at ECM.

The Philharmonic State Orchestra offers approximately 35 concerts per season and performs more than 240 performances per year at the Hamburg State Opera and the Hamburg Ballet John Neumeier, making it Hamburg’s busiest orchestra. The stylistic bandwidth covered by the 140 musicians, ranging from historically informed performance practice to contemporary works and including concert, opera and ballet repertoire, is unique throughout Germany. Chamber Music has a long tradition at the Philharmonic State Orchestra: what began in 1929 with a concert series for chamber orchestra has been continued since 1968 by a series of chamber music only.

In 2008 Simone Young and the Philharmonic State Orchestra won the »Brahms Award« of the Schleswig-Holstein Brahms Society. The orchestra has recorded the complete Ring by Wagner as well as the complete symphonies of Johannes Brahms and Anton Bruckner – the latter in the rarely-performed original versions – as well as works by Mahler, Hindemith and Berg, and has released DVDs of opera and ballet productions by Hosokawa, Offenbach, Reimann, Auerbach, J.S. Bach, Puccini, Poulenc and Weber.

The members of the Philharmonic State Orchestra feel equally beholden to Hamburg’s musical tradition and responsible for the city’s artistic future. Since 1978 the musicians have been participating in education programmes in Hamburg’s schools. Today, the orchestra maintains a broad education programme, including school and kindergarten visits, patronage for music projects, introductory events for children and family concerts. The orchestra’s own academy prepares young musicians for their professional careers. The Philharmonic’s musicians thereby make an equally enjoyable and valuable contribution to tomorrow’s music education in the music metropolis of Hamburg.

Finnish accordion adventurist Kimmo Pohjonen has revolutionized accordion music, sound and performance with an international career going back to the mid 1990s. Pohjonen has developed his own custom made electrified instrument that includes effects, MIDI and other electronics. His recordings feature dynamic compositions with bold, new and awe-inspiring accordion sounds while his performances feature surround sound and light show combined to make a unique and captivating experience. His latest album »Sensitive Skin« (Octopus / Ondine, 2015) with all new Pohjonen compositions features special guests Tuomas Norvio (electronics), Kronos Quartet (string quartet), Samuli Kosminen (drums, percussion), Timo Kämäräinen (guitar, bouzouki), Sami Kuoppamäki (drums), Inka and Saana Pohjonen (vocals), Arto Järvelä (nyckelharpa), Ismo Alanko (vocals), Lauri Porra (bass), Timo Alakotila (Kronos arrangements) and more. Kimmo Pohjonen’s recent projects include »Ultra Organ«, commissioned by Kölner Philharmonie. Co-composer is Tuomas Norvio with arrangements by Pohjonen, organist Mikko Helenius and sound designer Norvio. For »Ultra Organ«, Pohjonen has invented a totally new instrument whereby the organ sounds are re-created electronically through his accordion. »Ultra Organ« was premiered at Köln Philharmonie in 2017 and was performed in 2018 at Elbphilharmonie Hamburg. Pohjonen performs worldwide as solo artist and in many ensembles and projects such as Kimmo Pohjonen Skin trio with Inka Pohjonen and Saana Pohjonen, Uniko with Kronos Quartet or Proton String Quartet, KTU with Trey Gunn and Pat Mastelotto (of King Crimson), Bright Shadow with Finnish ballet dancer Minna Tervamäki and more. He has performed at some of the world’s most prestigious concert halls and festivals including David Bowie’s Meltdown and Patti Smith’s Meltdown (London), the Proms at Royal Albert Hall, the Barbican in London, Lincoln Centre and Carnegie Hall in New York and more. The documentary film about Pohjonen, »Soundbreaker«, premiered in 2012, has been shown in over thirty countries and in over fifty German cities’ cinemas. In 2016 Kimmo Pohjonen was awarded from the Finnish government the State Prize for Multidisciplinary Arts for outstanding achievement of high quality art, experimentation and diverse projects in multiple art forms.

