Lucas & Arthur JUSSEN (piano)
“You realise that this is not usual. This is not just two good pianists playing together. They sense each other’s most small, individual a little bit of interpretation. Sir Neville Marriner
‘It is like driving a pair of BMWs’, remarked conductor Michael Schonwandt, after directing the Dutch brothers Lucas (24) and Arthur Jussen (21). Despite their young age, they have been part of the international concert world for years andare praised by both press and audiences.
Lucas and Arthur received their first piano lessons in their native town of Hilversum. It became clear quickly that they were great talents. As children, they were already invited to perform for the Dutch queen Beatrix.First awards at competitions followed shortly. In 2005, the brothers studied in Portugal and Brazil for nearly a year at the invitation of Portuguese master pianist Maria JoaoPires. In the following years they took lessons from both Pires and two renowned Dutch teachers. Lucas completed his studies with Menahem Pressler in the US and Dmitri Bashkirov in Madrid. Arthur graduated from the Amsterdam Conservatory where he studied with Jan Wijn.
Lucas and Arthur have performed with nearly all Dutch orchestras, including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra,Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and Netherlands Chamber Orchestra. They also perform with acclaimed international orchestras such as the Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony, BBC Concert Orchestra, OrquestraSimfonica de Barcelona, Gulbenkian Orchestra, Iceland, Dallas, Shanghai, Sydney Symphony orchestras, Hong Kong Philharmonic, MDR Sinfonieorchester Leipzig and Camerata Salzburg. Conductors they have worked with includeValery Gergiev, Jaap van Zweden, Sir Neville Marriner, Jukka-PekkaSaraste, Markus Stenz, Claus Peter Flor, EliahuInbal, Jan Willem de Vriend, Stephane Deneve, James Gaffigan and Frans Bruggen. They have also collaborated with several renowned musicians such as the Chinese star pianist Lang Lang.
In recital they performed in both the Master Pianists and Robeco series of the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Theyhave played in concert halls and festivals across Europe, such as the Herkulessaal (Munich), RheingauMusik Festival, Festival de Piano de La Roque d'Antheron, Holland Festival and Malmo Chamber Music Festival, as well as the White Nights Festival in St. Petersburg. International tours brought them further afield to Japan (2012), China (2013) and South Korea (2014). Lucas and Arthur accompanied Dutch king Willem-Alexander and queen Maxima on their first official visit to Poland in 2014, and also to Australia in 2016.
Recording exclusively with Deutsche Grammophon since 2010, their debut CD with works by Beethoven received platinum status and was awarded the Edison Klassiek audience award. A Schubert recording and their third CD Jeux, dedicated to French piano music, were subsequently released. In October 2015, their fourth CD was released on which they perform Mozart’s piano concertos KV365 and KV242 together with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields under the baton of Sir Neville Marriner. The album reached gold status and was listed by Gramophone UK among ‘The 50 Greatest Mozart Recordings’. A new recording with worksby Poulenc and Saint-Saens was released in March 2017 (Concertgebouw Orchestra &StephaneDeneve).The recording of the Poulenc Double Concerto was chosen best recording of this piece ever made by the French radio programme "La tribune des critiques de disques".

Chamber Orchestra SINGOLO ОRCHESTRA
The ensemble was formed in 2009 on the initiative of cellist Nikita Zubarev. The orchestra consists of young musicians - laureates of Russian and international competitions, playing in various city ensembles.
The repertoire of the orchestraincludes both masterpieces and world classical music compositions that are rarely performed and almost forgotten, often performed for the first time in Russia.
Since its foundation, the orchestra has given more than 100 concerts at the best venues of the city. Since 2011, the cello and conductor Alexander Rudin has closely collaborated with the orchestra, participatingin many premieres in St. Petersburg. Since 2015, the band hasbeen successfully performing in the New Year concerts of the Great Hall of the Philharmonic and has taken part in major charitable events.

Yaroslav ZABOYARKIN
He graduated from the St. Petersburg Conservatory as a violinist and an opera and symphony conductor. At present he is playing in the Honored Ensemble of Russia of the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic.
In 2010, he won the IX International Violin Competition in Gerardme (France) and the II International Chamber Ensemble Competition named after D.D. Shostakovich in Moscow. In 2012, he made his debut as a conductor with the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra at the 16th International Competition of Conductors in Tokyo. In 2013 he became a permanent conductor of the youth chamber orchestra «Singolo Orchestra». In 2017 he was awarded a diploma at the International Competition of Conductors named after N. Rota in Italy and the title of laureate of the International Competition of Conductors named after G. Fitelberg (Katowice, Poland).

