Musicians | Cello Biënnale Amsterdam

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Timora Rosler

Israeli-Dutch cellist Timora Rosler won the first prize at the Stuttgart International Cello Competition in 1996. In 1997, she was awarded the ‘Vriendenkrans’ prize of the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. A year later, she received a special prize for her interpretation at the XI. International Bach Competition in Leipzig. She also won the highest prize at the Caltanisetta International Duo Chamber Music Competition in Italy in 1996, together with her regular pianist Klára Würtz, as well as the Concerto Competition at the Aspen Music Festival in the United States and the Clairmont Competition in Israel. Rosler graduated from Yale University, where she studied with Aldo Parisot. She also graduated as a performing musician studying with Dmitry Ferschtman at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam. Timora Rosler has performed at the Cello Biënnale several times already. She performed with the four cellists of the Cello Biënnale Band, with which she gave multiple premieres and will now perform Guus Janssen’s Concertino. Timora Rosler is a professor at the Utrecht Conservatory.

Till Schuler

Till Schuler (Stuttgart, 2000) is one of the four cellists selected for the Roadtrip with Jean-Guihen Queyras – a Project funded with Anner Bijlsma Award prize money – which will be presented on Monday 4 November, 17.00. He studied with Valentin Radutiu at the Hmt Rostock and since then at the HfMT Hamburg with Prof. Sebastian Klinger. Till received further musical impulses from Prof. Wen-Sinn-Yang, Prof. Maria Kliegel, Prof. Gotthard Popp and Prof. Wolfgang Lehner. In 2020, Till won first prize at the 12th International Antonio Janigro Junior Competition in Zagreb, as well as a concert with the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra. In 2020 he won a first prize at the "Gustav Mahler Prize Cello Competition 2021" as well as the special prize of the jury chairman. Since February 2019, Till has been playing a cello by Georges Chanot from Paris from 1840, which has been made available to him by the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben.

Raphael Weinroth-Browne

Raphael Weinroth-Browne (Ottawa, 1991) studied at the University of Ottawa’s School of Music. He is renowned for his technical virtuosity and unique style, in which he combines classical music, metal, and music from the Middle East. He has created viral YouTube covers of famous metal bands such as Opeth, Meshuggah, and Pain of Salvation, was the regular cellist at the world tours of the Norwegian progressive rock band Leprous between 2016 and 2023, and co-founded the band Kamancello with kamancheh player Shahriyar Jamshidi, with whom he performed at the Biënnale in 2018.

Raphaël Pidoux

Raphaël Pidoux (France, 1967) learned to play the cello from his father. At the age of seventeen he entered the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris where he studied under Philippe Muller, Jean- Claude Pennetier and Christophe Coin. Later he studied under the direction of Janos Starker in Bloomington (US). He was a prize winner at the Bach Cello Competition in Leipzig. Besides his international career with the Wanderer Trio, Raphaël Pidoux frequently plays with Christophe Coin, accordionist Richard Galliano, the Ensemble Baroque de Limoges and the Mosaïc Quartet, as well as with orchestras such as Les Siècles and Orchestre de l’Opéra de Rouen. Raphaël Pidoux teaches at the Conservatoire national supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris and plays a cello made by Goffredo Cappa, around 1680.

Quirine Viersen

Quirine Viersen received her first cello lessons from her father Yke Viersen, who was a cellist in the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra from 1971 to 2014. She went on to study with Jean Decroos and later with Dmitry Ferschtman at the Conservatory of Amsterdam. She completed her studies at the Mozarteum Salzburg with Heinrich Schiff. Quirine has won many prizes at international competitions. In 1994, she was the first Dutch laureate of the Tchaikovsky Competition. In 1996, she formed a duo with pianist Silke Avenhaus and recorded five CDs with romantic and contemporary music. These were received with great enthusiasm, as were her recordings of the solo suites by Bach and Britten. She has worked with musicians such as Antje Weithaas, Thomas Beijer, Leonidas Kavakos and Liza Ferschtman, and has performed as soloist with various major orchestras in and outside The Netherlands, such as the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Vienna Philharmonic. Her recital in the Concertgebouw Amsterdam in 2017 marked the successful beginning of her collaboration with pianist Enrico Pace. Ever since the first Cello Biënnale in 2006, she has performed at the festival regularly as soloist, including in concertos by Vieuxtemps and Korngold. At the Cello Biënnale 2018, one of her performances included the world premiere of Glacier, a solo cello piece composed for her by Jacob ter Veldhuis. Quirine plays a cello by Joseph Guarnerius Fillius Andrea from 1715, made available to her by the Dutch Musical Instruments Foundation.

Pieter Wispelwey

Pieter Wispelwey began his cello studies with Dicky Boeke and went on to study at the Conservatory of Amsterdam with Anner Bijlsma, as well as in the United States with Paul Katz. In 1992, he was the first cellist to receive the Dutch Music Prize. Pieter Wispelwey feels at home on a modern cello just as much as on a Baroque cello. As a soloist, he performs all over the world with a remarkably broad range of repertoire. He has an impressive discography – he has recorded more than 30 CDs – which includes three recordings of Bach’s complete cello suites. In 2013, he released a CD with works by Schubert performed on authentic instruments, as well as a CD with Lalo’s cello concerto combined with Saint-Saëns’ rarely played second cello concerto. He currently teaches at the Conservatory of Amsterdam and the Robert Schumann Hochschule in Düsseldorf. Pieter Wispelwey plays a Giovanni Battista Guadagnini made in 1760 and a Baroque cello made by Pieter Rombouts in 1710.

Pepijn Meeuws

Pepijn Meeuws (Roermond, 1974) studied with Jean Decroos and Dmitry Ferschtman at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague. He has received masterclasses from Steven Isserlis and Frans Helmerson, among others. In 2001, he co-founded Trio Suleika, with which he went on to win various prizes and distinctions, such as the ‘Vriendenkrans’ prize of the Royal Concertgebouw (2002) and the prestigious Kersjesprijs (2007). In addition to his career as a cellist, Pepijn performs as an actor, magician, and musical saw player. With his colleagues, pianist Maurice Lammerts van Bueren and violinist Emmy Storms, Pepijn premiered the musical theatre show De Suleika’s en het Mysterie van de Gevoelige Snaar (‘The Suleikas and the Mystery of the Sensitive String’) in November 2011, directed by Jochem Stavenuiter. In 2014, Pepijn produced and performed his own family show Cello! Cello! Ma non troppo, which was commissioned by the Cello Biënnale and in which he collaborated with cellist Emile Visser and director Jochem Stavenuiter. He even built part of the decor for the show himself. Pepijn Meeuws has been a member of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra since 2005.