Hong-Kong born pianist Tiffany Poon has appeared with orchestras and in recital throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia and China since she was first accepted to the Juilliard pre-college program at the age of eight. In addition to performing, she also devotes her time to making videos on YouTube, where she shares insights of her life as a musician with the goal to peel back the curtain on classical music. This season, Tiffany Poon will debut at the Mozarteum with the Philharmonie Salzburg under conductor Elisabeth Fuchs. She will return to Germany for recitals in Münster and Bielefeld, play at the KlavierOlymp of the Festival Kissinger Sommer, and will perform a chamber music recital in Bologna with acclaimed cellist Jan Vogler. In the autumn of 2019, Tiffany makes her Gilmore Keyboard Festival Rising Star debut in Michigan. Recent seasons have seen Tiffany perform celebrated recitals as part of the Klavierfestival Ruhr, the Rheingau Musikfestival’s KlassikMarathon, and the Huayi Festival at Singapore’s Esplanade Theaters by the Bay. She was a fellow of the Bohème 2020 program at the Dresden Music Festival, where her participation focused on fusing her social media know-how with live concert performances, and she performed in the 2019 Moritzburg Festival. Her social media following of over 100,000 subscribers has led to unique opportunities including having a drink named after her as part of Minnesota Public Radio’s 2018 Holiday Insta-Drinks Series for Performance Today with Fred Child. Through her »Get Ready With Me« videos and her practice vlogs, she has created an online community which rallies around classical music, growth, and her desire for her community to »Keep Striving.« Tiffany received a full scholarship from the Columbia University / Juilliard School exchange program and studied piano with Emanuel Ax and Joseph Kalichstein. She was named a John Jay Scholar by Columbia University for her outstanding academic and artistic achievements. In May 2018, she graduated from Columbia University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy. In 2014, Tiffany was named »National YoungArts Winner« in the United States. Her awards include first prize and »Best Performance of Concerto Award« at the 8th Moscow International Chopin Competition for Young Pianists in 2012. Most recently, she won second prize at the Walter W. Naumburg Foundation International Competition.

The conductor Hans-Christoph Rademann is an exceptionally versatile artist with a wide-ranging repertoire, who devotes himself with equal passion to the performance and rediscovery of early music and to the premiering and promotion of contemporary music. Born in Dresden and raised in Schwarzenberg (Saxony), he was influenced from an early age by the great central German tradition of music and church music directors. He was a member of the famous Kreuzchor, and studied choral and orchestral conducting at the Musikhochschule Dresden. During his studies he founded the Dresdner Kammerchor, developing it into a top international choir; he remains its director today. Impressive evidence of the quality of this artistic collaboration is the highly-acclaimed recording of the Complete Works of Heinrich Schütz on the Stuttgart Carus-Verlag label, which reaches its conclusion in 2018. Since June 2013 Hans-Christoph Rademann has also been Akademie Director of the Internationale Bachakademie Stuttgart. In addition he works with leading choirs and ensembles on the international concert scene. From 1999 to 2004 he was chief conductor of the Norddeutscher Rundfunk Chorus, and from 2007 to 2015 chief conductor of the RIAS Kammerchor. Regular invitations as a guest conductor take him to the Collegium Vocale Gent, the Akademie für Alte Musik, the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, the Concerto Köln, the Rotterdams Philharmonisch Orkest, the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, etc. Hans-Christoph Rademann has received numerous prizes and honours for his artistic work. These include the »Johann Walter Plakette« of the Sächsischer Musikrat (2014), the Saxon Constitutional Medal (2008), the Patrons’ Award and Art Prize of the City of Dresden (1994 and 2014), and the »Preis der Europäischen Kirchenmusik« Schwäbisch Gmünd (2016). He has received many awards for his numerous CD recordings including the »Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik« (German Record Critics’ Award; most recently in 2016), the »Grand Prix du Disque« (2002), the »Diapason d’Or« (2006 and 2011), the »Choc« of the year 2011, the »Baroque Vocal Award« 2014, amongst others. Since 2000 Hans-Christoph Rademann has been Professor of Choral Conducting at the Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber in Dresden. He is also Artistic Director of the Erzgebirge Music Festival.

The Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra is one of the most illustrious Czech orchestras today. Since the 2018/19 season the roles of Chief Conductor and Artistic Director have been filled by the leading German conductor Alexander Liebreich. Marek Šedivý is the ensemble’s Principal Guest Conductor.

The PRSO has invited a number of excellent soloists to perform with it during the upcoming season, including the cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras, who is PRSO Artist in residence for the season, violists Elina Vähälä and Veronika Eberle, pianists Benjamin Grosvenor and Brad Mehldau, tenor Ian Bostridge, harpsichordist Mahan Esfahani and conductors John Axelrod, Jessica Cottis and Sylvain Cambreling.

In recent years the orchestra has worked with numerous top Czech and foreign conductors, among them Tomáš Netopil, Petr Altrichter, Jakub Hrůša, Cornelius Meister, Stefan Asbury, Ion Marin, Michał Nesterowicz, Anu Tali and Wayne Marshall.