Belgrade Philharmonic String Quartet The musicians of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra Jelena Dragnic, Vladan Loncar, Boris Brezovac and Aleksandar Latkovic, founded the String Quartet within this orchestra in 2011.
Latest achievements of the Quartet include performances on concert stages such as Manarat al Saadiyat as part of the Abu Dhabi Classics Festival, season opening of “Chamber music in Desert” at Liwa Oasis in United Arab Emirates, concert at Centre Culturel de Serbie in Paris, concerts in China at Tianjin Concert Hall, and at the Cultural center in Izmir, Turkey.
In July 2017 the Quartethas performed at the Ljubljana Festival. During the past two seasonsthe Quartet has made concert appearances atthe Festival Mokranjcevi Dani in Negotin, at the opening of the SOMUS Festival in Sombor, Serbia, at the Festival Espressivo in Cetinje and the Modern Gallery in Podgorica, Montenegro, SVEM Festival in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as at the National theatre in Banja Luka, Republic of Srpska. Тheir concert at Studio 6 Belgrade wasbroadcasted live by the Serbian Broadcasting Corporation Channel 3. During the 2015/16season the Quartet members were mentors for their young colleaguеs at the Winter String Quartet Workshop in Podgorica, and at the Montenegro Summer Chamber Music Camp at Ivanovakorita, Lovcen.
In June 2015, in cooperation with clarinetist Ognjen Popovic, the Belgrade Philharmonic String Quartet has published their first compact disc containing compositions by Ludwig van Beethoven and Johannes Brahms.
In the season 2013/14, the Quartet and their guests appeared in a cycle of five chamber music concerts named Quartet+1, in the Belgrade Philharmonic Concert Hall. In addition to compositions for the string quartet, this cycle also included quintets with two violas, with clarinet, piano and voice.
In the season 2012/13, the Quartet gave a memorable performance of a 'Concerto for String quartet and Orchestra' by Erwin Schulhoff at the Kolarac Great Hall, with the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra and their Chief Conductor of that time Muhai Tang.
Other performances in Serbia and the region have taken the Belgrade Philharmonic String Quartet to the opening of the Classic Fest Pancevo, the European Day celebration in Belgrade, the Conference “Creative Europe” at Kulturni Centar Grad, concerts in Gracanica, Kragujevac, Indija, Mostar, and Trebinje, as well as the appearances in GornjiMilanovac, Subotica, Vrsac and the village of Stanisor in Kosovo and Metohija, as part of humanitarian and social responsibility projects of the Belgrade Philharmonic.

Istvan VARDAI (Cello)
Istvan Vardai, the 32-year-old Hungarian cellist was honoured with several important international prizes: in 2008 he won the 63th Geneva International Music Competition. He took the third prize of the International Tchaikovsky Music Competition, Moscow, in 2007. In 2006 he was awarded with the special prize of the Emanuel Feuermann Cello Competition at the Kronberg Academy and received first prize at the 13th International Brahms Competition in Austria. He was winner of the David Popper International Music Competition three times (2000, 2003, 2004). In 2012 he received the Prix Montblanc awarded to the world's most promising young musician. In 2014 he won the prestigious ARD Cello Competition in Munich.
Since his debut concert in 1997 in The Hague, he has performed in New York, Washington, Vancouver, London, Paris, Prague, Vienna, Frankfurt, Munich, Geneva, Dublin, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Florence, Tokyo, Beijing with great success. In 2010 he made his debut, among others, in Carnegie Hall and the Wiener Konzerthaus. Along his starting career, he played with world-famous musicians and orchestras: Andras Schiff, Yuri Bashmet, Zoltan Kocsis, Gidon Kremer, Tabea Zimmermann, Jean-Efflam Bavouzet, Till Fellner, Shai Wosner, St. Petersburg Symphony Orchestra, Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra, Suisse Romande Orchestra, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Geneva Chamber Orchestra, American Symphony Orchestra. He has been invited to Santander Festival, the Gergiev Festival in St. Petersburg, the Casals Festival (Spain), Festival of Radio France (Montpellier), Bellerive Festival (Switzerland), Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Verbier Festival, Flanders Festival, Jerusalem Chamber Music Festival, West Cork Chamber Music Festival, Schwetzingen Festival and the Budapest Spring Festival.
From 2004 Istvan studied in the Class of Special Talents at the Liszt Academy in Budapest, from 2005 at the Music Academy of Vienna. Between 2010 and 2013 he continued his studies at Kronberg Academy in Germany From 2013 he is on the staff of the famous Academy, from 2017 he is also Professor at the Music Academy in Mannheim.
His first CD containing pieces of Janacek, Prokofiev and the Elgar cello concerto was released in 2009 by Ysaye Records. In 2010 he recorded the cello concerto of Johann Baptist Vanhal. On his CD released by the Hannsler label in 2013 he plays works by Mendelssohn, Martinu, Paganini, Beethoven and Popper. His CD with both versions of Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations was released in 2014, followed by a CD with famous encores (Singing Cello – Hungaroton). His recent CDs for the Brilliant Classics label feature Bach's solo suites and Kodaly's complete music for cello.
Mr. Vardai is, together with violinist Kristof Barati, artistic director of the Kaposfest International Chamber Music Festival in Hungary.
He plays a Montagnana cello from 1720 and the legendary „Ex Du Pre-Harrell” Stradivarius from 1673