Pau Sola Masafrets

Örs Köszeghy

Hungarian cellist Örs Köszeghy (1980, Budapest) was the winner of the second prize at the seventh Hungarian National János Starker Competition, and a finalist of the International David Popper Cello Competition in 2001. Hij has made recordings for various labels and played a part in the documentary The Secret of Boccherini with cellist Anner Bijlsma, with whom he has worked together closely. He is passionate about chamber music: in addition to being a part of the string trio Trio Dumas, he also performs with the clarinet trio Maneon Trio, gives duo concerts with violinist Diet Tilanus, and recitals with pianist Daniël Kramer. His interpretations of 20th-Century solo cello compositions have led him to perform at many major venues and festivals, from the Cello Biënnale to the Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival. He received his first degree from the Franz Liszt Academy of Music, studying with Csaba Onczay. He continued his studies at the Conservatory of Amsterdam with Dmitry Ferschtman, where he received his Master’s degree in 2006. He has been a member of Amsterdam Sinfonietta since 2009.

Nicolas Altstaedt

German-French cellist Nicolas Altstaedt studied at the Hochschule für Musik “Hanns Eisler” with Boris Pergamenschikow and later with Eberhard Feltz. He is also a conductor and the Artistic Director of various festivals. Altstaedt enjoys playing contemporary music and has performed works by composers such as Thomas Adès, Fazil Say, Jörg Widmann, Matthias Pintscher, Sofia Gubaidulina, and Helena Winkelman. New concertos have recently been composed for him by Anders Hillborg, Márton Illés, Erkki-Sven Tüür, and Liza Lim. His interpretations and performances of Baroque and classical music are unparallelled; as a soloist in J.S. Bach’s solo suites as well as in collaboration with lutist Thomas Dunford and harpsichordist Jean Rondeau, and with Ensemble Arcangelo in their recording of the complete cello concertos by C.P.E. Bach and Boccherini. In 2018, Nicolas Altstaedt was the Artist in Spotlight at the Concertgebouw, and has been the Artistic Director of the Internationales Kammermusikfest Lockenhaus since 2012, succeeding Gidon Kremer. He has also been the Artistic Director and conductor of the Haydn Philharmonie since 2014.

Marie Spaemann

Cello and voice

Manuel Lipstein

Manuel Lipstein was born in Germany in 2001. He began playing the cello at the age of six, and four years later began studying with Prof. Katharina Deserno and Prof. Maria Kliegel at the Cologne University of Music. Manuel Lipstein has been studying as a young soloist at the Kronberg Academy with Prof. Frans Helmerson since September 2019. He is tutored in composition by Prof. Gerhard Müller-Hornbach and in conducting by Prof. Vassilis Christopoulos. Manuel received further inspiration in masterclasses from Mischa Maisky, Martha Argerich, Leonid Gorokhov, Wolfgang-Emanuel Schmidt and Jens-Peter-Maintz, among others. Manuel has already won numerous national and international competitions. He received the “Premier Grand Prix” at the “Concours Flame” in Paris, the 1st prize and the special prize at the “Concours de Violoncelle Prix Edmond Baert” in Brussels and was awarded the “WDR 3 Klassikpreis der Stadt Münster”. He is also a prizewinner at the “Antonio Janigro Competition” in Croatia and at the “Karl Friedrich Dotzauer Competition” in Dresden.As a composer, Manuel has performed at the AchtBücken Festival in Cologne and at the Aurora Festival in Sweden, among others. For his compositions he has already received several state and federal prizes at “Jugend Composed” as well as a WASPE special prize. His work “Two Scenes for Recorder Solo” was nominated as a compulsory piece at the ERPS competition in Bolzano and is published by Edition Walhall. He is also writing a composition for the “250 pieces for Beethoven” project. At this Biënnale, he will perform his newest composition, commissioned by the Biënnale in collaboration with JongNBE, in the programme ‘Waldesruhe’ taking place on Sunday, November 10th.

Luca Giovannini

Luca Giovannini (Italy, 2000) studied cello with Luca Simoncini at the Francesco Venezze Conservatory in his hometown of Rovigo. He studied at the Kronberg Academy from 2019 to 2023 with Frans Helmerson. He won the prestigious Johannes Brahms Competition 2018, third prize at the Schoenfeld Competition and second prize at the Janigro Young Competition 2016. Masterclasses with David Geringas, Lynn Harrel, Enrico Dindo and Marti Roussi have provided him with further experience and inspiration.He was a member of the cello excellence class with M° Gautier Capuçon at the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris and the R. Romanini Academy in Brescia with M° G. Sollima. In 2020 Luca recorded a CD for the label Velut Luna with the complete cello sonatas by Brahms with the pianist Leonora Armellini. He plays a cello by Ansaldo Poggi dating from 1927, which is loaned to him by Mario Brunello.

Laura van der Heijden

Laura van der Heijden, British cellist with Dutch roots, has recently received great reviews of her most recent CD recording with English music, including Walton’s cello concerto; the concerto with which she won the BBC Young Musician Competition in 2012, aged 15. Her earlier CD recordings were received with similar enthusiasm, such as the CD 1948 on which she plays Russian music with pianist Petr Limonov, and the CD Pohádka, which included music of Janáček and Kodály, with pianist Jâms Coleman. Collaborations with her fellow musicians are of the utmost importance to Laura; she regularly takes part in international chamber music courses and festivals. She is a member of the Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective and frequently performs with the Brodsky Quartet. Laura van der Heijden was a student of the renowned British-Russian cellist Leonid Gorokhov, and she has regularly took part in masterclasses with David Geringas, Ralph Kirshbaum, and Miklós Perényi. Laura plays a late 17th-Century cello by Francesco Ruggieri from Cremona, on loan from a private collection.