The soloists that the PRSO has accompanied include the pianists Krystian Zimerman, Jean Efflam-Bavouzet, violists Leila Josefowicz, Sergey Khachatryan and Pierre Amoyal, cellists Gautier Capuçon, Alban Gerhardt, István Várdai and Steven Isserlis and trombonist Christian Lindberg. It has also collaborated with jazz musician Avishai Cohen, singers Renée Fleming, Elīna Garanča, José Cura, Juan Diego Flórez, Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Jonas Kaufmann. Among the eminent Czech artists to perform with the orchestra have been Lukáš Vondráček, Adam Plachetka, and Simona Šaturová. The orchestra regularly commissions pieces from leading Czech contemporary composers, such as Pavel Zemek Novák, Jan Ryant Dřízal, and Miroslav Srnka.

The PRSO’s recording work is also noteworthy. Its most recent output includes a Janáček trilogy conducted by Tomáš Netopil on the Supraphon label. Two of those releases were named Editor’s Choice by the prestigious magazine »Gramophone«. The first complete recordings of Miloslav Kabeláč’s eight symphonies (Supraphon, 2016) ranked as a singular achievement, as did the recording of all of Martinů’s piano concertos (Radioservis, 2016). The PRSO offers concerts within season-ticket series at the Rudolfinum’s Dvořák Hall, Forum Karlín and the Convent of St Agnes in Prague. The orchestra is a frequent guest of major Czech festivals: the Prague Spring International Music Festival, the Dvořák Prague International Music Festival, Smetana´s Litomyšl, the Leoš Janáček International Music Festival and the Český Krumlov International Music Festival. It is also a regular guest at venues throughout Europe and in Japan.

was born in Liverpool and studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London. From 1980 to 1998, Sir Simon Rattle was Principal Conductor and Artistic Adviser of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and was appointed Music Director in 1990. He moved to Berlin in 2002 and held the positions of Artistic Director and Chief Conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic until he stepped down in 2018. Sir Simon Rattle became Music Director of the London Symphony Orchestra in September 2017 and spent the 2017/18 season at the helm of both ensembles.

Sir Simon has made over 70 recordings for EMI record label (now Warner Classics) and has received numerous prestigious international awards for his recordings on various labels. Releases on EMI include Stravinsky’s »Symphony of Psalms« (which received the 2009 »Grammy Award« for Best Choral Performance), Berlioz's »Symphonie fantastique«, Ravel’s »L'enfant et les sortilèges«, Tchaikovsky’s »Nutcracker Suite«, Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 and Stravinsky’s »The Rite of Spring«. From 2014 Sir Simon Rattle continued to build his recording portfolio with the Berlin Philharmonic`s in-house label, Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings, which led to recordings of the Beethoven, Schumann and Sibelius symphony cycles. Sir Simon’s most recent recordings include Debussy’s »Pelléas et Mélisande«, and Turnage’s »Remembering« on Blue-Ray & DVD with the London Symphony Orchestra’s record label, LSO Live.

Music education is of supreme importance to the conductor, and his partnership with the Berlin Philharmonic broke new ground with the education programme Zukunft@Bphil, earning him the »Comenius Prize«, the »Schiller Special Prize« from the city of Mannheim, the »Golden Camera« and the »Urania Medal«. He and the Berlin Philharmonic were also appointed »International UNICEF Ambassadors« in 2004 – the first time this honour has been conferred on an artistic ensemble. Sir Simon Rattle has also been awarded several prestigious personal honours which include a knighthood in 1994, becoming a member of the »Order of Merit« from Her Majesty the Queen in 2014, and most recently, was bestowed the »Order of Merit« in Berlin in 2018. In 2019, Sir Simon Rattle was given the »Freedom of the City of London«.

From 2013, Sir Simon took up residency at Baden-Baden Easter Festival performing »Die Zauberflöte« and a series of concerts with the Berlin Philharmonic in his first season. Since then the partnership led to performances of Puccini’s »Manon Lescaut«, Strauss’s »Der Rosenkavalier«, Berlioz’s »La damnation de Faust«, and many others. He has also conducted Wagner's »Der Ring des Nibelungen« with the Berlin Philharmonic for the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence and the Salzburg Easter Festival and most recently at the Deutsche Oper Berlin and Vienna State Opera.

Sir Simon Rattle has longstanding relationships with the leading orchestras in London, Europe and the USA; initially working closely with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Boston Symphony Orchestra, and more recently with The Philadelphia Orchestra. He regularly conducts the Wiener Philharmoniker, with whom he has recorded the complete Beethoven symphonies and piano concertos with Alfred Brendel, and is also a Principal Artist of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Founding Patron of Birmingham Contemporary Music Group.

