Violin

Aric Braude

Praised for „sophisticated, warm intensity, radiant timbre and well-balanced, harmonious performance style” (‘Sulzbach-Rosenberg”, Germany) violinist Arik Braude has appeared as a soloist with orchestras in the U.S., Europe and Asia. His recent performances of concertos by Bach, Haydn and Mendelssohn (double) with the JVNY camerata in repeated appearances at New York’s Bargemusic as well as in Geneva (Switzerland) and throughout France brought audiences to its feet. As an avid chamber musician Mr. Braude has performed at many chamber music festivals including Music@Menlo (CA), Festival des Arcs (France), Killington Chamber Music Festival (VT), and numerous concert series in the US, France, Germany, Belgium and Italy. Arik Braude currently teaches at the Queens College and the Mannes College of Music in New York. His students have appeared as soloists with orchestras in the U.S., France and Germany, including the New York Philharmonic. An interview about his teaching was published in the The Strad magazine, and Mr. Braude has contributed to the magazine’s „Ask the Experts” column. Arik Braude is the artistic director of JVNY, inc. and of the JVNY international chamber music workshops in France and Portugal.

Linnea Hurttia

Linnea Hurttia is a distinguished concert violinist with a Master of Music degree from the Sibelius Academy and the University of Music, Drama, and Media Hannover. She won the 1st prize at the International H. Eller Violin Competition and has performed multiple times as a soloist with the Turku Philharmonic Orchestra, the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra, Jyväskylä Sinfonia, the City Orchestras of Lappeenranta and Hyvinkää and Sigyn Sinfonietta. Her performances have taken her to renowned venues, including the Wiener Musikverein, Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, Palau de la Música of Barcelona and the Helsinki Music Centre. Linnea has studied with esteemed teachers such as Araik Resjan, Seppo Tukiainen and Ulf Schneider, and through masterclasses with leading musicians like Ilja Grubert, Zakhar Bron, and Shlomo Mintz. Linnea studied chamber music extensively with Ralf Gothoni and Eldar Nebolsin at the International Institute of Chamber Music of Madrid, and she as well performed at masterclasses of Alban Berg Quartett, Juilliard Quartett and Engegård Quartett. Lately Linnea Hurttia has studied historical violin instruments with Susanne Scholz at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz. She is the co-founder of the String Duo Kleio with her husband, violist Ivan Podyachev, and has appeared at festivals worldwide, including Schwetzinger Festival in Germany, Turku Music Festival and Avanti! Summer Sounds in Finland, and the Xiquitsi Festival in Mozambique, where she also led a masterclass. Since 2021, Linnea has been a key member of the artistic committee for the Lieto Chamber Music Days in Finland.

Anna Kandinskaya

Anna Kandinskaya was born in Moscow. She studied at the Moscow Conservatory, the “Musikhochschule Bern” and absolved postgraduate studies at the Royal College of Music in London with Elisabeth Gilels, Abraham Shtern, Valerij Klimov and Igor Ozim. She was successful in many competitions and – amongst others – came first in the München Konzert Gesellschaft and the Yehudi Menuhin Competition 1991 in Paris where, as a consequence, Anna Kandinskaya was invited by Lord Yehudi Menuhin. Regular studies with the great violinist together with joint tours and concerts through Europe opened her ways for a career as a soloist. She has been soloist with renowned orchestras like the St. Petersburg Philharmonics and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of London. She performed in the London Wigmore Hall and in the Barbican Centre, in the Philharmonie am Gasteig and in the Munich Residence, with the Moscow and St. Petersburg Philharmonics, the Tonhalle Zurich and at the Wiener Konzerthaus, but also with the Festivals of Schleswig Holstein, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Kopenhagen, Bad Kissingen and the Salzburger Mozartwoche. From 2004 to 2012 Anna Kandinskaya was a lecturer for violin at the University for Music and Acting in Vienna, since 2012 she has been professor for violin and is in charge of a class for soloists at the Joseph Haydn Conservatory in Eisenstadt. She is also guest lecturer at the London Royal College of Music and at the Shanghai Conservatory and holds master-classes for violin from Western Europe via Russia to Asia, amongst others at the Hochschule für Musik Saarbrücken, Sommermusik Altensteig/Stuttgart and the Japanese Osaka Music Festival. She has been juror at international competitions in England, Russia and Italy.

