SCHAROUN ENSEMBLE
Founded in 1983 by members of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, the Scharoun Ensemble is one of Germany's leading chamber-music organizations. With its wide repertoire, ranging from composers of the Baroque period by way of Classical and Romantic chamber music to contemporary works, the Scharoun Ensemble has been inspiring audiences in Europe and overseas for more than a quarter of a century. Innovative programming, a refined tonal culture and spirited interpretations are hallmarks of the ensemble, which performs in a variety of instrumental combinations.
The permanent core of the Scharoun Ensemble is a classical octet (clarinet, bassoon, horn, two violins, viola, cello and double bass), made up entirely of members of the Berlin Philharmonic. When called for, the ensemble brings in additional instrumentalists as well as noted conductors. The Scharoun Ensemble has prepared and presented various programmes under the direction of Claudio Abbado, Sir Simon Rattle, Daniel Barenboim and Pierre Boulez. It has also performed with singers including Thomas Quasthoff, Simon Keenlyside and Barbara Hannigan, and, for interdisciplinary projects, the ensemble has engaged such artists as Fanny Ardant, Loriot and Dominique Horwitz. Bridging the gap between tradition and the modern is the Scharoun Ensemble's principal artistic focus. It has given world premieres of many 20th- and 21st-century compositions while dedicating itself with equal passion to the interpretation of works from past centuries. Among the cornerstones of its repertoire are Franz Schubert's Octet d803, with which the ensemble made its public debut in 1983, and Ludwig van Beethoven's Septet Op.20.
Cultivating an active contact with today's composers has been a matter of special interest to the Scharoun Ensemble since its inception. Gyoergy Ligeti, Hans Werner Henze, Pierre Boulez, Gyoergy Kurtag and Wolfgang Rihm have accompanied the group on its artistic journey, as have composers of the younger generation including Joerg Widmann and Matthias Pintscher.
Complementing the Scharoun Ensemble's brisk international concert activity is its annual residence at and artistic directorship of the Zermatt Festival, founded in 2005. Along with concerts by major artists, each summer's festival includes musical workshops offering young musicians the chance to work with the members of the Scharoun Ensemble. Lending his name to the Scharoun Ensemble is the architect of its musical home. In designing the Berlin Philharmonie, Hans Scharoun (1893-1972) created a concert hall that was unique in the world, undertaking a synthesis between innovation and awareness of tradition and opening up new approaches to artistic communication - ideals to which the Scharoun Ensemble is also committed.

SMembers:
Wolfram Brandl, Violin
Christophe Horak, Violin
Micha Afkham, Viola
Richard Duven, Cello
Peter Riegelbauer, Double Bass
Alexander Bader, Clarinet
Markus Weidmann, Bassoon
Stefan de Leval Jezierski, Horn

David Fray was born in 1981 and began the piano when he was 4 years old. He worked with Jacques Rouvier at the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique de Paris, and graduated with top honours.
David Fray has received numerous prizes and awards including a prize and a grant by the Banque Populaire, the Diploma of Outstanding Merit at the Fifth International Hamamatsu Competition in Japan; the Jeune soliste de l'annee (Young Soloist of the Year) award, the most important prize awarded by the Commission des radios publiques de langue francaise; the Feydeau de Brou Saint Paul grant and the Revelation classique (Classical discovery) prize from ADAMI. At the 2004 Montreal International Music Competition, David Fray received both the Second Grand Prize, and the Prize for the best interpretation of an imposed Canadian work. As a direct reward for his success in this competition, ATMA Classique released his first CD (Liszt and Schubert).
David Fray gave numerous recitals in Europe, America and Asia, in the most prestigious halls : Cite de la Musique, Theatre des Champs-Elysees, Theatre du Chatelet, Auditorium du Louvre in Paris, Place des Arts in Montreal, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Alti Hall in Kyoto, Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, as well as in festivals such as La Roque d'Antheron or Piano aux Jacobins in Toulouse.
David Fray has been supported by artists such as Dimitri Bashkirov, Menahem Pressler, Paul Badura-Skoda, Christoph Eschenbach, and Pierre Boulez. Under his recommendation, David Fray received in Germany the prize for young talents of 'Klavier Festival Ruhr' where he played in Summer 2006. Christoph Eschenbach invited him at the 10th Beethoven Easter Festival in Warsaw to play Bach Concertos with him, Robert Levine and Ya-Fei Chuang.
He performed with the Orchestre Metropolitain du Grand Montreal under the direction of Yannick Nezet-Seguin, the Orchestre de Paris under Christoph Eschenbach and John Axelrod, the Orchestre National de France and Kurt Masur in Paris, Vienna, Germany and the USA, the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Deutsche Sinfonie-Orchester, the Jerusalem Symphony, Amsterdam Sinfonietta, Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic, New-York Philharmonic and Esa-Pekka Salonen, London Philharmonic, Salzburg Mozarteum Orchester, Deutsches Symphonie Orchester, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, as well as in tour with Riccardo Muti in Italy and with Bayerische Rundfunk Orchestra, again with Riccardo Muti. He will soon play with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Cleveland, San Francisco, Boston Symphony, and the NHK in Tokyo.
An extract of his recital (Schubert's "Wanderer" Fantasy) at La Roque d'Antheron festival was recorded on DVD (Ideale Audience). His first recording as a Virgin Classics exclusive artist was devoted to Bach and Boulez and won him great critical acclaim (Newcomer of the Year 2008 by BBC Music Magazine, Best recording / Echo Preis 2008), as well as his recording of Bach Concertos with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen (with a DVD by Bruno Monsaingeon). Last release: a Schubert recital.