Katja Riemann was born and raised near Bremen. She is an actor and singer. She studied contemporary dance and acting in Hamburg, Hanover and Munich. In 1987 she had her first theatre engagement at the Kammerspiele in Munich, then at the Schiller – Theater in Berlin. Since 1993 she is a freelance artist. She had many appearances in movies and on TV, as in 1987 in Peter Bauvais’ movie »Summer in Lesmona« for which she was awarded a »Adolf-Grimme-Preis«. Since then she was awarded with the »Deutsche Filmpreis« three times, three times with the »Bayerische Filmpreis«, the »Ernst-Lubitsch-Preis«, twice with a »Bambi« and a »Goldene Kamera«. She was awarded with a »Golden Lion« for starring in Margarethe von Trotta’s movie »Rosenstraße« in 2003 and with a »Goldene Schallplatte« for writing the soundtrack of the movie »Bandits« together with Jasmin Tabatabai.

Founded by Prince Elector Moritz von Sachsen in 1548, the Staatskapelle Dresden is one of the oldest orchestras in the world and thus steeped in tradition. Over its long history many distinguished conductors and internationally celebrated instrumentalists have left their mark on this one-time court orchestra. Previous directors include Heinrich Schütz, Johann Adolf Hasse, Carl Maria von Weber and Richard Wagner. The list of prominent conductors of the last 100 years includes Ernst von Schuch, Fritz Reiner, Fritz Busch, Karl Böhm, Joseph Keilberth, Rudolf Kempe, Otmar Suitner, Kurt Sanderling, Herbert Blomstedt and Giuseppe Sinopoli. The orchestra was directed by Bernard Haitink from 2002-2004 and most recently by Fabio Luisi from 2007-2010. Principal Conductor since the 2012/2013 season has been Christian Thielemann. In 2016 the former Principal Conductor Herbert Blomstedt received the title Conductor Laureate. The only person to previously hold this title was Sir Colin Davis, from 1990 until his death in 2013. Myung-Whun Chung has been Principal Guest Conductor since the 2012/2013 season.
Richard Strauss and the Staatskapelle were closely linked for more than sixty years. Nine of the composer’s operas were premiered in Dresden, including »Salome«, »Elektra« and »Der Rosenkavalier«, while Strauss’s »Alpine Symphony« was dedicated to the orchestra. Countless other famous composers have written works either dedicated to the orchestra or first performed in Dresden. In 2007 the Staatskapelle reaffirmed this tradition by introducing the annual position of »Capell-Compositeur«. Following on from Hans Werner Henze, Sofia Gubaidulina, Wolfgang Rihm, György Kurtág, Arvo Pärt and Peter Eötvös, the German composer Aribert Reimann holds this title for the 2019/2020 season. As »Capell-Virtuos« the cellist Sol Gabetta takes part in various concerts.
The Staatskapelle’s home is the Semperoper, where it performs around 250 operas and ballets each season. In addition, the ensemble presents another 50 symphonic and chamber concerts at the opera house, as well as playing at various musical events at Dresden’s Frauenkirche. As one of the world’s most celebrated and popular symphony orchestras, the Staatskapelle regularly travels abroad to the world’s leading classical venues. Since 2013 it has been the resident orchestra of the Salzburg Easter Festival, whose Artistic Director is Christian Thielemann.
As patron orchestra of the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra, the Staatskapelle supports the nurturing of young talent. Also active at the local level, it is a partner of Meetingpoint Music Messiaen in the double city of Görlitz-Zgorzelec and, in 2010, helped found the International Shostakovich Festival in Gohrisch, which is the first annual event dedicated to the music and life of Dmitri Shostakovich.
At a ceremony in Brussels in 2007 the Staatskapelle became the first – and so far only – orchestra to be awarded the »European Prize for the Preservation of the World’s Musical Heritage«.

The Dresden Opera Chorus was founded on 8 October 1817 by royal proclamation. The issuing of this decree by Frederick Augustus I of Saxony can be largely attributed to the efforts of the recently engaged court Kapellmeister, Carl Maria von Weber, who was commissioned in that year to establish a German opera company to complement the Italian opera long performed in Dresden. Weber demanded the establishment of a »permanent theatre choir« able to meet the rising demands of the new opera repertoire.