Inga DZEKZER (Piano)
After her graduation form the PG course of the Saint-Petersburg Conservatorium (Professor T.L. Fidler class), Inga Dzekzer started to teach at the chamber ensemble chair of the Conservatorium. The young Saint-Petersburg pianist combines her pedagogical and an active concert activity very well. Her name could be seen on event posters of the best concert halls of Moscow and Saint-Petersburg, as well as Berlin, Amsterdam, Utrecht, Brussels and other cities of Germany, France, Portugal, Italy, Spain, Netherlands, Finland, Switzerland, the USA, Japan, Korea and China.
Inga Dzekzer is the winner of the International chamber ensembles competition in Trapani (Italy) and International piano duets competition in Tokio (Japan).
She gave master-classes in Japan, Korea and Portugal, worked as a concertmaster at master-classes of Berlin Philharmonia quartet. She also participated in master-classes of «Gustav Mahler International Academy» in Italy, held under the patronage of Claudio Abbado. She also worked in the Summer Music Academy «The International Holland Music Session» in the Netherlands and was a jury of the International chamber ensembles competition in Linz (Austria).
She took part in many festivals of chamber music, held both in Russia and abroad (in Germany, Finland, Portugal, Italy, France, United Arab Emirates). She participated in the festival of chamber music organized by YuryBashmet on the Elba Island (Italy).
She was an official concertmaster of the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, International Violin Competition “Rodolfo Lipizer Prize” in Gorizia (Italy), Competition named after D.F. Oistrakh in Odessa (the Ukraine) and China International Violin Competition.
Inga Dzekzer recorded CDs for «Mеlodia» (Russia), «La Salle de Musique de La Chaux-de-Fonds» (Switzerland), «The Catgut Acoustical Society» (the USA) and «FugaLibera» (Belgium). Her last two CDs she recorded together with the Russian violinist Andrey Baranov and young Taiwan violinist Tseng Yu-Chien, who both are the winners of the Queen Elizabeth International Violin Competition in Brussels (2012).

Exciting modern and topical programs, to initiate the audience unto our journeys of artistic discovery, to communicate music in an open-minded, uncompromising, yet in a poetic manner: this is the mission and the guiding principles that unite the seven musicians who constitute the Alban Berg Ensemble Wien.
This Ensemble, formed in 2016, comprises the renowned Hugo Wolf Quartet, pianist Ariane Haering as well as, flutist Silvia Caredduand clarinetist Alexander Neubauer from the Vienna Symphony Orchestra. The Alban Berg Foundation bestows its imprimatur as a public acknowledgement of the esteem in which these musicians are held for their artistic vision, and in recognition of their innovative path in the spirit of Alban Berg. connected to the past while committed to the future. A century ago, Schonberg, Berg and Webern founded their Society for Private Musical Performances to realize their highly personal visions of unorthodox concert situations and programming. Their artistic and interpretative vision, an openness towards all that is new and innovative as well as a unique instrumental combination provide the blueprint for the Ensemble: String quartet, flute, clarinet and piano are the core of the Alban Berg Ensemble Wien. Our goal is to rekindle the firey passion of the Second Viennese School's most romantic composer.

Sebastian GURTLER (Violin)
Born in Salzburg, Sebastian Gurtler was trained by Helmut Zehetmair, Corrado Romano, Ernst Kovacic and Philippe Hirschhorn.
He was concertmaster of the Vienna Volksoper orchestra from 1997 to 2008. He founded the Vienna Amarcord ensemble in 2000, consisting of accordion, violin, violoncello and bass, for which he writes most of the arrangements characterizing the typical Amarcord sound. He has been first violinist of the Hugo Wolf Quartet since 2005.
Apart from classical music, he is a close associate of violinists Benjamin Schmid and Aleksey Igudesman and bassist Georg Breinschmid. His comedic and improvisatory talent come to the fore in the shows Tandem, Sebastian the Cyberconductor and The Flying Schnortzenbrekkers in a broadly diversified way. He has been a member of the crossover group Phiharmonix since 2017.
His compositions and arrangements are published by Edition Walhall and released on Material Records, VMS and Deutsche Grammophon.

Regis BRINGOLF (Violin)
Born 1970 in Lausanne, Regis Bringolf was trained first in Switzerland by Jean Piguet at the Conservatoire superieur de Lausanne and by Patrick Genet in Freibourg, where he received a diplome de virtuosite summa cum laude in 1990. There followed many years at the Vienna University of Music and Performing Arts in the classes of Michael Schnitzler and Gunter Pichler.
He won the Prix Gerber in Lausanne in 1978 and the Junesse Musicale Suisse first prize in 1985; later, he was awarded First Prize at the String Quartet Competition in Cremona, the European Chamber Music Prize and the Vienna Philharmonic Special Prize.
A soloist with various youth orchestras of the Suisse Romande and substitute concertmaster of the Lausanne Opera, Bringolf has been living in Vienna since 1990, where he is in great demand; he co-founded the Hugo Wolf Quartet in 1993 and the Vienna Alban Berg Ensemble in 2016.
Apart from his activities with the quartet, he has received many invitations from the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra, the Salzburg Camerata, and the Reihe; he has worked with such conductors as Claudio Abbado, Ricardo Chailly and Sandor Vegh.