JongEun Lee

Called “a rare violinist with remarkable musicianship and impeccable technique” (as quoted in The Strad), JongEun Lee began her violin studies at the age of 6 in Stanford, California. Soon after returning to her native country, Korea, she won top prizes in leading national competitions in Korea, such as the Korean Daily News Competition, Sun-Wha School of Arts’ Competition, and the Cho-Sun Daily News Competition. Other recognitions and prizes include “laureate” of the International Pablo de Sarasate Competition, New Juilliard Ensemble’s Concerto Competition, Lincoln Center’s Chamber Music Society’s Young Artist Competition, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra’s Young Artist Competition, and the New Jersey Governor’s Award in the Arts. After returning to the United States, she enrolled at The Juilliard School in New York and since then has been actively pursuing a versatile career as a soloist, chamber musician, and teacher. Concerto appearances include orchestras and ensembles of Europe, United States, and Korea such as Kharkiv Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra Sinfonica di Roma, Hradec-Kralove Philharmonic Orchestra, Vogtland Philharmonic Orchestra, New Jersey Symphony Orchestra, Aspen Young Artist Orchestra, New Juilliard Ensemble, International Sejong Soloists, Seoul Pops Orchestra, and Ulsan Philharmonic Orchestra, among others. JongEun has performed recitals in major venues in the United States including Carnegie Hall, numerous European venues in Austria, Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, and Slovakia, and in major halls in Korea such as the Seoul Arts Center.

Orfej Simic

Orfej Simic was born in Mostar. After completing his studies at the Belgrade Music High School, he continued his studies in 1982 with Marina Yashvili at the famous Moscow Tchaikovsky College of Music. During his studies he took part in several national competitions and was awarded four first prizes. In 1987 he won the second prize at the International Student Competition in Moscow, as well as the prize for the best interrelation of Russian music. In 1989 he received his diploma with distinction and moved to Austria. In 1993, he received the Eastern Trust Foundationscholarship for advanced solo studies at the David Guildhall School of Music, London, which he completed with success. Orfej Simic has been engaged by the London Symphony Orchestra, the „Barbican Virtuosi” and the chamber orchestra „Academy of St. Martin in the Fields” where he has performed with famous soloists and conductors, i.e. Anne Sophie Mutter, Itzhak Perlman, Gidon Kremer, Efim Bronfman, Sir Colin Davies, Mariss Jansons, Sir Georg Solti and many others. He is active as a soloist as well as in various chamber music ensembles. Performances followed in Austria, Germany, Russia, Bulgaria, France, Great Britain, the former Yugoslavia, Hungary and the Philippines. He also participated in music festivals such as Carinthian Summer, Schubertiade, Styriarte and others. Orfej Simic lives in Klagenfurt and holds the position of principal of the first violin group in the Carinthian Symphony Orchestra.

Viola

Sophie Arbuckle

Sophie Arbuckle is a faculty member of the Juilliard School pre-college and serves as a visiting professor of viola at the University of Minho in Portugal. Described as „possessing flamboyantly responsive, flexible and supple viola playing” (Sulzbach-Rosenberg, Germany), she has performed extensively throughout the U.S., Canada, and Europe. Chamber music appearances include Music@Menlo (Calif.), Bargemusic (New York, NY), Festival des Arcs (France), and the Royal Flemish Philarmonie Chamber Music Series (Antwerp, Belgium) among others. Solo appearances include Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante with the Belgorade Orchestra (France) and frequent appearances with the Sudbury Symphony (Canada). She also recorded with „Le Chant de Linos”. As an avid performer of contemporary music, Ms. Arbuckle has toured extensively premiering multimedia works including performances with dancer & choreographer Ann Carlson at Jacob’s Pillow among others. Ms. Arbuckle is a co-founder and artistic director of JVNY, inc., an ensemble of young professional musicians at the onset of their careers. The ensemble tours extensively on both sides of the Atlantic in prestigious venues and engages in regular outreach and community work. Ms. Arbuckle holds an M.M. degree from the Juilliard School. She plays a Ferdinand Gagliano viola.