Kristina Blaumane

Kristina Blaumane (Riga, Latvia) studied at the Latvian Academy of Music and the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London. She became the principal cellist of Amsterdam Sinfonietta in 1988, and in 2007 she was appointed principal cellist of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Apart from being a highly demanded soloist, she is also a fervent chamber musician. She has performed alongside musicians such as Isaac Stern, Yo-Yo Ma, Mischa Maisky, Yuri Bashmet, Gidon Kremer, Leif Ove Andsnes, and Janine Jansen. Kristina is a great champion of contemporary music. She has given numerous premieres and has had various works composed for her, including cello concertos by Dobrinka Tabakova, Kristaps Pētersons, Pēteris Plakidis, and Artem Vassiliev. At the Cello Biënnale in 2008, she gave the premiere of Dobrinka Tabakova’s cello concerto.

Jeroen den Herder

Jeroen den Herder completed his studies with distinction with Maria Hol, Dmitry Ferschtman and Christopher Bunting. Den Herder gained several music awards. Among them a first prize-winner of the “Postbank Sweelinck” cello competition and the first prize of the Foundation of the Royal Concertgebouw Amsterdam. He’s been an active chamber music player, performing as a member of the Ruysdael Quartet. Between 1999 and 2012 Jeroen was the cellist of the Nieuw Ensemble, one of the leading Dutch ensembles for contemporary music. Fulfilling the function of artistic director CelloWercken Zutphen, which embodies both the International Cello Festival and the Cello Academy, he commissioned contemporary composers the write for the festival, leading to inspired projects such as The Tibetan Book of the Death and Passion of Innocence. Den Herder has been a dedicated teacher ever since he took a professorship at the age of 22 at the Utrecht Conservatory. He’s been a regular guest teacher at the Conservatory in Minsk (2003-2010) and visiting guest- professor at the University in Tainan, Taiwan. Furthermore he has given masterclasses in Holland, Belgium, Spain, Germany, France, China and Israel. Today he helds positions as a teacher at the Conservatories of Utrecht and Rotterdam.

Hayoung Choi

South Korean cellist Hayoung Choi (1998, Bielefeld) studied at the Purcell School for young Musicians in England. She earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from the Kronberg Academy studying with Frans Helmerson and Wolfgang Emmanuel Schmidt. Hayoung appeared at the Cello Biënnale in 2018 already, as one of the cellists at the traditional Kronberg Academy concert. In 2022, Hayoung was the winner of the prestigious Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels. She has also won prizes at the Krzysztof Penderecki Cello Competition and the Johannes Brahms Competition in Austria. Following her successes at international competitions, she has performed all over the world as a soloist with numerous orchestras. Hayoung Choi plays the 1707 Ex-Starker filius Guarneri cello, made available to her by an anonymous sponsor.

Harriet Krijgh

Harriet Krijgh won the First Prize as well as the Audience Prize during the National Cello Competition in 2012. In that same year, she founded her own festival in Feistritz under the name Harriet & Friends, and in June 2017 she took over from Janine Jansen for several years as Artistic Director of the International Chamber Music Festival Utrecht. Harriet is an enthusiastic chamber musician. She enjoys the strong personal connection when touring with her regular piano partners Magda Amara and Lauma Skride. Harriet Krijgh performes in the major venues in Europe, North America and Asia. Harriet is also regular guest at international festivals such as the Heidelberger Frühling, Grafenegg Festival and the Schubertiade Hohenems. Harriet’s discography also comprises eight discs, six of them released by Capriccio, two CD’s for Deutsche Grammophon. Harriet performs on a Domenico Montagnana cello (Venice, 1723) whose scroll was made by Stradivarius. The rare instrument is on loan to her by the Prokopp Foundation.

Frans Helmerson

Swedish cellist Frans Helmerson (1945) started his musical education with Guido Vecchi in Gothenburg and later studied with Giuseppe Selmi in Rome and William Pleeth in London. He has performed as a soloist in the US, South America, Asia, and Europe with numerous international orchestras. His passion for chamber music makes him a beloved guest at major European music festivals. He was also the Artistic Director of the International Chamber Music Festival Umeå -Korsholm for a significant amount of time. In 2002, he founded the Michelangelo String Quartet with Mihaela Martin, Stephan Picard, and Nobuko Imai. In addition to his career as a soloist, chamber musician and conductor, Helmerson is a renowned pedagogue. He is currently a professor at the Kronberg Academy in Germany and gives masterclasses all over the world. Frans Helmerson plays a cello by Domenico Montagna (1690-1750).

Francesco Dillon

Francesco Dillon (Turin, 1973) earned his degrees under the tutelage of Andrea Nannoni in Florence. He went on to follow lessons with Anner Bijlsma, Mario Brunello, David Geringas, and Mstislav Rostropovich. At the same time, he was studying composition with Salvatore Sciarrino. In 1993, he was one of the founders of Quartetto Prometeo, a string quartet with which he has won numerous international prizes. Dillon is also a part of the Alter Ego Ensemble, an Italian contemporary music group with which he travels all over the world. Since 2020, he has held the cello Master Course at the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole (Firenze). He has been the Artistic Director of the contemporary music Festival Music@villaromana in Florence and has held the same position at “CastelCello” Festival in Brunnenburg since 2019.

Eric-Maria Couturier

Vietnam-born French cellist Éric-Maria Couturier is a professor at the Conservatoires in both Paris and Lyon. He himself studied with Christian Ivaldi and Roland Pidoux in Paris. Couturier is a uniquely versatile cellist. He plays in the classical Trio Talweg, has played in the ensemble InterContemporain since 2002, and has performed as a soloist with and in orchestras under the baton of conductors such as Boulez, Solti, Sawallisch, Mällki, Pintscher, and others. Together with composer Olivier Derivière, he created music for video games like Plague Innocent Tale/Requiem, Vampyre, and Dying Light. Fascinated by teaching based on improvisation, as well as the discovery of new techniques, Eric-Maria Couturier created Les Ateliers du violoncelle with Noémie Boutin and Vincent Courtois, with whom he regularly performs. He plays with the bows of Claudia Carmona and Jean Grumberger.