Florian BERNER (Cello)
Florian Berner is a cellist and founding member of the Hugo Wolf Quartet; the group has been a welcome guest for over two decades in all the renowned music centers worldwide. Extended concert tours have taken him through all of Europe, to Asia, South and North America, and venues such as New York’s Carnegie Hall, the Cite des Arts in Paris, the Berlin Philharmonie, Suntory Hall in Tokyo and the Lockenhaus Chamber Music Festival. He has won many awards, including the Rising Star, the Vienna Philharmonic Special Prize and the European Chamber Music Prize. His many CD recordings appear on Gramola, Extraplatte, cpo and Cam Jazz.
He founded the Vienna Alban Berg Ensemble in 2016 with the support of the Alban Berg Foundation, which gave the group its name. Apart from its international concertizing, the ensemble gives a concert cycle in the Brahms Hall at the Vienna Musikverein and its own chamber music festival BERG fruhling. Born 1973 in Vienna, Berner studied at Vienna Music University with Angelica May and the Alban Berg Quartet; years of intensive study with Mario Brunello followed. Today he has the opportunity to pass on his knowledge and experience; he gives master classes at many American universities, he lectured for the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra, for (superar), the Norwegian Youth Symphony Orchestra, the Oztal Kulturwochen, the Verona Summer Festival and may others. He has been a professor at the Provincial Conservatoire in Klagenfurt since 2013. Mr. Berner plays a cello by Nicolo Gagliano, Naples, 1819.

Alexander NEUBAUER (Clarinet)
Alexander Neubauer was born in Wagna / Styria and received his first musical lessons on the Styrian harmonica.He studied clarinet at the Conservatory of the City of Graz and subsequently at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna.
Already during his studies he played as a substitute among others with the Vienna Philharmonic, the Orchestra of the Vienna State Opera, the Berlin Philharmonic and the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra.
Since 1999 he has been Clarinetist and Bass Clarinetist of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, since 2011 Deputy Solo Clarinetist.
As a soloist he performed with the Wiener Concert-Verein, the Junge Philharmonie Wien, the Tiroler Kammerensemble InnStrumenti, the Ambassade Orchestra Vienna, the Vienna Jeunesse Orchestra and the Philharmonic Gyor concertos by Mozart, Sussmayer, Copland, Stamitz, Pleyel among others.
Since 2013, Alexander Neubauer is a professor at the Music and Art University of the City of Vienna.

Ariane HAERING (Piano)
Pianist Ariane Haering was trained in her home town La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, by Cecile Pantillon and Catherine Courvoisier, in the U.S.A. by Clifton Matthews and by Brigitte Meer in Lausanne. She was 20 when she completed her studies with the Premier Prix de Virtuosite avec les Felicitations du Jury.
She has won many national and international competitions; she represented Switzerland at the Eurovision competition in Brussels. She won the Concerto Competition at the University of North Carolina, U.S.A, and has received many awards, among them the Prix l’Express, Prix Mieville, Prix Rotary and JeuneSoliste de la Communaute des Radios Publiques de Langue Francaise. She has been soloist with renowned orchestras such as the Zurich Tonhalle, the Houston Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestra della SvizzeraItaliana, the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestre Symphonique Neuchatelois, the Mozarteum Orchestra, the Bavarian Radio Chamber Orchestra ad the Johannesburg Symphony Orchestra.
She continues her uninterrupted chamber-music activity with artists including Veronika Hagen, Benjamin Schmid, Clemens Hagen, Dimitri Ashkenazy, Ramon Jaffe, Anna-Maria Pammer, Bernard Richter and the Brodsky, Mozarteum, Stadler, St. Petersburg and Petersen quartets.
She has been playing four-hands regularly with ArditaStatovici along with the two-piano literature, guesting throughout Europe with their Duo Ariadita.
She has been a permanent member of the newly-founded Vienna Alban Berg Ensemble since 2016; it has been a central part of her musical life ever since.