Krzysztof Komendarek-Tymendorf

Krzysztof Komendarek-Tymendorf has been among the eminent Polish musicians of his generation for many years now. He comes from a family with deep musical traditions. KomendarekTymendorf graduated with honors from the Stanisław Moniuszko Academy of Music in Gdańsk in the Master’s viola class of professor Irena Albrecht.He perfected his skills at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien with Prof. Wolfgang Klos and Ulrich Schönauer and as a guest student of the Swedish National Orchester Academy in Göteborg. He has also studied under eminent viola masters such as Alexander Zemtsov, Matthias Buchholz, Avri Levitan, György Gulyás Nagy (Auer String Quartet) and Piotr Szumieł. Komendarek-Tymendorf is a laureate of many prestigious music competitions, awards and scholarships. At the age of 24, after winning two official competitions for the position of assistant, he began to teach at his Alma Mater. In 2018, he defended his doctoral dissertation and received habilitation degree with honors in 2022. In 2021 he began working as a nominated teacher in the viola class at the Zygmunt Noskowski Music School in Gdynia. He is the national consultant for the Center for Artistic Education (CEA). Currently he works as Associate Professor in the Viola and Chamber music class at Stanislaw Moniuszko Academy of Music in Gdansk, and from 2023 year have been a Viola Associate Professor at the Feliks Nowowiejski Academy of Music in Bydgoszcz since 2023.

Ivan Podyachev

Ivan Podyachev is a graduate of the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid and the University of Music Detmold (under Prof. Diemut Poppen). Ivan has won prizes in many international competitions, both as a violist and a composer. In 2010 as a member of piano quintet “Brahms el Mundo” he won a special Prize of Queen of Spain for the best chamber group of the year. In 2011 and in 2012, he participated in the famous festival in Verbier, Switzerland as a principal viola under the baton of Manfred Honeck among others. Since 2021 he is a principal in the Kärntner Sinfonieorchester in Austria.

Nora Romanoff-Schwarzberg

Born in New York and raised in Vienna, Nora Romanoff-Schwarzberg continues her family s ́ musical tradition in the fourth generation. As a violist she is recognized for her captivating charisma and is a regular guest on international stages. Both as a soloist as well as a chamber musician she has performed in prestigious venues and festivals such as the Musikverein and Konzerthaus Vienna, Salle Pleyel in Paris, Progetto Martha Argerich in Lugano, Heidelberg Spring Music Festival, Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad, and the Salzburg Festival. Among her chamber music partners were outstanding musicians such as Mischa Maisky, Gabriela Montero, Renaud Capuçon, Andrey Baranov, Lilya Zilberstein, Lily Maisky, Sergey Nakariakov, Henning Kraggerud, Enrico Dindo, Martha Argerich and Ivry Gitlis. She is founder and artistic director of the PODIUM festival Mödling in Austria that belongs to the international network of PODIUM festivals. Her CD recordings were released by labels such as Naxos and Gramola, as well as by EMI Classics and Warner Classics as part of the annual series “Martha Argerich and Friends”, which were GRAMMY-nominated several times. She has given masterclasses in the USA, Israel, Slovenia, Norway and China and regularly teaches at the Barratt- Due Academy in Oslo and the Royal College in London.