PETER LAUL (piano)
Peter Laul was born into a musical family in St. Petersburg, Russia and received his education at the St. Petersburg Conservatory, where he studied with Prof. Alexander Sandler, and where he has since become a faculty member. He won the third prize and special prize for the best Bach performance in the Bremen International Piano Competition in 1995 and again, in 1997, he won the first prize and special prize, this time for the best Schubert sonata performance. In addition to that, in 2000 he won first prize at the Scriabin International Piano Competition in Moscow and, in 2003, he was awarded the honorary medal 'For achievements in the Arts' by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.
Peter Laul has performed as a soloist with the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic, the Mariinsky Theater Orchestra, the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, the Moscow State Kapella Orchestra, as well as numerous other Russian orchestras under the direction of conductors such as Maxim Shostakovich, Valery Gergiev, Vassily Sinaiski, Eri Klas, Jean-Claude Casadesus, Nikolai Znaider and Nikolai Alekseev among others. He has also performed with the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie, the Dessau, the Bremerhaven and the Oldenburg Theatre Orchestras (Germany), the Brasilian National Symphony Orchestra, the Estonian National Symphony and the Tallinn Chamber Orchestras (Estonia) and the 'Les Siecles' (France) under Francois-Xavier Roth.
Peter Laul's recital performances have taken him to the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Halls, the Symphony Hall of the Mariinsky Theater, the Moscow Conservatory Halls, the Moscow Tchaikovsky Hall and the new Moscow International House of Music. Abroad he has performed in the Auditorium du Louvre, the Theatre de la Ville, Theatre du Chatelet and the Musee d'Orsay in Paris, Salle Moliere and Opera Lyon, the Lincoln Center in New York, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Vredenburg in Utrecht, Casino Basel, Die Glocke in Bremen, the Montpellier Corum, the Opera City Hall in Tokyo, the Luxembourg Philharmonic Hall, Le Theatre de la Monnaie in Brussels and in numerous venues and festivals throughout Russia, Europe, Japan and the USA. His most recent performances have been at the Serres d'Auteuil festival in Paris, the Schubertiade and Beethoven Festivals in Colmar, 'The Stars of White Nights' in St.Petersburg, 'Art November' in Moscow, the Kamchatka Spring Festival, the Saint-Riquier Festival, the Lancut Spring Festival in Poland, and the 'Le Printemps des Arts' in Monaco.
Mr. Laul is a consummate chamber musician. His chamber music partners include Dmitry Kouzov, Marc Coppey, Ilya Gringolts, Graf Mourja, Sergey Levitin, Valery Sokolov, Alexander Ghindin, Diemut Poppen, Francoise Groben, Gary Hoffmann, David Grimal, Laurent Korcia and Tedi Papavrami.
Peter Laul has recorded for Harmonia Mundi, Aeon, Onyx, Naxos, Marquis Classics, Querstand, Integral Classics, King Records, Northern Flowers and numerous TV and Radio stations in Russia and abroad.