Georg BREINSCHMID (Double Bass, composition)
Georg Breinschmid was born in 1973 and lives in Vienna. He is one of the leading Austrian jazz musicians on the international stage.
Breinschmid studied classical double bass at Vienna`s music university; at the same time he was also active as jazz musician.
He joined the Tonkunstlerorchester Niederosterreich from 1994-96 and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra from 1996-98, but decided then to turn his back on his orchestral career and dedicate himself to his passion for improvised music.
Since 1999 he established himself as one of the most versatile and virtuoso bassists of the international jazz scene. Among many others he collaborated with Archie Shepp, Charlie Mariano, Kenny Wheeler, Bireli Lagrene, Triology and Megablast. He was resident double bass player of the Vienna Art Orchestra from 1999 until 2006. From 2003 on, Georg Breinschmid was increasingly active as composer and bandleader. Numerous CD productions like „Wien bleibt Krk“ (2008) or the double albums „Brein’s World“ (2010) and "Double Brein" (2014) received rave reviews in Europe as well as overseas. Important artistic collaborations include trumpeter Thomas Gansch, violinists Benjamin Schmid and Aleksey Igudesman, the brothers Frantisek and Roman Janoska, accordionist Stian Carstensen, pianist Antoni Donchev, The Flying Schnortzenbrekkers, arranger Tscho Theissing and many others. In 2010 the trio Brein`s Cafe performed at the opening of Vienna Festival in front of a worldwide TV audience of millions. 2014 foundation of the quartet Strings & Bass together with violinist Florian Willeitner. He won the Hans Koller Award twice („CD of the year“ 2002, „Newcomer of the year“ 2003). From 2012 to 2015, Georg was nominated four times consecutively for the Amadeus Austrian Music Award (category Jazz/World/Blues). His unorthodox compositions at the interface between Jazz, classical and viennese music are considered as one of the most interesting developments in contemporary music. His works are being performed by ensembles like The Philharmonics, the Stuttgarter Kammerorchester, Amarcord Wien, Bass Instinct and the Australian Chamber Orchestra. In 2011 Breinschmid presented for the first time a full-­length program of his compositions with symphony orchestra and jazztrio, with Tonkunstlerorchester Niederosterreich. Numerous orchestral performances of his music follow, among others with Hongkong Sinfonietta, Symphonieorchester Vo-rarlberg, Moravia Virtuosi, Brno Philharmonic, Wurttembergische Philharmonie Reutlingen, Tiroler Symphonieorchester Innsbruck and Brucknerorchester Linz. He also writes commissioned works, a.o. for the ensembles Faltenradio, The Clarinotts, Matthias Schorn (principal clarinetist of Vienna Philharmonic), Sonus Brass and many others.

Thomas DOBLER (Vibraphone, Percussion)
Soloist in classical music, jazz and world-music.
Bandleader and arranger.
Teacher and head of Jazz & Pop department at HEMU Lausanne.
Born in 1978, Thomas was just 4 years old when he started playing the drums. Many different stiles of music continued to play a crucial role in his life. He studied classical percussion at the Conservatory of Music in Zurich and Strasbourg. Meanwhile he learned to improvise, to play Jazz and Rock mostly autodidact and performed with many bands as a vibist or as a drummer.
Classical music:
1995-2009 he performed and recorded as an orchestral percussionist with various Swiss symphony orchestras including the Tonhalle Orchester Zurich, working with an eminent group of conductors including Mariss Jansons, Georg Solti, Gennadij Rosdet-wiensky, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Armin Jordan, Vladimir Fedoseyev, Charles Dutoit, Da-vid Zinman. 1998-2005 he performed and recorded as a marimba und vibes player with leading chamber music ensembles, working with contemporary composers including Lu-ciano Berio, Wolfgang Rihm, Georgy Kurtag, Heinz Holliger. Thomas performed at many prestigious music festivals including the BBC Proms, Menuhin Festival, Lucerne Festival.
Since 2005 he performs as a classical soloist with various orchestras including the Zurcher Kammerorchester, MDR Symhony Orchestra Leipzig, Camerata Bern, Sinfo-nieorchester St. Gallen, Dusseldorf Festival Orchestra, Orchester Musikkollegium Win-terthur.
Jazz:
Thomas started in 2001 to assemble his own Jazz groups. In 2002, he recorded his first album with his trio featuring the vibraphone. From 2009 to 2014 he toured and recorded in duo with US pianist Kenny Drew Jr.
Mostly as a bandleader, but also as a guest soloist, Thomas played with many great Jazz musicians including:
harmonica: Olivier Ker-Ourio
piano: Kenny Drew Jr , Dado Moroni, Vince Benedetti, Francesc Capella, Andre Desponds, Andy Scherrer, Thierry Lang, Emil Spanyi, Robi Weber, AlonYavnai, Ales-sandro D'Episcopo
bass: Reggie Johnson, Roman Dylag, Georg Breinschmid, M.A. Cordero, Lorenzo Barriendos, Banz Oester, Ratus Flisch, Aldo Zunino, Thomas Hirt, Kalli Gerhards, Joel Reiff, K.T. Geier, J.P. Schaller, Stefan Kurmann, Isla Eckinger, Dudu Penz
perc: Nan Mercader, Yoan Sanchez, Ayekoos Drummers of Ghana
drums: Sangoma Everett, Peter Schmidlin, Marcel Papaux, Pius Baschnagel, Curt Treier, Alberto Canonico, Damian Bassman, Cyril Regamey, Alberto Canonico, Peter Preibisch, Toni Renold
sax: Andy Scherrer, George Robert, Daniel Schnyder, Paul Jeffrey, Roberto Bonisolo, Jurg Morgenthaler
git: Francis Coletta, Dani Solimine, Alieksey Vianna
violin: Adam Taubitz, Duilio Galfetti
cello: Daniel Pezzotti
trombone : Dave Taylor, Rene Mosele
french horn : Arkadij Shilkloper
voc: La Velle, Marianne Racine, Sandra Studer, Judy Emeline
accordeon : Denis Croisonnier
trumpet : Jeff Baud