Qi Wang

Qi Wang is an associate professor of the Central Conservatory of Music, Amber Quartet viola. Doctor from Berlin University of Arts, Germany, master from Sofia Royal Chamber Music Institute, Madrid, Spain. former intern in Berlin Philharmonic and external member of Kuala Lumpur Philharmonic, who won China National Scholarship, Germany DAAD Scholarship, Spain Albaniz Scholarship, etc. As the viola of Amber Quartet, Qi Wang has achieved an icebreaking journey in the field of Chinese chamber music. Qi Wang studied the viola with his father since childhood. From 1997 to 2007, he studied in the affiliated high school and undergraduate of the Central Conservatory of Music, learned from Professor Changhai Wang, Professor Shaowu Wang and Teacher Cao Fei. During his school days he won the prizes of the national viola competition twice. In 2007, Qi Wang was admitted to the famous Berlin University of Arts for a master´s degree on the spot, who was taught by Ulrich Knörzer, professor of Berlin University of Arts and then assistant principal viola in Berlin Philharmonic. In 2009 he was admitted to the Berlin University of the Arts and then received the doctor’s degree in 2011. In 2009, Qi Wang was admitted to Berlin Philharmonic as an intern, who has participated in many concerts of the world´s top orchestra, and also played in famous German orchestras such as the Gewanthaus Leipzig and the Konzerthaus Orchester Berlin. In 2011 he was employed by Kuala Lumpur Philharmonic in Malaysia. In the teaching field, Qi Wang has cultivated and trained many excellent students since he returned to teach in 2012. Some of his students have won awards in domestic and international competitions. Qi Wang has served as judge of Singapore International Competition, Hummingbird Music Competition, Golden Beijing Music Competition, and Beijing Special Immortality Art Competition.

Piano

Lehel Both

Lehel Both got his piano diploma in 1965 at the Liszt Ferenc Music Academy in Prof. Solymos Péter’s class. Continued his study in St.Petersburg with Nadezsda Golubovskaya. In 1968 he started to teach at Bartók Béla Conservatoire in Budapest. In 1974 Lehel Both was appointed Head of the Piano Department at the Teachers´ Training Institute of Liszt Ferenc Music Academy. 1989-1995 he was guest professor at the Aichi Geidai and Nagoya Geidai  University of Fine Arts in Japan. In 1990 the Fujimoto-Both Duo was established. They gave concerts in Japan, USA and many European countries. Both Lehel has made lots of transcriptions for the Duo. In 1996, he was appointed Director of the Teachers´ Training Institute of Liszt Ferenc Music Academy. By the way he was soloist and tuba player of Dorog Concert Brass Band Hungary. In 2022 he finished his  ten holed pipe study at Erkel Ferenc Music Institute.

Johannes Kropfitsch

Johannes Kropfitsch studied at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna under Prof. Hans Graf and Prof. Hans Petermandl. Further studies with Stanislav Neuhaus, Wilhelm Kempff and Alexander Jenner. Concert diploma with distinction; first prize winner of numerous international competitions. Soloist, chamber musician and pianist of JESS-Trio-Wien. Since 1998 head of a class of artistic education and since September 2008 head of the department for keyboard instruments at the Konservatorium Wien Privatuniversität.

Jura Margulis

Pianist Jura Margulis has been internationally recognized for his compelling and communicative performances, for the range of his expressive vision, and for his consummate virtuosity. Reviewers have praised the “absolute authority” of his interpretations and the sense of “controlled obsession” he transmits at the keyboard (Fono Forum). In August of 2011 Drehpunkt Kultur in Salzburg wrote: “After the performance one fleetingly thinks of the pianists that became legends, but comparisons are impermissible. Margulis is a master sui generis (of his own kind).” Jura Margulis has played in numerous festivals, including the Schleswig Holstein Musik Festival, the Berliner Festwochen at Berlin Philharmonic Hall, the Verbier and the BSI Festivals in Switzerland, the Argerich-Beppu Music Festival in Japan, and the Salzburger Festspiele in Austria. He performed in over 15 countries in the past years. Margulis has recorded CDs for Sony, Ars Musici, and Oehms Classics, covering a wide spectrum of repertoire. In 2014 Margulis released an all Schubert con Sordino CD on a MSP Steingraeber D-232 prototype. Fono Forum writes: “Margulis plays (Schubert) with an enthusiasm, a sensitivity, and a creative imagination that are near incomparable.” In 2015 his latest CD was released with all original transcriptions of music form Bach to Shostakovich on the MSP Steingraeber D-232 including a piano duo with Martha Argerich of Night on Bald Mountain by Mussorgsky, also in Margulis’ original transcription – “… astonishing …” Piano News; ” …demonic … a brilliant achievement … ” Pianiste. Since 2008 Margulis was the inaugural holder of the McAllister Endowed Professorship in Piano at the University of Arkansas in the US. In 2018 Jura Margulis was appointed Professor of Piano at the Musik and Art University in Vienna.