ILYA GRINGOLTS (violin)
Winner of the 1998 International Violin Competition 'Premio Paganini', Ilya Gringolts was also awarded two special prizes for the youngest ever competitor to be placed in the final and the best interpreter of Paganini's Caprices. Ilya studied violin and composition in Saint Petersburg with Tatiana Liberova and Jeanna Metallidi and at the Juilliard School with Itzhak Perlman. He was also one of twelve young artists selected by the BBC for their New Generation Artists Scheme. Ilya's recent and future orchestral highlights include the Mahler Chamber Orchestra/Abbado, a tour of Germany and Spain with NDR Orchester Hannover, a tour of Japan with the NHK Orchestra, Halle, Liverpool and Birmingham Symphony Orchestras, Deutsches Sinfonie Orchester Berlin/Norrington, BBC Scottish Symphony, Sao Paulo Orchestra/de Burgos, Israel Philharmonic, Boston Haydn & Handel Society, Royal Scottish National and Basel Symphony Orchestras, Orquesta de Barcelona y Nacional de Catalunya. Ilya has undertaken extensive tours of Asia, Australasia and China - in 2009 he performed with Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and toured South Africa with Johannesburg Symphony Orchestra and China with the Lahti Symphony Orchestra.
In recital, Ilya recently presented the complete cycle of Bach sonatas with Masaaki Suzuki at the Verbier Festival. Recent and future recitals and festival appearances include Lucerne, Kuhmo, Risor, Zermatt and Verbier Festivals, BBC Proms, the Wigmore Hall, Basel AMG Solistenabende, Festival Printemps des Arts Monte Carlo, Saint Petersburg Philharmonic, Colmar Festival, Milan Serate Musicali, and the Enescu Festival, Bucharest. As a chamber musician Ilya's regular chamber music partners include Yuri Bashmet, Lynn Harrell, Diemut Poppen, Vladimir Mendelssohn, Itamar Golan and many others; he is also a recent founder of the Gringolts String Quartet.
Ilya won a Gramophone Award for his Taneyev Chamber Music CD with Pletnev, Repin, Imai and Harrell. He had previously recorded three discs for DG (Prokofiev Violin Concerto No.1 and Sibelius Humoresques/Violin Concerto, a disc of solo Bach and the Tchaikovsky and Shostakovich first Concertos) which received outstanding reviews. Ilya's recording of Heinrich Wilhelm Ernst for Hyperion which includes the six Etudes, Erlkoenig, Otello Fantasy and Elegy featured in Gramophone's Editor's choice, and his Hyperion release of the Taneyev and Arensky Violin Concertos with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra/Volkov was met with enthusiasm. His 2010 release of Schumann complete violin/piano sonatas with Peter Laul for Onyx was highly praised.
Ilya has a continued commitment to period instrument performance as well as music education - he has recently been appointed Professor of violin at the Basel Hochschule. He is also acting as International Feelow at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.