Erica Piccotti

Erica Piccotti (Rome, 1999) began her studies with Francesco Storino, graduated at the S. Cecilia Conservatory in Rome, and then continued her studies with Antonio Meneses at the Hochschule der Kunste in Bern, the W. Stauffer Academy in Cremona and the Accademia Chigiana in Siena. She then got her Master of Music degree with Frans Helmerson and the “Professional Studies” course at the Kronberg Academy. Erica currently studies with J.P.Maintz at the Universität der Kunste in Berlin. Erica Piccotti plays a cello by Ettore Soffritti, Ferrara, 1925.

Doris Hochscheid

Dmitry Ferschtman

Dmitry Ferschtman (Moscow, 1945) studied at the Moscow Conservatory with Galina Kozolupova and Natalia Gutman. During his studies at the conservatory he co-founded the Glinka Quartet with Misha Geller, among others. He played in the ensemble from 1966 to 1978, giving hundreds of concerts in the Soviet Union and abroad. In 1978, Ferschtman settled in The Netherlands. He has performed as a soloist numerous times, under conductors such as Frans Brüggen, Kenneth Montgomery, and Edo de Waart, and has made many radio recordings. He is also an extremely active chamber musician. He has given countless recitals and recorded numerous CDs with his wife, Mila Baslawskaja. Dmitry Ferschtman has been a professor at the Conservatory of Amsterdam, Utrecht Conservatory, and the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague. He is currently leading the string quartet course at the Conservatory of Amsterdam.

Charlotte Miles

Charlotte Miles (Melbourne 2002) is one of the four cellists selected for the Roadtrip with Jean-Guihen Queyras – a project funded with Anner Bijlsma Award prize money – which will be presented on Monday 4 November, 17.00. At this moment she is a postgraduate student of Prof. Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt at the Hochschule für Musik “Franz Liszt” in Weimar, Germany. She performs on a c.1760 Joseph Hill cello kindly on loan from an Australian collection.

Benjamin Glorieux

Benjamin Glorieux started his cello lessons with Jan Van Kelst. He went on to study with Vivian Spanoghe and Jeroen Reuling in Ghent and Brussels. Thanks to an Erasmus scholarship, Benjamin travelled to Geneva to study with François Guye and shortly after, he was accepted into the Musikhochschule in Cologne to receive lessons from the Alban Berg Quartet, among others. He was greatly inspired by lessons from the Danel Quartet, Kronos Quartet, Hagen Quartet, Artemis Quartet, and cellists Gary Hoffman and Roel Dieltiens. Benjamin Glorieux is one of those versatile musicians who is at home in centuries-old music as much as he is in contemporary classical music. He has performed with jazz musicians and has been a part of various theatre productions. He is the Artistic Director of Aton' & Armide, a collective with a flexible setting. As a composer, Benjamin mainly composes and publishes music for cello solo, sometimes in a dialogue with pre-recorded and edited tapes. Together with pianist Anthony Romaniuk, Benjamin explores the cello repertoire from classicism to modernism, on the basis of authentic instruments.

Anne-Christin Schwarz

Anne-Christin Schwarz studied cello at the Hochschule für Musik ‘Hanns Eisler’ in Berlin with Stephan Forck and chamber music with Michael Mücke and Wolf-Dieter Batzdorf, among others. She plays in classical chamber ensembles as well as cross-genre formations, in which she also performs as a singer. During her studies she worked together with jazz cellist Stephan Braun to form the jazz ensemble Deep Strings, with which she will perform at this edition of CELLOFEST.

Alisa Weilerstein

Alisa Weilerstein (Rochester, USA, 1982) started playing the cello at four years of age and made her concert-stage debut when she was thirteen. As a soloist she has performed with a number of major orchestras on four continents. She is also active in chamber music and performs with her parents, violinist Donald Weilerstein (the founding first violinist of the Cleveland Quartet) and pianist Vivian Hornik-Weilerstein, as the Weilerstein Trio. A champion of contemporary music, Alisa Weilerstein has worked extensively with composers such as Osvaldo Golijov, Lera Auerbach and Joseph Hallman, several of whose works, written specifically for her, she premiered. Alisa Weilerstein plays a cello made by William Forster in 1790.

Alexander Warenberg

Alexander Warenberg (1998) started playing the cello when he was 5 years old. From age eight, he received lessons from Monique Bartels. From 2016 to 2019, Alexander studied with Frans Helmerson at the Barenboim-Said Akademie in Berlin, after which he continued his studies with the same professor at the Kronberg Academy. He is currently studying at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium with Gary Hoffman and Jeroen Reuling. Alexander has won the first prize at the Britten Cello Competition and the national competition of the Stichting Jong Muziektalent Nederland (‘Dutch Foundation for Young Musical Talent’). In 2016, he won the First Prize and the Audience Prize at the National Cello Competition. He also won the first prize at the international Antonio Janigro Cello Competition in Croatia. In 2019, Alexander Warenberg released his first album ‘Sonatas’ under the label TRPTK, with music by Shostakovich and Rachmaninov. In 2021, Alexander was the recipient of the Grachtenfestival Prize. Alexander plays an Alessandro D’Espine cello, previously owned by Paul Tortelier, on loan from a member of the Stretton Foundation.

Alban Gerhardt

Alban Gerhardt (Berlin, 1969) undoubtedly is one of the great cellists of our time. His sound is clear and his interpretations stand out in their originality. He reinvents famous compositions and gives new life to little-known repertoire. His collaborations with composers such as Unsuk Chin, Pēteris Vasks, and Brett Dean showcase his interest in expanding the cello repertoire. An ever-growing audience follows Gerhardt’s stage performances, in which he tries to break outdated listening and concert conventions in a mission to open the way to classical music for young people; for example by playing at schools, hospitals, trains, youth detention centres, and other public spaces. In early 2017, Gerhardt founded #Musicians4UnitedEurope , a group of international musicians who work together to achieve a united and democratic Europe through their music.