Shiran Wang

Shiran Wang started to play the piano at the age of four and a half, when she was 11 years old she began studying the piano in Beijing with Professor Aiping Jin in the Middle School at the Central Conservatory of Music. At the age of fifteen, she was awarded the First Prize at the Fourth International Prokofiev Piano Competition in Ukraine, winner of the Seventh Arthur Rubinstein Jury Youth Pianist competition in Poland in 2007 and the Fourth Rachmaninoff International Piano Competition held in Moscow in 2008. She has studied with professor Dang Thai Son as well as at the International Piano Academy Lake Como with professors Dmitri Bashkirov, Fou Ts’ong and William Grant Naboré. She has been invited to perform with orchestras including the North Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Rome Symphony Orchestra, Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra, State of Mexico Symphony Orchestra, Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra, Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra and the State Philharmonic Orchestra of Daejeon, Korea. She has also staged solo concerts for the works of specific composers, such as the solo concerts for Rachmaninoff and Chopin in Hong Kong. She performed with the Škampa Quartet at the International Music Festival Český Krumlov in 2014. Shiran Wang ‘s first album was published and released by China Record Corporation in 2007 and will record Shostakovich’s Piano Concerto No. 1 and Piano Concerto No. 2 with the conductor Maxim Shostakovich, and Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 2 and Piano Concerto No. 3 with the Rome Symphony Orchestra.

Zhang Wei

Zhang Wei, a professor in the Piano Department at the China Conservatory of Music, is a doctoral supervisor and has served as the director of the Piano Department. He is a member of the China Musicians Association and a council member of the China Piano Association. His performances have taken place both domestically and internationally, with concerts held in cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, Shenyang, Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, Ningbo, Guangzhou, Xiamen, Macau, Singapore, Seoul (South Korea), Vietnam, Australia, Italy, and Moscow, receiving acclaim. Since 1994, Zhang Wei has been teaching at the China Conservatory of Music. In 2001, he participated in the establishment of the Piano Department. As a teacher, he has trained numerous piano talents, and his students have achieved excellent results in various piano competitions both nationally and internationally. As an invited expert in teacher training for the Artistic Grading Center of the China Conservatory of Music Zhang Wei has conducted dozens of teacher training lectures nationwide. He has also been invited to events such as the Lianchuan DMZ International Music Festival in South Korea, the Wassenberg Piano Summer Camp in Germany, the Sicily International Piano Art Festival in Italy, and the Beijing International Music Master Class Art Festival. Zhang Wei has also served as a judge for numerous piano competitions both in China and internationally. Some of these include the CCTV Second and Third National Piano and Violin Competitions, the Fifth National Youth Piano Competition, the First National Music Conservatory Piano Competition, the “Yamaha Cup” Academy Award of the Nine Major Music Colleges, the China “Steinway” Competition Grand Finals, the Asia Piano Open Competition, the Zhujiang Caesarburg International Youth Piano Competition, the “Huanglong Music Season” National Youth Piano Competition (Chairman of the Jury), the Hummingbird International Music Festival Piano Competition in the United States (Chairman of the Jury), the Pittsburgh International Youth Arts Festival in the United States (China Region Chairman), the 11th China Music Golden Bell Awards Piano Competition, and the 15th Khachaturian International Piano Competition, among others.

Chamber music

Jiri Hlavac

Jiří Hlaváč has frequent appearences as soloist on Czech TV and radio recordings. Many of his students at the Academy of Music, Prague have won prizes at international competitions. He gave concerts in 46 countries.