Emil SPANYI (Pianist, composer, arranger, sound designer, sound engineer)
Born in Budapest, Hungary on 14 June 1968 he studied in Hungary, Austria, the USA and France.
Since 1996 he lives in Paris and is teaching at the Paris and Lausanne Music Conservatories.
Soloist and Sideman in modern main stream and avantgarde Jazz, accompanist of singers, traditional bebop projects. Projects in free jazz and world jazz on acoustic and electronic keyboard instruments and with computer support.
As a pianist:
Tours, radio- and TV-appearances in Hungary, Austria, France, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Schweden, Denmark, Poland, Senegal, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Gabon, Marocco, Iran, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Thailand, Hong Kong, Japan, USA with among others Ray Brown, Philip Catherine, Ed Thigpen, Bob Berg, Mark Murphy, Stafford James, Gene Jackson, Don Alias, Hal Singer, Niels-Henning Oersted Pedersen, Gino Vannelli, Niels Lan Doky, Randy Brecker, Dave Sanborn, George Robert, Francois Jeanneau, Daniel Humair, Louis Sclavis, Marc Ducret, LaVelle Duggan, Alexy Spiagin, Matthieu Michel, Don Byron and with his own projects.
Composition and arrangements:
Compositions for practically all formations since the beginning of his career. Compositions on order for various formations from saxophone quartet to big bands and symphony orchestra. Persistent arrangements for various medium bands, big bands and cross over symphony orchestras worldwide.
Teaching activities:
1998-2007: Professor for piano at the Conservatoire de Lagny sur Marne, France
2002-2008 : Professor for piano, workshops and harmony at the Conservatoire de Paris IX “Nadia & Lili Boulanger” in Paris
2003-2007: Professor for piano and harmony at the Bill Evans Piano Academy in Paris
2006- : Professor for piano, workshops, harmony and sound engineering at the Conservatoire National de Region (CNR, neuerlich Conservatoire de Rayonnement Re-gional, CRR) de Paris, Bachelor (“License”) programme
2007- : Professor for piano, workshops, modale and contemporary harmony, composition and arrangement, music technoloy at the HeMU (Haute Ecole de Musique) de Lausanne, Schwitzerland, bachelor- und master-programme
Masterclasses, summer clinics : USA (Houston Downtown University), France (Paris, Marciac, Lyon, Valenciennes), Austria (Musikakademie Niederosterreich, Zeillern, Weinberg, Hochschule Graz), Hungary (University Franz Liszt Budapest, Lamantin Jazz Camp Szombathely), Slovenia (Jazz Camp Kranj), Croatia (Jazz Is Back Zagreb-Groznjan)
Hard- and soft ware:
Emil Spanyi is a recording engineer for his own projects with his own hardware and a mastering engineer with his own studio (Studios LDF, Paris) for a number of Jazz, Pop and classical artists in France, Switzerland and in Austria.

D'ACCORDO ensemble was established in November 2016. It is the first ensemble in Azerbaijan practicing historically-informed manner of performing baroque and Renaissance music. Despite its young age, the ensemble has quite an extensive repertoire, including works by various composers of the XV-XVII centuries. The ensemble successfully performs at different concert venues in Baku and other cities of Azerbaijan. The ensemble has participatedin several festivals, including the International Festival named after U. Gajibekov, as well as in the events held by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Azerbaijan.

Ilaha SADYH-ZADEH
She graduated from the Azerbaijan Conservatory in piano with Professor N. Sultanov. She was a laureate of the Republican Piano Competition in 1986. She is giving concerts as a soloist and a chamber ensemblemusician. Shewent on tour to France, Greece, Russia.
She took part in the international contests of vocalists named after E. Obraztsova, «Bella voce», and the concert namedafter Bulbul as a concertmaster. She performed in various ensembles, including the Azerbaijani ensemble «Sonor» and the German ensemble «Arirang». She is a constant participant of the festivals named after U. Hajibekov and K. Karaev.
She teaches at Baku Musical Academy and Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Art. Since 2009 she has beenplaying in the Azerbaijan State Symphony Orchestra. Since 2016 she has been an artistic director of D’ACCORDO ensemble.