Emma van Schadewijk

Florianne Remme

Florianne Remme studied with Jiri Prchal, Corine ’t Hoen, and Lucia Swarts at the Conservatoires in Groningen and The Hague. She is currently studying at the Conservatory in Brussels with Jeroen Reuling. Florianne has won prizes at various competitions and festivals, including the Prinses Christina Concours, Festival Verão Clássico in Lisbon, and the Cello Biënnale Amsterdam. In the 23/24 season, she was a part of the Academy of the Concertgebouw Orchestra. Since 2019, Florianne has been playing a Thomas Bertrand cello (Brussels), on loan from Strings for Talent and the King Baudouin Foundation. She has her bow, a J.J. Martin (Paris), on loan from the Dutch Musical Instruments Foundation.

Isaac Lottman

Isaac Lottman (Amsterdam, 2003) received his first lessons from Atie Aarts when he was three years old. He went on to receive lessons with Monique Bartels and Charles Watt. When he was 13, he was accepted into the Sweelinck Academy in Amsterdam, where he studied with Monique Heidema. After completing the Academy, he did a preliminary year at the Conservatory of Amsterdam with Maarten Mostert and Pieter Wispelwey. He is currently in his third Bachelor year in the class of Pieter Wispelwey. Isaac has received masterclasses from Jean-Guihen Queyras, Dmitri Ferschtman, Gary Hoffman, Jeroen Reuling, Anastasia Kobekina, and Matthias Bartolomey. In 2019, Isaac won the Britten competition, and in 2022 he received the Second Prize at the National Cello Competition. He has performed as a soloist with various youth and student orchestras in The Netherlands and abroad. He is passionate about chamber music and is the cellist of the Fontana Quartet.

Stefano Bruno

Stefano Bruno (2000, Italy) is a laureate of numerous international competitions. At age 18, he won the 1st prize at the VIII International Cello Competition “David Popper” in Hungary. In 2022, he won the First Prize at the National Cello Competition. Stefano studied at the Conservatory in Foggia, Italy. He continued his studies with Giovanni Gnocchi in Bologna and with Francesco Dillon and Paolo Bonomini in Fiesole. In the past years, Stefano Bruno has been studying at the National Academy of Santa Cecilia in Rome with Giovanni Sollima and at the Conservatory of Amsterdam in the class of Pieter Wispelwey. He concluded his studies summa cum laude at both institutions. In 2022, he made his debut in the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, with a solo recital in the Kleine Zaal as well as in Elgar’s Cello Concerto conducted by Ed Spanjaard in the Grote Zaal. Stefano is a passionate chamber musician. He is a member of the Trio Eidos (piano trio), the duo Greci-Bruno (duo violin and cello), Ensemble Opificio Sonoro (ensemble for contemporary music) and regularly gives cello and piano recitals with Daniël Kramer. Stefano plays a cello made by Rene Jacquemin between 1925 and 1930 in Mirecourt.

Leonard Elschenbroich

Leonard Elschenbroich (Frankfurt, 1985) was ten years old when he received a scholarship to study at the Yehudi Menuhin School in London. We went on to study with Frans Helmerson at the Hochschule für Musik Köln. Elschenbroich received the Leonard Bernstein Award at the opening of the Schleswig-Holstein Festival 2009, following his performance of Brahms’ Double Concerto with Anne-Sophie Mutter conducted by Christoph Eschenbach. He has since been praised as one of the most charismatic cellists of his generation. Elschenbroich has commissioned works by composers such as Mark-Anthony Turnage, Luca Lombardi, Arlene Sierra, and Suzanne Farrin. At the Proms in London, he gave the world premiere of Mark Simpson’s Cello Concerto, which was composed specially for him. Elschenbroich also gave the world premiere of Willem Jeths’ second Cello Concerto at the Cello Biënnale in 2022. In 2012, he co-founded the Orquesta Filarmonica de Bolivia, the first orchestra to perform a Mahler symphony in the country’s history. Elschenbroich regularly returns to Bolivia to lead educational projects and develop orchestras. This led Elschenbroich to start exploring conducting with various orchestras; for example, the Residentie Orchestra in 2021, which premiered a new cello concerto by Joël Bons under his baton, with Lidy Blijdorp as soloist. Leonard Elschenbroich plays the Matteo Goffriller 'Ex-Leonard Rose-Ex-Alfredo Piatti' cello (Venice, 1693), on private loan.

Sokratis Sinopoulos

Sokratis Sinopoulos (Athens, 1974) began playing the guitar at a young age and was a part of a children’s choir. He became interested in the Byzantine musical tradition and explored traditional folk music. Since 1988, he has played the Cretan lyra. This three-stringed pear-shaped instrument originates from Constantinople – known today as Istanbul. Sokratis Sinopoulos joined his teacher Ross Daly’s ensemble, Labyrinthos. Since then, he has performed with numerous instrumentalists and singers, varying in genre from folk music to jazz. He has commissioned new works from various composers, thus stimulating a renewed insterest in his instrument. He has performed at the Cello Biënnale Amsterdam several times already, in the ensemble with the Chemirani brothers and with Jean-Guihen Queyras.

Frank van de Laar

Frank van de Laar (Laren, 1965) completed his studies with Jan Wijn at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam in 1989 with the highest possible distinction. He continued his education in Hannover with Karl-Heinz Kämmerling and in Amsterdam with Naum Grubert. In 1987, he won the 3d prize at the International Brahms Competition in Hamburg and in 1988, he won the first prize at the Postbank-Sweelinck Competition. He made his debut in the Grote Zaal of the Concertgebouw that same year, and numerous performances in The Netherlands and abroad followed in high tempo. He has given concerts in the United States, Asia, and almost all European countries, winning many prizes and distinctions. His repertoire spans from the entire Baroque era to contemporary music, with an interesting role for lesser known early and contemporary works. He is also an active chamber musician. His performances have been recorded by countless radio and television channels and he has released over twenty-five CDs. He is a professor at the conservatories in Amsterdam and Zwolle.