Over the following decades and centuries, the Saxon State Opera Chorus developed into a first-class and highly sought-after ensemble thanks to the many outstanding figures who maintained its operatic roots while carefully nurturing its artistic development. The list of former directors includes Joseph Metzner, Wilhelm Fischer, Karl Maria Pembaur, Ernst Hintze, Gerhart Wüstner, Hans Peter Müller-Sybel, Hans-Dieter Pflüger and Matthias Brauer. They all cultivated the unique sound of the State Opera Chorus, a quality particularly influenced by the ensemble’s active concert schedule. An homogeneous and elegant tone, sensitive piano singing infused with a dense and rich timbre, these are the essential characteristics of the State Opera Chorus. Jörn Hinnerk Andresen was chorus director from 2014/15 to 2018/19. Jan Hoffmann assumed the post of acting director from the 2019/20 season.

Today the Saxon State Opera Chorus is regarded as one of Europe’s leading classical choirs. Its appearances on the operatic stage, its participation in concerts and radio, television or CD productions as well as its regular performances at festivals and on tour have earned it international recognition and the highest accolades.

Of particular significance was the collaboration with the conductor Giuseppe Sinopoli, who viewed the ensemble as still possessing untapped reserves. In numerous CD productions, the chorus time and again reached new artistic heights, which were consolidated in the years after Sinopoli’s sudden death by constant work.

As in all artistic endeavours of the Saxon State Opera in Dresden, the State Opera Chorus combines a strong sense of tradition and contemporary artistic responsibility with a desire to meet future challenges. Since 2013 the State Opera Chorus, together with the Staatskapelle Dresden, has been a permanent guest at the Salzburg Easter Festival, whose artistic director is Christian Thielemann. On 8 October 2017, the Saxon State Opera Chorus celebrated its 200th anniversary.

Equally at home on the concert and opera stages, Carolyn Sampson has enjoyed notable successes in the UK as well as throughout Europe and the US.

On the opera stage her roles have included the title role in »Semele«, and Pamina in »The Magic Flute« for the English National Opera, various roles in Purcell’s »The Fairy Queen« for the Glyndebourne Festival Opera (released on DVD) and both Anne Trulove in »The Rake’s Progress« and Mélisande in »Pelléas et Mélisande« in Sir David McVicar’s productions for the Scottish Opera. Internationally she has appeared at Opéra national de Paris, Opéra de Lille, Opéra national de Montpellier and Opéra national du Rhin. She also sang the title role in Lully’s »Psyché« for the Boston Early Music Festival, which was released on CD and was subsequently nominated for a »Grammy« in 2008.

Carolyn’s numerous concert engagements in the UK have included regular appearances at the BBC Proms, and with orchestras including Britten Sinfonia, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the English Concert, the Hallé, the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, The Sixteen, and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra.

In Europe her many appearances have included concerts with the Bergen Philharmonic, the Freiburger Barockorchester, the Gürzenich Orchestra, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia – Roma, the Rotterdam Philharmonic, the Koninklijk Concertgebouworkest, the Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra, the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, and the WDR Symphony Orchestra.

In the US Carolyn Sampson has featured as soloist with the Boston, Cincinnati, Detroit, and San Francisco Symphonies, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the St Paul Chamber Orchestra, and is a regular guest at the Mostly Mozart Festival. Most recently, she performed and recorded Mahler Symphony No. 4 with Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra. In October 2013 she made her Carnegie Hall recital debut to a sold-out audience in the Weill Recital Hall, and has given recitals at the Lincoln Center, New York, and at San Francisco Performances.

Carolyn Sampson works with conductors such as Sir Mark Elder, Harry Bicket, Ivor Bolton, Riccardo Chailly, Harry Christophers, Philippe Herreweghe, Andris Nelsons, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Louis Langrée, Trevor Pinnock, and Donald Runnicles.

A consummate recitalist, Carolyn Sampson appears regularly at the Wigmore Hall where she was a »featured artist« in the 2014/15 season. She has given recitals at the Oxford and Leeds Lieder, Saintes and Aldeburgh Festivals as well as at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Barcelona, Freiburg, the Oper Frankfurt, the Vienna Konzerthaus, and recently made her debut recital tour of Japan.

Carolyn Sampson has developed a partnership with the pianist Joseph Middleton over recent years. Her debut song recital disc with him, »Fleurs«, was released early in 2015 featuring songs by composers from Purcell to Britten, and was nominated in the solo vocal category of the »Gramophone Awards«. Since then they have gone on to release »A Verlaine Songbook« exploring settings of the poetry of Paul Verlaine, »Lost is my Quiet« - a duet disc with the countertenor