Farida MAMEDOVA (soprano)
She graduated from the piano and vocal faculties of the Baku Musical Academy. She attended master classes in Tbilisi, Dresden, Stuttgart and Weimar. She is a laureate of the International Competition named after BulBul, and a finalist of the International Competition named after M. Reger (Germany).
Since 1997 she has been a soloist of the Azerbaijan Academic Opera and Ballet Theater. She performed leading parts in the operas of Mozart, Bellini, Verdi, Bizet, Puccini, Leoncavallo, Tchaikovsky, Magomaev, Mustafaea, Ali-zade, and other authors.
Sheis giving many concerts, including chamber genres. She is the first performer in Baku of many vocal cycles, oratorios and mono-operas of European, Russian and Azerbaijani composers - Mahler, Berg, Schoenberg, Rachmaninov, Shostakovich, Denisov, Apergis, Karayev, Ali-zade and others.
She participated in international festivals in Germany, Austria, France, Switzerland, Holland, Belgium, Czech Republic, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, Kazakhstan and Mongolia. She collaborated with many symphonic and chamber ensembles, including the orchestras of Jerusalem, Johannesburg, Vienna, Tel Aviv and Moscow.

Ilham NAZAROV (countertenor)
He graduated from the Baku Musical Academy. In 2010-13 he had a three-year internship at the Italian Academia D’Arte Lirica with Vincenzo de Vivo, as a baritone at first, and then as a countertenor. During the internship, he participated in Ravenna festival, Della d’atria and Pergolesi festival playing the parts of Orpheus, Artaxerx and Oberon. In 2016 he was awarded the first prize of the Vocalists International Competition named after M. Magomaev (Moscow).
Currently he is the only countertenor in Azerbaijan and the only singer in the country having two voices at once - countertenor and baritone. As a baritone, he performed at the Azerbaijan Academic State Opera and Ballet Theater playing the part ofAleko («Aleko» by Rachmaninov), Nofel («Leila and Majnun» by Hajibeyli), and Silvio («Pagliacci» by Leoncavallo). He became the first Azerbaijani vocalist who performed at the Roman Opera House («Nose» by Shostakovich staged by Peter Stein).
In 2017, he took part in the 5th International Professional Competition of Young Opera Singers «The Great Opera» on the TV channel «Russia. Culture.»

He was born in 1985 in Saint Petersburg. Нe finished Secondary Special Musical school of the St.Petersburg State Conservatory (under prof. Z. Zuker) and St. Petersburg State Conservatory (piano department, under prof. A.Sandler).
He began his concert activity at the age of 6. When he was 10 he made a debut in Grand Hall of the St. Petersburg Philharmonia, playing Concerto in d-moll by Mozart, conductor Yu.Temirkanov.
He is prizewinner of numerous International competitions and festivals such as: «International Foundation of Heidens» (1993), «A Step to Mastery» (1995), «Traditions and Modern Time» (Grand-Prix) (1995), The International Festival named after G.Neuhaus. (Moscow, 1998), «Virtuosos of 2000» (1999), Grand-Prix «Hope of Russia» (2000), The National Youth Prize «Triumph» (Moscow, 2001), The Golden medal and the first place of International Youth Delphic Games (Ukraine, Kiev, 2005). He is grant holder of the International Charitable program «New Names» (1998); the International Charitable Foundation of Yu.Bashmet (1999).
Participated in the International Musical Festivals: «Elba-Musical Island of Europe» (Italy, 1997, 2003), «Petersburg Musical Spring» (2002), «Kissinger Sommer» (Germany, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006), «Mecklenburg FestspieleVorpommern» (Germany, 2006). Participated in the programs of the International Charitable Foundation of V. Spivakov.
In 2006 M. Kultyshev took part in master-classes by prof. M. Voskresensky and prof. K.-H. Kaemmerling in «International Holland Music Sessions».
Kultyshev played with such conductors as: V. Ashkenazy, Y. Bashmet, K. Orbelian, V. Sinaysky and others. Tours in Germany, Austria, Italy, France, Tschechien, Slovakia, Great Britain, USA, Holland, Lietuva, Ukraine.
In 2005 for concert activities Miroslav Kultyshev was awarded by the Greif Orden. In 2007 he awarded the II prize and silver medal at the XIII International Tchaikovsky Competition (Moscow).