DMITRY KOUZOV (cello)
A versatile performer, cellist Dmitry Kouzov has performed on five continents with orchestras, in solo and duo recitals, and in chamber music performances. He has appeared with such orchestras as the St. Petersburg Symphony (Russia), as well as National Symphony of Ukraine, and the South Bohemian Chamber Philharmonic (Czech Republic), and the Symphony Orchestra 'Classica' (Russia), to name a few. He has awarded First Prize at the International Beethoven Competition in the Czech Republic and he is a two-time laureate of the International Festival-Competition 'Virtuosi of the Year 2000' in Russia and is winner of the New York Cello Society Rising Star Award. His credits include numerous performances at many prominent concert venues throughout his native Russia, including both St. Petersburg Philharmonic Halls, the conservatoire halls of Moscow and St. Petersburg, respectively, and the Mariinsky Theater. Mr. Kouzov made his New York orchestral debut at Alice Tully Hall in 2005, under the baton of Maestro Raymond Leppard. Since that time, he has also made recital appearances in New York at 92nd Street Y and Bargemusic.
Highlights of Mr. Kouzov recent seasons include his debuts with the the Symphony Orchestra of St. Petersburg Philharmonic, the St. Petersburg State Symphony Orchestra, Johannesburg Philharmonic, solo appearances with the chamber orchestra 'Soloists of St. Petersburg Philharmonic Society', duo recitals in Moscow and St. Petersburg with all Brahms and Beethoven Sonatas with the prominent Russian pianist Peter Laul, and chamber music appearances at the Ravinia and Caramoor Festivals Rising Stars Series. Most recently, Mr. Kouzov made his recording debut on Naxos with three C.P.E. Bach Gamba Sonatas and a recital CD 'Two Hundred Years of Cello Masterpieces' on Marquis Classics.
Mr. Kouzov has appeared in command performances before Mikhail Gorbachev and Prince Andrew, Duke of York. In 2005 and 2006, he was a guest artist at the Verbier Festival, International Bach Festival (Switzerland) and Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival (Germany). Additionally, he has performed at the 'May of Janacek' International Festival (Czech Republic), and at the 'Art-November' International Festival (Russia), and the 'Kiev Summer Music Nights' International Festival, amongst others.
A consummate chamber musician, Mr. Kouzov has collaborated with Joshua Bell, Yuri Bashmet, Krzysztof Penderecki, Donald Weilerstein, Ilya Gringolts, and Pacifica Quartet among others. Mr. Kouzov is a founding and active member of the Manhattan Piano Trio, with whom he has toured extensively throughout United States and captured First Prizes at the Plowman and Yellow Springs National Chamber Music Competitions.
In addition to his concert activities, Mr. Kouzov is a devoted teacher. Currently Mr. Kouzov is an Assistant Professor of Cello at the University of Illinois. Prior to this appointment he was on faculty at the Juilliard School and Oberlin Conservatory. Mr. Kouzov holds Bachelors & Masters of Music degrees from the Sibelius Academy, Helsinki, and Artist Diploma from the Juilliard School in New York. His principal teachers have included Professors Mark Reizenshtock, Victoria Yagling, Joel Krosnick, and Darrett Adkins.

Violin and piano duo Quasi Uno of Alexandra Korobkina (violin) and Ksenia Gavrilova (piano) was created in 2007. In the first year of its existence, the duo won the special prize of the jury of the International competition of chamber ensembles in Lyon (France, 2007). In the following years, the young musicians were awarded the ranks of the winners of the 10th International M. Yudina competition (Saint Petersburg, 2008 - 1 prize), prize of the Gartow fund (Saint Petersburg, 2008), and also won the Special prize of the press in the International A. Rubinstein competition of chamber ensembles (Moscow, 2008).
The duo took part in the numerous international festivals, Musical Olympus-XII (Saint Petersburg), Saint Petersburg Musical Spring (Saint Petersburg), Time of Music: fin de siecle (Saint Petersburg), Ways of Sound (Saint Petersburg). The duo performs regularly, including solo concerts, at such venues as Small Philharmonic Hall, Conservatory Small Hall named after A. K. Glazunov, White Hall of the Sheremetjev's Palace and others. It has toured in various cities of Russia, as well as in the Czech Republic, Austria, France and Hungary.

ALEXANDRA KOROBKINA (violin)
Alexandra Korobkina finished Secondary special music school-Lyceum at Saint Petersburg Conservatory (class of Prof. S. Shalman, 2005) and the Saint Petersburg State Conservatory named after N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov (class I.V. Ioff, 2010). She is now a post-graduate student at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory (Academic adviser - Professor M.H. Gantvarg). Alexandra has participated in master classes of I. Oistrakh, E. Grach, Z. Bron, R. Totenberg, R. Khiljer, R. Sushanskaya, D. Schwarzberg, B. Kushnir, V. Marshner, H. Bayerle, L. Honda-Rosenberg and other famous teachers. She is a winner of a number of Russian and international competitions, including the all-Russian competition Young Assembly of the Arts (Moscow, 1999, 1 prize), the Yehudi Menuhin International Competition for Young Violinists (France, 2002), the International competition of chamber ensembles in Lyon (France, 2007), the International contest named after M. Yudina (Saint Petersburg, 2008, 1 prize). Was a holder of the fellowship of the Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Society. Currently, is the winner of the prize of the Gartow fund.
Alexandra Korobkina is a permanent participant of many international festivals held in Russia and abroad. She is a first performer of works by many Russian and foreign authors.
She gave concerts in various cities of Russia and has toured in the United States and many European countries, collaborated with such conductors as S. Sondeckis, F. Mastrangelo, V. Petrenko.
Alexandra is a participant of fund programs of K. Pluzhnikov - A. Tolubeev Centre for Contemporary Art, Saint Petersburg House of Music, Saint Petersburg Philharmonic Society.
Since 2010, she has been teaching a class for violin in the Secondary special music school-Lyceum of Saint Petersburg Conservatory named after N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov.