Catalin Ilea

Catalin Ilea is a professor at the Berlin University of the Arts. Born in 1940 in Romania, he studied cello with Georg Jarosievici, a pupil of Julius Klengel and Dimitrie D. Dinicu, a student of Diran Alexanians. He graduated from the Music Academy Bucharest with distinction and was first solo cellist of the Bucharest Philharmonic Orchestra George Enescu. Over the following years he received four first prizes in international competitions and critics awards in 1992 and 2001. In 1977 he made Germany his permanent residence. He regularly teaches master classes in Germany, Belgium, Italy, Poland. For many years he was a member of the ensemble Musica Nova, the Bucharest-Trio (together with Stefan and Valentin Gheorghiu) and the Sharon-Quartet. From a very young age Catalin Ilea had an extensive solo repertoire at his disposal, that included all manners of musical styles and is today one of the most comprehensive in his field. He plays all the major stages in Europe, North America and Asia, where his concerts attract attention by „startling sensitivity, authority and effortlessness”. Ilea remains true to his style by changing it continually. Every interpretation differs from the previous one. Time and again he looks at things from different perspectives, thus compelling his audience to constantly reconsider. His concerts are unusual, they provoke the imagination of his audience. Catalin Ilea has recorded more than 20 CDs and records.

Elisabeth Kropfitsch

For decades, Elisabeth-Jess-Kropfitsch has been performing as a soloist in many major orchestras in important music centres of the world. Her play continues the school of the famous violinist Wolfgang Schneiderhan. After early prize winnings in various competitions she continued her studies with him up to the time when she graduated with distinction at the Vienna University of Music. CDs with her performance were released by EMI, Hungaroton and Gramola. As the Primaria of the JESS-Trio-Wien Elisabeth Kropfitsch has been giving 6 subscription concerts every season at the Vienna Konzerthaus/Mozartsaal. She performs on her violin „d’Elia 1751” by Giambattista Guadagnini. Since 2011 Mag. PD Elisabeth Kropfitsch has been a professor of violin at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna and now she is the head of the violin section of the string department at this institution.

Qi Wang

See above.

Byron Yue

Byron Yue, a Chinese-American pianist, fortepianist, and vocal coach. After graduating from Weber State University in Utah with Dr. Yu-Jane Yang, Byron continued his study at Musik und Kunst (MUK) Privatuniversität der Stadt Wien under the guidance of Dr. Prof. Johannes Kropfitsch, Prof. Jura Margulis, Prof. Roland Batik for piano, and Prof. Mikayel Balyan for fortepiano. Byron has performed in the musical venues as such: Steinerner & Gläserner SaalMusikverein, Peterskirche, Ehrbarsaal, Allred theatre, Browning Center, Schubert Geburtshaus, Kaisersaal, Theatre Museum – Eroica Saal, Klimt-Villa Wien, Pleyel Kulturzentrum, Gesellschaft für Musiktheater, Bank Austria Salon-Barock Saal, and so on. As a vocal coach and accompanist, Byron has privately studied with Maestro Helmut Deutsch. He cooperated with many singers from, for example, Vienna State Opera Haus, Vienna Volksoper, Linz State Theater, Theater Bonn, Sofia Opera and Ballet, and so on. He has also regularly played in the class of KS. Grace Bumbry, KS. Olivia Miljakovic, KS. Ulrike Steinsky, Prof. Dr. Mihail Lanskoi, Maestro Bojidar Nikolov, and Prof. Gerrit Prießnitz. He also accompanied in competitions, masterclasses and auditions. Such as, Salice d’oro, The Bumbry way-Norma Edition, International Opera Artists. In Poland, he was invited to perform for the 10th year Anniversary of Pabianice International Music festival. In 2023 Byron has been pointed the head of studies and correpetitor of Klosterneuburg Opera Festival. He also became the chair of Collaborative Piano Department of one of the oldest music conservatories in Vienna-Franz Schubert Conservatory