Lieux Retrouvés

Boris Andrianov (Moscow, 1976) studied at the Gnessin Institute in Moscow and at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow with Natalia Shakhovskaya. He continued his studies at the Hanns Eisler Hochschule in Berlin with David Geringas. He was the first prize winner at various international competitions in Zagreb, Paris and Seoul. Boris Andrianov has worked with numerous contemporary composers and has given many premieres of new compositions by Giya Kancheli, Krzysztof Penderecki and Giovanni Sollima, among others. He has released various prize-winning CDs, including one with guitarist Dimitry Illarionov. Andrianov is the Artistic Director of several festivals, one of which is the cello festival in Moscow, Vivacello.  In 2022, he was a jury member at the National Cello Competition in Amsterdam. Boris Adrianov is a professor at the Conservatory of Moscow and plays a Carlo Bergonzi cello.

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 An ever-growing audience follows Gerhardt’s stage performances, in which he tries to break outdated listening and concert conventions in a mission to open the way to classical music for young people; for example by playing at schools, hospitals, trains, youth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.

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.