KSENIA GAVRILOVA (piano)
Ksenia Gavrilova is a representative of a new generation of the Petersburg Chamber Ensemble performers. She started to play piano in 1992, in the Saint Petersburg Okhta Centre of Esthetic Education (class under the direction of I.I. Lobikova). In 2007, she graduated from the Saint Petersburg State Conservatory named after N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov (class of E. A. Murina). In 2010, she graduated from the Postgraduate School of the same Conservatory (class of S.A. Uryvaev).
Ksenia is a winner of many national and international competitions, including The Blue Bird International Competition (Simferopol, Ukraine, 2000), all-Russian V.V. Sofronitsky Competition Festival (Saint Petersburg, 2001), the International S. Rachmaninoff Festival-competition (Saint Petersburg, 2001), the International competition Expectations, Talents, Masters (Albena, Bulgaria, 2002), the International contest named after M. Yudina (Saint Petersburg, 2003, 2007, 2008), the International competition Musica Nova (Daugavpils, Latvia, 2003), the International competition of chamber ensembles in Lyon (France, 2007). Currently, she is the winner of the prize of the Gartow fund.
She has been an active participant in several international music festivals: the Bromsgrove Festival (United Kingdom), Musical Olympus, Time of Music: fin de siecle, Saint Petersburg Musical Spring, From Avant-garde to the Present Day, Ways of Sound, Prima Septembris (Poland), Palaces of Saint Petersburg .
She gave concerts in the cities of Russia, Ukraine, Germany, Austria, Finland, France, Holland, Poland and the Czech Republic.

Slovak Chamber Orchestra was established by the outstanding violinist of Silesian origin, Bohdan Warchal (1930-2000). Since the beginning of its existence it has been one of the most popular ensembles of classical music in Slovakia. Under the leadership of maestro Warchal it became one of the most prominent representatives of Slovak performing art abroad, praised mainly for its meticulous phrasing and gentle sound colour. Music from the Baroque period used to form the main repertoire of the ensemble, later also including music from the 19th and 20th centuries and many first performances of Slovak and foreign composers. The Slovak Chamber Orchestra has participated in many important festivals - Festival de Musique de Strassbourg, Salzburger Festspiele, Festival de Musique Montreux - Vevey, Budapesti Zenei Hetek, Prague Spring and others.
They have toured Europe, North and South America, Australia and Asia. Leading performers - Vladimir Spivakov, Taba Zimmerman, Mikl?s Perenyi, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Cyprien Katsaris, Jean Pierre Rampal, Michala Petri, Heinz Holliger, Peter Schreier, Fran?ois Leleux, Franti?ek Herman, Bernard Soustrot, Guy Touvron etc. have co-operated with them. The ensemble has made more than 100 recordings from different musical periods for local and foreign record companies. Bohdan Warchal as Artistic Leader, led the orchestra for more than 40 years. At the 40th anniversary celebratory concert of the ensemble he expressed the wish that the Silesian-born Ewald Danel, who has been the Artistic Leader since January 2001, should be his successor. The repertoire of the rejuvenated ensemble has moved slightly towards Romanticism and the music of the 20th century. Apart from regular concerts at the Slovak Philharmonic and participation in festivals and concert tours abroad, the orchestra presents many exceptionally interesting projects, like the first Slovak rendition of the complete Bach's Brandenburg Concerts and the Orchestral Suites. They gradually introduced all Concerti Grossi of Georg Friedrich H?ndel, Arcangelo Corelli and the rare set of string symphonies of the young F. Mendelssohn Bartholdy. Apart from this they have performed special concerts for the anniversaries of composers, like Hommage of Bach, Dvorzak, Mozart, Shostakovich, Suchon.
Every year the orchestra commemorates the exceptional contribution made by its founder in a special concert, Hommage of Bohdan Warchal. The orchestra has discovered many works of famous composers for the Slovak public which have been up-tonow unplayed in Slovakia. Since 2001 the ensemble has premiered the works of more than 40 Slovak composers, hereby contributing greatly to the presentation of Slovak musical creation. During the past season the orchestra celebrated its 50th anniversary. For this occasion it performed a number of exceptional concerts. At the anniversary concert to celebrate the first performance of the Slovak Chamber Orchestra 50 years ago, they performed a joint concert with previous, founding and present members. For this anniversary the orchestra recorded a CD with Serenades by A. Dvo??k and J. Suk, which have been part of the basic repertoire of the Slovak Chamber Orchestra since the start of its existence. The orchestra also undertook a successful tour of Japan where they performed 11 concerts in the most famous concert halls in the country, among others Tokyo, Osaka and Yokohama. The orchestra performed at music festivals in the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Poland and the Musikverein in Vienna and this season they will perform at the renowned Konzerthaus in Vienna. A rare performance was held at the Pohoda festival, where they played Vivaldi?s Four Seasons. As part of its regular subscription concerts the orchestra, together with its Artistic Director, performed the Slovak premiere of The Four Seasons by Astor Piazolla and also upheld the old Bratislava tradition of performing Haydn?s Seven Last Words on the Cross in the St. Martin?s Cathedral on Palm Sunday. On an initiative by the Artistic Director Ewald Danel, a new cycle called Music in Temples originated this past season, concluded by an exceptionally successful performance of H?ndel?s Messiah oratorium. After immensely positive response from the public the work will be performed again this season.