Candida Thompson

Candida Thompson graduated in 1989 with distinction from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in Lonodn as a student of David Takeno, and continued her education at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Canada. She has led string orchestras in Scandinavia, The Netherlands, and Great Britain. She has performed in chamber settings with musicians such as Isaac Stern, Bruno Giuranna, Frans Helmerson, Janine Jansen, Julian Rachlin, and at festivals including the Kuhmo Festival (Finland), the Gubbio Festival (Italy), and the Delft Chamber Music Festival. She forms the Hamlet Piano Trio with cellist Xenia Jankovic and pianist Paolo Giacometti. She has been the concertmaster of Amsterdam Sinfonietta since 1995, and their Artistic Director since 2003. Candida plays a Guarneri del Gesù (1698-1744) kindly on loan from a private collector.

Daniël Kramer

From a young age, Daniël Kramer received lesson from Ton Hartsuiker. He went on to study at the Conservatory of Amsterdam with Håkon Austbø, where he received his Master’s degree with distinction. He also received lessons from Rudolf Jansen, Willem Brons, Murray Perahia, and Claude Helffer, among others. He won prizes at the Prinses Christina Concours in 1994, Concorso Seghizzi in 2008, and the Concours Olivier Messiaen in Paris in 2007. His performances as a soloist include concerts with the Residentie Orchestra of The Hague, the Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic conducted by Peter Eötvös, the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra conducted by Werner Herbers, and the Netherlands Youth Orchestra conducted by Reinbert de Leeuw. He has collaborated with various composers, such as George Benjamin, Louis Andriessen, Toshio Hosokawa, and Sofia Gubaidulina, and has premiered numerous contemporary works. Daniël Kramer is the principal accompanist of the National Cello Competition and has given many concerts with laureates. He recently collaborated with Eline Hensels, the winner of the competition in 2018, to record a CD which was recently nominated for an Edison.

CvA Symfonieorkest

The Symphony Orchestra of the Conservatory of Amsterdam has played an important part at many editions of the Cello Biënnale. Under the baton of Tan Dun, the orchestra gave a historic performance of The Map, Tan Dun’s multimedia ‘cello concerto’. The orchestra also gave the world premiere of Richard Rijnvos’ Barbara Baccante, has given various Dutch premieres, and has performed with soloists such as Mischa Maisky, Nicolas Altstaedt, and Frans Helmerson. Additionally, the orchestra has accompanied the three finalists of the National Cello Competition numerous times. This year they will do the same: under Leonard Elschenbroich, the orchestra will perform Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations three times at the Final Round.

Residentie Orkest

Phion

Phion was born from Het Gelders Orkest and Orkest van het Oosten (Netherlands Symphony Orchestra). Both these orchestras had a rich history, that of Het Gelders Orkest going back as far as 1889 (!). The East of The Netherlands has thus been served exceptionally well for decades by high-level orchestra musicians and conductors such as Jaap van Zweden, Jan Willem de Vriend, Marin Sieghart, and Ed Spanjaard. Since 2020, Otto Tausk has been the chief conductor of Phion. In 2022, Phion gave its first performance at the Cello Biënnale with Anastasia Kobekina and Kian Soltani in Dmitri Kabalevsky’s two cello concertos.

Orchestra of the 18th Century

Nederlands Kamerorkest

The Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, led by master violinist Gordan Nikolić, is a small and intimate orchestra of 25 to 45 musicians and performs dozens of times a year in Amsterdam – mainly in the Concertgebouw, but also in the Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ and in other concert halls in The Netherlands and abroad. Additionally, the orchestra does not shy away from less conventional venues: the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra regularly sells out Paradiso with concerts featuring 20th-Century composers such as Mahler and Stravinsky. As a regular orchestral partner of the National Opera, the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra and the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra are internationally considered two of the best opera orchestras.

BartolomeyBittmann

The Austrian duo of Matthias Bartolomey on the cello and Klemens Bittman on violin and mandola has been an absolute audience favourite since their first performance at the Cello Biënnale. Classically trained, they are masters of improvisation and effortlessly connect the most different music genres – from jazz to rock. Their energy, flawlessness, and tender cantilenas never fail to impress. For the past ten years, they have continuously worked on a unique repertoire, earning them the nickname ‘progressive strings Viennna’. They are always searching for the acoustic essence of their instruments, without falling back on electronics or effects, and they take the time to do it properly. Their CD Zehn was a celebration of their ten-year anniversary as an ensemble. It contains new pieces, most of them composed during the Covid lockdown. Matthias Bartolomey – cello Klemens Bittmann – violin, mandola

Asko|Schönberg

Asko|Schönberg is one of the most renowned groundbreaking ensembles for contemporary music. Their most important pillars are quality, experimentation, and innovative programming with an eye for current affairs. With a rich network of musicians, conductors, composers, versatile young creators, and partners from various artistic disciplines, Asko|Schönberg contributes to the future of performing arts. Their focus lies on the stimulation and creation of new work by today’s creators. From its homebase in Amsterdam, the ensemble operates all over the world. Their performances in concert halls, festivals, and interdisciplinary shows feature the top repertoire by the great 20th-Century composers as well as the most contemporary 21st-Century work, with an emphasis on pieces by living composers. Asko|Schönberg has given numerous premieres and performances of rarely played cello concertos at previous editions of the Cello Biënnale Amsterdam.

Amsterdam Sinfonietta

Amsterdam Sinfonietta was founded in 1988 with Lev Markiz as the first Artistic Director. Candida Thompson has been the orchestra’s concertmaster since 1995 and became the Artistic Director in 2003. Throughout the past decades, Amsterdam Sinfonietta has grown into a regular guest at European concert halls and festivals. Amsterdam Sinfonietta has played a prominent role at the Cello Biënnale since the first edition in 2006, often giving world premieres of pieces by composers such as Dobrinka Tabakova, Pēteris Vasks, and David Lang. Amsterdam Sinfonietta is characterised by its innovative programming. In addition to the core string repertoire, the orchestra brings original and exciting combinations of pieces, connects early and contemporary music, well-known and unknown repertoire. The orchestra commissions compositions and arrangements. It enters into unexpected collaborations and performs groundbreaking programmes, often including film, dance, and theatre. Amsterdam Sinfonietta has recorded various CDs under the label BIS, including Mendelssohn’s complete string symphonies, as well as 14 CDs since 2004 under their regular label Channel Classics, including The Mahler Album, The Argentinian Album, Lento Religioso, a collection of short arrangements for string orchestra, and Formidable, a collection of French chansons with baritone Thomas Oliemans. The orchestra has also recorded under the labels ECM, Sony Classical, and Deutsche Grammophon. Their first classical music film Strings saw its premiere in March 2020, followed by the releases of the films Misirlou (traditional), Atashgah (Jacobsen), and Tango (Piazzolla).

