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First Round

National Cello Competition
Fri 1 Nov 10:00 - 16:45
Main Hall
Past event
Fri 1 Nov
10:00 - 16:45
Past event

Program

Luigi Boccherini Sonata in B flat, G565 (with 2 celli)
Matthias Bartolomey Schaduw – new work for cello solo
Franz Schmidt Kleine Fantasiestücke nach ungarischen Nationalmelodien No. 1 in G major

Candidates

10.00 - 10.30 Silvia Gira
10.30 - 11.00 Charlotte Brussee 
11.00 - 11.30 Marianne Fusenig 

11.45 - 12.15 Laurens Toet
12.15 - 12.45 Ori Ron
12.45 - 13.15 Margherita Succio

14.00 - 14.30 Bruno Tobon
14.30 - 15.00 Mudrė Bucketė
15.00 - 15.30 Beste Yildiz

15.45 - 16.15 Hattie McGregor
16.15 - 16.45 Efstratia Chaloulakou 

Saturday 2 November is the continuation of the First Round. Candidates:
10.30 - 11.00 Thomas Prechal 
11.00 - 11.30 Thomas Larichelière-Banken
11.30 - 12.00 Andrej van Brakel 
12.00 - 12.30 Joshua Hassler-Forest

Accompanists

Charlotte Gulikers cello
Irene Kok cello
Daniël Kramer piano 

After a pre-selection, fifteen young cello talents get the opportunity to present themselves to an international jury throughout three competition rounds. For the first time, the First Round features a commissioned work by a non-Dutch composer. Matthias Bartolomey, a classically trained cellist who is equally renowned as a virtuoso rock cellist, will test the versatility of the participants through his composition. The classical benchmark for the jury, as is tradition for this competition, will be the Boccherini sonata. Hanz Schmidt’s little salon piece will show the lyricism and sense of style among the players.

The jury of the National Cello Competition 2024 is made up of: Matthias Bartolomey, Kristina Blaumane, Frans Helmerson, Reinhard Latzko, Raphaël Pidoux, Ella van Poucke, Sven Arne Tepl (chair) and Patty Hamel (secretary).

Biënnale in pictures: day 2

Biënnale in Beeld: Dag 2 Fotografen: Simon van Boxtel, Foppe Schut, Jelle Verhoeks  Programma
In pictures

Matthias Bartolomey

Matthias Bartolomey (Vienna, 1985) started playing the cello aged 7 and received his first lessons from his father. Later, he studied in Vienna with Valentin Erben, cellist of the Alban Berg Quartet, and in Salzburg with Clemens Hagen. Since 2020, he has been a professor at the Mozarteum in Salzburg himself. Together with Klemens Bittmann (violin and bandola) he forms BartolomeyBittmann, a duo with which he has repeatedly been a great hit at the Biënnale and, in 2022, with the Metropole Orchestra. Matthias is also the principal cellist of Concentus Musicus Wien, founded by Nikolaus Harnoncourt. Matthias Bartolomey plays on a David Tecchler cello made in 1727.
Cellisten

Irene Kok

Irene Kok completed her master's studies at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam in 2016 where she studied with Jeroen den Herder and baroque cello with Viola de Hoog, after which she continued her education with postgraduate studies at The University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna with Reinhard Latzko and a chamber music master's with Johannes Meissl. Irene Kok was successful at several competitions; among others, she won first prize at the Princess Christina Competition. She was laureate of ‘The 17th Kiejstut Bacewicz International Chamber Music competition’ in Poland and the York Early Music Competition. She also won first prize at the Euroconcours cello in 2012. Since 2017, Irene Kok has been a stipendiate of the Yehudi Menuhin ‘live music now’ Foundation in Vienna. Irene Kok is part of Trio Immersio in Austria and the Chimaera Trio in the Netherlands. She plays a Capicchioni cello from Cremona made available to her by the National Musical Instruments Fund.
Cellisten

Efstratia Chaloulakou

Efstratia Chaloulakou graduated cum laude from Thessaloniki’s Conservatory and University with Dimitris Patras. She was an intern of the Rotterdam Philharmonish Orchestra for the 2023/24 season, principal cellist of the Greek Youth Symphony Orchestra, and has participated in masterclasses with Konstantin Heidrich, Leonid Gorokhov, and Claudio Bohórquez. Since September 2024 she follows her Master studies at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam with Ella van Poucke.
Candidates competition