DANEL EWALD
Artistic Leader
Studied violin and conducting at the Conservatory in Ostrava, Czech Republic, and at the Academy of Music and Drama in Bratislava. He did his doctoral degree with Prof.Bohdan Warchal and also attended a conducting course with Prof. Karl Oesterreicher at the Hoch-Schule fuer Musik in Vienna, Austria. Having completed his studies, he served as Concertmaster of the Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Orchestra of the Slovak
National Theatre Opera House for two years. From 1985 to 2000 he was the Concertmaster of the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra a position he has again taken up since 2005 as soloist and conductor. In 1992-1996 he has been the Artistic Leader of the city of Bratislava chamber orchestra, Capella Istropolitana, in 1997-1998 he was Guest Concertmaster in Sao Paulo, as conductor and soloist he has been co-operating with the Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra, the Tokyo Harmonia Chamber Orchestra and the Akita Chamber Orchestra on a long-term basis. He has also worked with Klang Verwaltung M?nchen, Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa, Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra, Osaka Philharmoniker Orquestra Filarmonica de Malaga, Praguer Chamber Philharmonie etc.. He has performed on the stages o many European and overseas countries (Japan, South Korea, Egypt, Panama, Brasil and USA) in solo recitals as well as solo concerts with orchestra in the works of Vivaldi, Bach, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Sibelius, Dvorak, Wieniawski, Suchon in co-operation with concuctors like Z.Ko?ler, A.Ceccato, F.Luisi, F.Haider, Y.Toyama, A.Witt, A.Rahbari, E. zu Guttenberg, I.Karabtchevsky, V.Schmidt-Gertenbach, B.Rezucha, O.Len?rd and L.Svarovsky etc.
E.Danel is an experienced chamber music player. He has been involved with different kinds of ensembles - since 1986 the principal player of the Slovak Quartet and in 1987 as a co-founder of the Slovak Piano Trio. His long-term co-operation with many church choirs and musical ensembles forms an important part of his artistic activities. As a teacher he taught at the Academy of Music and Drama from 1987 to 1998 . 2001 he led performance masterclasses for profesional orchestral musicians at the Affinis Music Festival in Japan. In 1999-2003 and in 2007-2009 he was Guest Professor at the Aichi Prefectural University of Fine Arts and Music in Nagoyain Japan.
Since 2001 he has been Artistic Leader of the Slovak Chamber Orchestra with whom, apart from regular concert activities and the performance of well-known works, he carries out many interesting projects, introduces the Slovak public to works from the international music repertoire that have not been performed before and initiates the composition of new works or the premiere performances of numerous works by Slovak composers. Since 2008 he has been the Chief Guest Conductor of the Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra.