Cello Octet Amsterdam

Cello Octet Amsterdam has been a regular guest at the Cello Biënnale since the first edition in 2006. The Cello Octet is an adventurous collective of cellists that specialises in new music and interdisciplinary performances. The Octet has become a renowned name in today’s contemporary music scene, in part thanks to collaborations with composers such as Philip Glass, Sofia Gubaidulina, Arvo Pärt, Theo Loevendie, Mauricio Kagel, Michael Gordon, and Kate Moore. After the premier of his first piece for the Octet, Arvo Pärt said: “The Octet is worth a fortune, I have discovered this ensemble 10 years too late.” The cellists of Cello Octet Amsterdam manifest not only as a close, world-class chamber music ensemble, but also as groundbreaking performers in shows such as Cellokrijgers (“Celo Warriors”), or as a rock band in Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Cello Band. Driven by the conviction that musicians are at the centre of society and carry the responsibility to contribute to social discussions, the Octet regularly enters unique collaborations with composers, theatre makers, choreographers, and social organisations. Their shows Instant Happiness and Instant Love (co-production with Via Berlin) focused on current topics such as consumerism in society and human trafficking, and the Octet has recently been exploring themes like diversity and migration. Together with the Cello Biënnale, the Cello Octet developed the education project ‘de Bestorming’.

Emile Visser

Emile Visser (1973) studied at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague with Godfried Hoogeveen and Dmitry Ferschtman. Even before completing his classical study, he already became a member of Zapp4, a string quartet specialised in improvised music, jazz, pop, rock and ethnic music, which has achieved a reputation as one of the most unconventional and groovy string quartets in The Netherlands. Since 2002, Emile has been a regular member of the Metropole Orchestra as well as Metrocelli. He is also a member of Nikitov, an ensemble specialised in Yiddish music. For the Cello Biënnale in 2014, he collaborated with cellist Pepijn Meeuws to create the children’s show Cello! Cello! Ma non Troppo. He was also the soloist of the Hello Cello Orchestra that year and shared the stage with singer Nora Fischer and cellist Annie Tångberg in one of the Late Cello Nights. In 2022, he and Annie Tångberg performed as soloists with the Metropole Orchestra in Bill Laurance’s new double concerto.

Annie Tångberg

Annie Tångberg studied musicology at the University of Oslo and pedagogy at the Barratt Due Institute of Music. In 1995, she came to the Netherlands to study at the Royal Conservatoire in The Hague, where she received her Master’s degree in chamber music. Annie is a musical omnivore, and that shows in the versatility of the groups in which she plays: the Metropole Orchestra, the Sonja van Hamel Band, Elastic Jargon, the West Side Trio, Duo Percucello and Trio Hoorncomfort and, of course, Metrocelli. She has played music for various silent films at the Eye film museum, and she regularly composes new music. At the Cello Biënnale in 2022, she was a soloist in Bill Laurance’s new double concerto and she made the arrangements for the Tango Evening. Annie plays an English cello built around 1840, on loan from the Dutch Musical Instruments Foundation.

Giovanni Sollima

Giovanni Sollima (Palermo, 1962) studied cello with Giovanni Perriera and Antonio Janigro, and composition with his father and Milko Kelemen. He is a true cello virtuoso and a remarkable composer. He communicates through music that is full of Mediterranean rhythms and typically Italian melodies, and he covers all style periods; from the ‘Jura of the Cello’ – as he calls the Baroque period – to metal. Furthermore, he is a qualified researcher of the old Italian school of the cello. At the Biënnale in 2018, he presented a programme of music by Giovanni Battista Costanzi and in 2022, he performed the rediscovered Cello Concerto by Gaetano Ciandelli with the Orchestra of the 18th Century. Giovanni Sollima mainly performs his own compositions and thus contributes heavily to the creation of new cello repertoire. His audience is extremely diverse and ranges from classical music connoisseurs to young metalheads. Giovanni Sollima plays a Francesco Ruggieri cello from 1679. At the Biënnale in 2018, Giovanni Sollima received the Anner Bijlsma Award.

Ketevan Roinishvili

Ketevan Roinishvili (Tbilisi, 1987) grew up in a musical family in Georgia. From 2003, she studied at the Conservatory of Tbilisi with Tamara Gabarishvili. Thanks to Russian conductor Lev Markiz and the ‘Friends of Conservatory Foundation’ in Tbilisi, she was able to come to Amsterdam in 2008. She graduated cum laude in 2012 as a student of Dmitry Ferschtman. She went on to study with Reinhardt Latzko in Vienna and returned to the Netherlands to study with Floris Mijnders. Ketevan won the first prize at the National Competition of Georgia (2007), performing Edward Elgar’s Cello Concerto, and received a distinction at the international Dotzauer Competition in Dresden. In 2009, she won the ‘Servais’ prize at the international Servais Competition in Ghent. In 2013, Ketevan received the ‘Radio 4 studiebeurs’ at the Dutch Classical Talent competition. In 2016, Ketevan was selected for The John Adams Institute’s New Masters on Tour. In 2019, Ketevan recorded her debut album Nana. At the 9th Cello Biënnale in 2022, Ketevan Roinishvili performed as soloist at the Opening Concert in the programme Silenzio, with the dancers of LeineRoebana.