Hattie McGregor

Hattie McGregor (2003) studies at Koninklijk Conservatorium Den Haag with Lucia Swarts. She previously studied cello with John Myerscough (Doric String Quartet) and baroque cello with Jonathan Manson at the Royal Academy of Music, and with Matthijs Broersma at the Yehudi Menuhin School.
Candidates competition

Beste Yıldız

The Turkish cellist Beste Yıldız (2001) began his musical journey at the age of 9 under Viatcheslav Kainov. In 2019, he started his bachelor’s degree at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague under the g…
Candidates competition

Mudrė Buckutė

Mudrė Buckutė (2004), born in Lithuania, has lived in the Netherlands most of her life. She studied at the Young Talent Department of the Royal Conservatoire in the Hague. Now she is studying at the same school in her third year of Bachelor at the same school, studying with Lucia Swarts.
Candidates competition

Bruno Tobon

Bruno Tobon (1999) is a graduate of the Conservatoire de Musique de Montréal, where he studied under Denis Brott, Bruno has taken masterclasses with renowned cellists like Johannes Moser and Mischa Maisky. He is currently pursuing a master’s degree at the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague with Jan Ype Nota and Michel Strauss
Candidates competition

Margherita Maria Gianna Succio

Conservatory of Alessandria and received her bachelor’s degree in 2020. In the meantime, she also studied with Antonio Meneses at the Walter Stauffer Academy in Cremona, at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena and at the Hochschule der Künste Bern, HKB, where she obtained her MA in Music Performance Classical in 2022 and in 2023 with Giovanni Gnocchi at the Accademia Filarmonica in Bologna. She is currently a student at the Maastricht Conservatory in Gabriel Schwabe's class.
Candidates competition

Ori Ron

Ori Ron (1998) is a cellist, composer, and improviser from Israel. Began studying cello with Ms. Hilla Epstein in Givatayim Conservatory, and in age 13 started to study with Prof. Hillel Zori. Ori studied in Thelma Yellin High School and graduated from Buchmann Mehta School of Music with a bachelor’s degree. In September 2023 Ori started his master’s degree in Conservatorium van Amsterdam in the class of Pieter Wispelwey.
Candidates competition

Laurens Toet

Laurens Toet (1999) began playing the cello with Frank Spronk and continued his studies with Paul Uyterlinde. He is currently pursuing his master’s degree at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague with Larissa Groeneveld and Michel Strauss. He has attended masterclasses with Troels Svane and Gustav Rivinius. Additionally, Laurens sang for many years in the National Boys Choir and the National Mixed Youth Choir under the direction of Wilma ten Wolde. Laurens plays a 19th century French cello and bow made by Andreas Grütter on loan from the Dutch Musical Instruments Foundation.
Candidates competition

Marianne Fusenig

Marianne Fusenig (2003) started learning the cello at the age of 4. In 2017, she entered the Conservatoire de la Ville de Luxembourg to study with Claude Giampellegrini until she was accepted at the Musikgymnasium Schloss Belvedere Weimar in 2019 and continued her studies with Prof. Tim Stolzenburg. Currently, she is pursuing her bachelor’s degree in the class of Michel Strauss and Jan Ype Nota at the Royal Conservatoire of The Hague.
Candidates competition

Charlotte Brussee

Charlotte Brussee (1999) was admitted to the Sweelinck Academy of the Conservatory of Amsterdam in 2014. At this conservatory she had lessons with Monique Bartels and Maarten Mostert, and most recently with Michael Stirling, with whom she completed her Bachelor studies. From season 23/24 she continued her (master)studies at the Hochschüle für Musik Detmold, with Xenia Jankovic.
Candidates competition

Silvia Gira

Silvia Gira (1998), from Palermo, is currently attending a second-level Master at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam with Maarten Mostert and Pieter Wispelwey. Before that she studied at the A. Scarlatti Conservatory and with Antonio Meneses at the Accademia Walter Stauffer and Accademia Chigiana. She also studied at Accademia Nazionale Santa Cecilia in the class of Giovanni Sollima.
Candidates competition