Piano duo Silver-Garburg
praised for their "lyrical sensitivity, extraordinary inner perception and overwhelming technical mastery" (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung), the Silver-Garburg Piano Duo enjoys a flourishing international career, with performances in more than fifty countries on five continents.
Their many concerts have taken them to prestigious venues, including the Vienna Musikverein, Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Berlin's Philharmonie and Konzerthaus, the Gewandhaus Leipzig and the Sydney Opera House.
Future engagements include a tour with Muenchener Kammerorchester and Alexander Liebreich that culminates in Vienna's Musikverein, in addition to tours with Deutsche Kammerpilharmonie Bremen and with the Vienna Concert-Verein under the baton of Vladimir Fedoseyev. Orchestral debuts in New Zealand and Italy with the Mantua Chamber Orchestra as well as a reengagement with the Israel Philharmonic are also highlights on the duo's schedule. The duo's concerts will take them to the US and Canada, South America, Australia, Japan and the Far East. In September 2011, they will play at a concert presented by Alfred Brendel, who will speak about Schubert's last works.
Sivan Silver and Gil Garburg record for OehmsClassics. They collaborated with Bayerische Kammerphilharmonie and Christopher Hogwood in the recording of their first CD, Mendelssohn's concerti for two pianos, which was released in 2009. The recording received the Supersonic Award from the Pizzicato magazine. In 2010, the duo released a solo CD, presenting works for piano, four hands by Mendelssohn, including his original version for four hands of A Midsummer Night's Dream. Next year, the duo will record the Poulenc Concerto for two pianos with WDR Rundfunkorchester, followed by a CD with Schubert's last works for piano, four hands.
Silver and Garburg have given master classes at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, the Beijing Central Conservatory of Music and the Tel-Hai International Piano Master Classes in Israel. During 2011, they are artists in residence at the Australian National Academy of Music. They have been teaching a class for piano duo at Hanover's Hochschule for Musik and Theater since October 2001. Sivan and Gil studied with Arie Vardi at the Rubin Music Academy of Music at Tel Aviv University and later passed their soloist exam at Hochschule for Musik und Theater, Hanover, Germany. They have won first prizes in more than a dozen national and international competitions, both as soloists and as a duo.
Sivan and Gil live in Berlin with their son, Itamar.

No one could have imagined what to expect - even Xavier de Maistre himself - when he challenged himself to change the face of the solo harp 16 years ago. Today he plays pieces like Smetana's 'Ma Vlast" in breathtaking precision and presents masterful pieces of music that are usually played by an entire orchestra. The interpretation of these works, that few harpists before him have even considered playing, has contributed to his reputation as one of the most extraordinary musicians of this generation.
As a soloist, Xavier de Maistre has appeared with major orchestras under the direction of such eminent conductors as Riccardo Muti, Andre Previn, Simon Rattle, Heinrich Schiff, Bertrand de Billy, Walter Weller, Gilbert Varga, Josep Pons, Daniele Gatti and Philippe Jordan. He has performed at many of Europe's leading festivals, including those in Schleswig-Holstein, Salzburg, Rheingau, Vienna and Verbier, the Budapest Spring Festival and the Wurzburg Mozart Festival. Among the artists with whom he has performed are Kathleen Battle, Ingolf Turban, Diana Damrau and Barbara Bonney.
Highlights of the 2011/12 season include de Maistre's debut with Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart, appearances with Bremer Philharmoniker, Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Musikollegium Winterthur, Orchestre de Paris, Polish National Orchestra, Orquestra de Cadaques and on tour with Ensemble l'arte del mondo. He performs concertos by composers as diverse as Vivaldi, Rodrigo, Debussy, Mozart, Ginastera, Nino Rota and John Williams. Recital appearances include with Diana Damrau and with Mojca Erdmann in Luxenburg, Zuerich, Bonn, Vienna, Edinburgh International Festival and London's Wigmore Hall. Furthermore, he undertakes a series of chamber music concerts with Daniel Meuller-Schott and Arabella Steinbacher.
In 2008 Xavier de Maistre signed an exclusive contract with RCA/ Sony Music. Releases so far have included music by Haydn, Rodrio, Ginastera and Debussy - the latter for which he was awarded the Echo Klassik Award 2009 as "Instrumentalist of the Year". In 2012, new recording with Ensemble l'arte del mondo will be released.
Xavier de Maistre was born in Toulon and began to study harp at the age of nine. He then studied with Vassilia Briano at the Toulon Conservatory, before perfecting his technique with Catherine Michel and Jacqueline Borot in Paris. In 1998 he was awarded the first prize and two interpretation prizes at the prestigious International Harp Competition in Bloomington, Indiana. Later that same year he went on to become the first French musician to join the ranks of the prestigious Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra - a position which he left in summer 2010 in order to devote himself to his international solo career. Since 2001 Xavier de Maistre has taught at the Hamburg Academy of Music. He also gives regular masterclasses at New York's Juilliard School of Music, Tokyo's Toho University and London's Trinity College of Music.