Ella van Poucke

Ella van Poucke (1994) started playing the cello when she was six years old. She studied at the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague and the Conservatory of Amsterdam, after which she continued her studies with Frans Helmerson at the Kronberg Academy in Germany. From 2016 to 2019, she studied with Gary Hoffman at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Brussels. She has also received lessons from Steven Isserlis, Menahem Pressler, Mischa Maisky, and the Emerson Quartet. She has won prizes at various national and international competitions. In 2015, she won the first prize at the Isang Yun Cello Competition in Korea and in 2017, Ella won the Grachtenfestival Prize and the Premio Chigiana. Ella has performed as a soloist with major Dutch and international orchestras. She is also an active chamber musician. At the Cello Biënnale in 2012, she gave the premiere of Uljas Pulkkis’ cello concerto. In 2021, she released a CD with Robert Schumann’s complete works for the cello. Ella van Poucke has been a professor at the Conservatory of Amsterdam since 2022. She plays a Giovanni Paolo Maggini cello from 1620, on loan from an anonymous sponsor.

Nesrine

Nesrine is an extremely versatile singer and cellist. A true musician of today, she combines influences from various genres including pop, rock, minimalism, and North African music. Originally educated as a classical cellist, she has played in Daniel Barenboim’s East Western Divan Orchestra and in Orquestra de la Comunitat Valenciana conducted by Lorin Maazel, but increasingly she began to explore other musical worlds. Nesrine can be described as a cultural allegory between the East and the West. She sings poetic texts in Arabian, English, and French. In 2018 she released her album Ahlam, which was received with great enthusiasm by international media. She has toured across Europe and has performed in venues such as the Berliner Philharmonie. She made her Cello Biënnale debut at the very first edition of CELLOFEST and performed with the Metropole Orchestra at the Biënnale 2022.

Johannes Moser

Johannes Moser (München, 1979) started playing the cello aged eight. From 1997, he studied with David Geringas at the Hochschule für Musik “Hanns Eisler” in Berlin. The beginning of his international career was marked when he won the highest prize at the Tchaikovsky Competition in 2002. Johannes Moser is a distinct contemporary musician with a broad interest in expanding the scope of classical music. He plays at any and all possible venues and events. He has premiered various new compositions and has recently been involved with commissions for Julia Wolfe, Ellen Reid, Andrew Norman, and Jelena Firsova, among others. Johannes Moser has been a part of the Cello Biënnale several times, including as a jury member for the National Cello Competition. Moser is a professor at the Musikhochshule in Cologne. He plays an Andrea Guarneri cello from 1694.

Reinhard Latzko

Reinhard Latzko (Freising, Duitsland) is one of the most renowned and demanded pedagogues in Europe and a much sought-after professor for masterclasses all over the world. He studied cello with Jan Polasek, Martin Ostertag, and Heinrich Schiff. He has won prizes at various national and international competitions. From 1987 to 2003, Reinhard Latzko was the principal cellist of the SWR-Symphonieorchester Freiburg and has performed as a soloist with multiple European orchestras. For a number of years, he has also been successful as an orchestral coach at Het Balletorkest and Ensemble Resonanz in Hamburg, among others. In 1988, he succeeded Boris Pergamenschikow as professor at the Music Academy in Basel; a position he held until 2005. Since 2003, he has been a professor at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien.

Ivan Karizna

Ivan Karizna (Minsk, 1992) grew up in a musical family and started playing the cello aged 7. He received lessons from the well-known cello pedagogue Valentin Perlin. When he was 17, he moved to Paris to study with Jérôme Pernoo. He then went on to study at the Kronberg Academy with Frans Helmerson. Ivan has won prizes at numerous international cello competitions, including the fifth prize at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in 2017, where he also won the Audience Prize. He has given performances at the Cello Biënnale already, bringing music from Belarus in 2018, as well as the cello arrangement of Shostakovich’s Viola Sonata which he performed with Amsterdam Sinfonietta in 2022. Ivan Karizna plays a Bartolomeo Tassini cello from 1760 (ex-Tortelier).

Maximilian Hornung

Maximilian Hornung (Augsburg, 1986) received his first cello lesson at the age of eight. He studied with Eldar Issakadze, Thomas Grossenbacher, David Geringas, and others. Until 2011, he was a member of the Tecchler Trio, with which he won the First Prize at the ARD Music Competition. He was only 23 years old when he was appointed first principal cellist of the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks. He has recorded several albums with Sony. His first album, recorded in 2011, immediately received the ECHO Klassik Prize and in 2012, he won the same prize for his recording of Dvořák’s Cello Concerto. In 2017, Deutsche Grammophon released a recording of Schubert’s Forellenkwintet, on which Maximilian Hornung collaborates with Anne-Sophie Mutter and Daniil Trifonov, among others. His beautiful arrangement of Dvořák’s Cello Concerto for cello quintet can be found on YouTube, and it’s this arrangement he performed at the Top Cellists Series at the kick-off of the Biënnale. Hornung is a professor at the Munich Conservatory.

Sebastiaan van Halsema

Sebastiaan van Halsema is an all-rounder who got hooked on contemporary music during his time studying in London. Raised in a musical environment, Sebastiaan van Halsema started playing the cello at six years old. Some years later, he was accepted into the Young Talent department at the Conservatory of Amsterdam, where he studied with Maarten Mostert for six years. Sebastiaan continued his studies at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in Londen studying with Louise Hopkins. In 2008, he graduated cum laude for his Bachelor’s degree and received the prestigious Concert Recital Diploma. In 2010, he earned his Master’s degree. Sebastiaan regularly performs as a soloist with renowned orchestras. At the Biënnale in 2022, he shared the stage with Lidy Blijdorp as one of the soloists in Trevor Grahl’s double concerto. Sebastiaan has been the co-principal cello of Phion since 2012 and has been the cellist of Asko|Schönberg since 2019.

Charlotte Gulikers

Charlotte Gulikers (1995) started playing the cello at eight years old. In 2009, she was accepted into the Young Talent department of the Royal Conservatoire The Hague, where she studied with Lucia Swarts and Dmitry Ferschtman. She went on to study with Maarten Mostert at the Conservatory of Amsterdam, where she earned her Bachelor’s degree in 2018 and, two years later, her Master’s degree as a student of Pieter Wispelwey. She finished her studies with Antonio Meneses in Bern. Since 2019, Charlotte has been a member of the international Theresia Orchestra, an orchestra specialising in classical repertoire played on authentic instruments. Charlotte Gulikers plays on a Cornelis Weel cello, built in 1853 in Utrecht.

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