Since its foundation in 1985 the Turtle Island Quartet has established itself as a unique creative ensemble, trailblazing bold new developments in chamber music.
Awarded the Grammy for best classical crossover album in 2006 and 2008, Turtle Island combines classical aesthetics with modern American musical styles. Renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma described the quartet as “groundbreaking, authentic and passionate – a reflection of the most original trends in the music scene today”.
The Turtle Island Quartet – taking its name from Native American mythology – was the brainchild of violinist David Balakrishnan during his studies in San Francisco in the early 1980s. Following his singular musical vision, he founded a quartet that has improvisation at its heart and in which each member also contributes as a composer. Turtle Island continues a tradition that has been lost over time in classical music; after all, 200 years ago performers were also trained in improvisation and composition. Turtle Island applies this philosophy to the present day: each quartet member has received instruction in jazz in addition to their classical studies.
For over 30 years, the Turtles have made excursions into folk, bluegrass, swing, bebop, funk, rock and the music of Latin America and India. The quartet’s discography comprises 15 records including their latest Grammy-nominated CD Confetti Man, released on labels such as Windham Hill, Chandos, Koch, Telarc and Azica. They have also contributed to soundtracks for Hollywood film productions and regularly collaborate with prominent artists including the clarinettist Paquito D’Rivera, the vibraphonist Stefon Harris, guitarists such as Leo Kottke and the Assad Brothers, the vocal ensemble Manhattan Transfer, pianists Billy Taylor, Kenny Barron, Cyrus Chestnut and Ramsey Lewis, the Ying Quartet and singers such as Tierney Sutton and Nellie McKay.
With a unique and constantly evolving repertoire of original compositions and contemporary arrangements, as well as its commitment to education with regular masterclasses, and of course its countless performances, the Turtle Island Quartet is considered one of the most pioneering string quartets from the “New World” in the 21st century.

The members of the Turtle Island Quartet
With a history lasting over three decades, the quartet’s line-up, apart from lead violinist David Balakrishnan, has changed several times. While its basic philosophy as an improvising quartet remains intact, new members with unique musical backgrounds bring fresh impetus to the Turtles’ creative development.

Following his violin and composition studies at UCLA David Balakrishnan, founder of the Turtle Island Quartet, moved to the San Francisco Bay Area where he made a name for himself as an improviser, performing with the David Grisman Quartet and the legendary jazz violinist Stephane Grappelli, among others. With his multifaceted compositional approach, he was nominated twice for a Grammy as an arranger; he has also been nominated for the 2016 awards as a composer. He has received awards and scholarships from organisations such as the League of American Orchestras and the National Endowment for the Arts. Spider Dreams, his composition for string quartet and symphony orchestra, has been widely performed and was recorded by the Turtle Island Quartet and Detroit Symphony Orchestra under NeemeJ?rvi. He was commissioned by Chamber Music America to mark the quartet’s 30th anniversary in 2015, through a grant from the renowned Classical Commissioning Program.

The violinist Alex Hargreaves won the National Oldtime Fiddlers Contest, one of the USA’s most distinguished bluegrass competitions, at the age of 15. A few years later he went on tour with the renowned bluegrass band leader Mike Marshall. His many awards include the Jimmy Lyons Scholarship from the Monterey Jazz Festival, which allowed him to attend the elite jazz school the Berklee College of Music. Here, he was mentored by Danilo Perez in the esteemed Berklee Global Jazz Institute Program which intensively promotes talented students. As part of this programme, he went on tour with Perez’s trio and recorded a CD, released in 2014. Since then, the fiddle player has established himself as an authority in his field – the legendary composer and mandolin player David Grisman sees Alex Hargreaves as a “fiddle giant of the 21st century”. He makes regular guest appearances at jazz, country and bluegrass festivals in America and internationally, sharing the stage with musicians such as Jerry Douglas, Bela Fleck and Darol Anger.

Cellist Malcolm Parson, is at home in both the realms of classical music and jazz, and connects the two worlds with virtuosity and musical imagination. Originally from New Orleans, he graduated from the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s Talent Development Program and the Berklee College of Music, performing with an orchestra as a soloist for the first time at the age of 14. A long-standing member of the old-time band Carolina Chocolate Drops, who won a Grammy Award in 2011, Malcolm Parson has also shared the stage with musicians such as James Lauderdale, Ron Carter, Terri Lynn Carrington and Dave Liebman. He has composed numerous solo and ensemble works, as well as film music. His work Solitude, which was originally conceived as a solo piece with the choreographer Julia Gleich, was performed by the Forsyth Youth Orchestra in a version for cello and orchestra in 2015.

Benjamin von Gutzeit is one of the few respected jazz violists working today. Born in Bochum in Germany, he was brought up in a musical family: his father is a renowned music teacher, his mother a pianist, and two of his siblings are successful classical musicians. He began playing the viola at the age of four, on a very small violin with viola strings. As a twelve year-old he started taking lessons with the violist of the Orpheus String Quartet, Emile Cantor; competition wins at Jugend Musiziert in 1992 and 1994 resulted in his first tour of Japan. After a short stint as a bass guitarist, he studied under the jazz violinist Andreas Schreiber at the Bruckner University in Linz from 2001. He continued his jazz studies in Amsterdam in 2004 and performed with numerous musicians in the Dutch jazz scene. He moved to New York in 2010 to study in the jazz department of the Manhattan School of Music, where he was the first violist to graduate with a master’s degree. Since then, Benjamin von Gutzeit has worked with world-famous musicians such as the jazz violinist Mark Feldman, electronic virtuoso Matthew Herbert, cellist Ernst Reijseger and the saxophonist Dave Liebman.