L'ARTE DEL MONDO
baroque ensemble (Germany)
The orchestra l'arte del mondo, which was founded by artistic director Werner Ehrhardt in 2004, stands in the
tradition of historical performance practice. This is the origin of the orchestra which also presents outstanding performances on modern instruments and with repertoire up to 20th century composers.
The orchestra`s creation was soon followed by invitations to perform in renowned festivals and concert series - such as the Ludwigsburg Schlossfestspiele, Bonn's Beethoven festival, the Konzerthaus in Berlin, and the Cite de la musique in Paris - and to collaborate with the West German Broadcasting Company (WDR) and Deutschlandfunk.
This ensemble's interesting has been documented under the Capriccio and Phoenix Edition CD labels. It includes a number of world premiers and rediscovered orchestral works, operas, and oratorios.
The recording of Nicolas Mehul's comic opera L'Irato ou l'Emporte received the prestigious French award the 'Diapason'.
Beginning in 2011, l'arte del mondo and Werner Ehrhardt will publish their recordings on Sony Classical and Deutsche Harmonia Mundi labels.
The orchestra`s regular guest soloists include the sopranos Simone Kermes, Ruth Ziesak and Chen Reiss, tenors Christoph Pregardien and Thomas Michael Allen, violinists Daniel Hope, Viktoria Mullova and Baiba Skride, trumpeter Reinhold Friedrich, harpist Xavier de Maistre and jazz-pianist Uri Caine.
Performances lead l'arte del mondo to venues like the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, Herkulessaal in Munich, Tonhalle Duesseldorf, the Philharmonie Berlin, the Schwetzinger Festspiele, the Handel Festival in Halle, Musikfestspiele Potsdam-Sanssouci as well as to the Israel Festival, South America (Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo), Turkey, Switzerland and France.
Since Summer 2010 l'arte del mondo is the permanent orchestra in residence of Bayer Kultur in Leverkusen, the culture division of Bayer AG International. This residence includes various performances throughout the concert season with guest artists such as Viktoria Mullova, Ruth Ziesak and Daniel Hope.

WERNER EHRHARDT
(Artistic Director)
Werner Ehrhardt, from Cologne, frequently appears as a guest conductor with orchestras on the international stage. He studied violin with Professor Franz-Josef Maier, historical performance practice
under Sigiswald Kuijken in Brussels, Belgium, and conducting under Professor Karl-Heinz Bloemeke in Detmold, Germany.
Perpetual curiosity and a pronounced interest in different ways of approaching music led him to continue intensive study under Kato Havas at Oxford and Professor Renate Peter in Cologne.
As the artistic director of the world renowned Concerto Koeln chamber orchestra from 1985 to 2005, Werner Ehrhardt developed a characteristic style of interpretation based on historical performance practice.
In 2004, Werner Ehrhardt founded l'arte del mondo in 2004 and turned to traditional orchestras as well. He has since given highly acclaimed performances with numerous international opera, symphony, and chamber orchestras, including the orchestra of the Stuttgart State Opera, the Berlin Konzerthaus Orchestra, the Bern Symphony Orchestra, the Hamburg Symphonic Orchestra, Capriccio Basel,
the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, the Neuss German Chamber Academy, and the Geneva Chamber Orchestra.
He has also worked with soloists such as Daniel Hope, Magdalena Kozena, Barbara Hendricks, Christine Schaefer, Viktoria Mullova, Eva Mei, Andreas Scholl, Chen Reiss, Olli Mustonen, Christiane Oelze, and Thomas Zehetmair.
Werner Ehrhardt's recordings include more than 50 CDs that have won many international awards, including the Echo Classic Prize.

L'arte del mondo baroque ensemble:
Werner Ehrhardt, Violin 1
Andrea Keller-Montes, Violin 1
Valentina Resnyanska, Violin 1
Petar Mancev, Violin 2
Martin Ehrhardt, Violin 2
Zsuzsanna Czentnar, Violin 2
Corina Golomoz, Viola
Linda Mantcheva, Cello
Ioannis Bampaloukas, Double bass
Luca Quintavalle, Harpsichord