Afternoon recital Lieder ohne Worte

Jean-Guihen Queyras (Montreal, 1967) has been involved with the Biënnale from the very start and has given countless memorable performances over the years at the festival. Queyras is known for his broad repertoire. He performs cello concertos by Haydn and Vivaldi just as well as he performs music by Dallapiccola, Kurtág, Ligeti, Webern, Boulez, and Gilbert Amy. He is a part of various chamber ensembles, including a piano trio with Isabelle Faust and Alexander Melnikov, and an ensemble with tombak specialists Kevan and Bijan Chemirani and kemenche player Sokratis Sinopoulos. In 2016 and 2018, he performed as soloist in Joël Bons’ Nomaden, which was composed specially for Queyras and the Atlas Ensemble. Queyras is a professor at the Musikhochschule in Freiburg and is the Artistic Director of the festival Rencontres Musicales de Haute-Provence. In 2022, Jean-Guihen Queyras received the Anner Bijlsma Award at the Opening Concert of the Cello Biënnale. 

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.

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.

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).

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.