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Kolja Blacher studied at the Juilliard School of Music with Dorothy DeLay and with Sandor Vegh in Salzburg. He has performed as soloist all over the world, with orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, NDR Symphony, Gewandhaus Leipzig, Orchestra di Santa Cecilia, and Baltimore Symphony, and with conductors including Kirill Petrenko, Vladimir Jurowski, Dimitri Kitajenko, Mariss Jansons, Matthias Pintscher, Markus Stenz, Simone Young, and Asher Fish. Blacher works regularly as conductor and soloist with the Nordic Chamber Orchestra (Sweden), the Norrlands Opera (Sweden), the South Denmark Philharmonic, the Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland Pfalz, and many others. He was a professor at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hamburg before returning to his hometown of Berlin, where he teaches at the Hochschule für Musik ‘Hanns Eisler’. A born and bred Berliner — his father was the Baltic-German composer Boris Blacher — Kolja Blacher lives with his family in Berlin. He plays a 1730 Guaneri del Gesu violin, generously on loan from Ms Kimiko Powers.
Jae-Chang Sung received a bachelor’s degree in the trumpet from Seoul National University and also graduated from the Malmö Academy of Music in Sweden where he studied with Håkan Hardenberger and Bo Nilsson. Inspired by such achievements, he successfully pursued a Meisterklasse in the trumpet with the highest honours after studying with Prof. Hannes Laübin from the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München in Germany. Furthermore, through actively seeking to display his talent for the trumpet, he won a number of competitions, such as the 27th Japan Wind and Percussion Competition, the 5th Jeju International Brass competition, and the 42nd Dong-A Music competition. Presently, he is working in Seoul National University College of Music as a valued and talented professor. Prior to taking up this post, he was a Professor at Chungnam National University, and played sub-principal trumpet in the Finnish National Opera in Finland, also the Theater Regensburg in Germany.
It is rare to find a marimba player in the world who pursues the possibilities of this instrument so deeply. When you listen to her delicate and pleasantly fluctuating tremolo, the concept of the marimba as a percussion instrument is instantly overturned. She is the most sought-after marimba player in the world today, captivating audiences with her versatile expressiveness and flexible playing technique, and creating a genre-independent repertoire with her skillful arranging abilities.
Ria began playing marimba and piano at the age of 6 in her hometown of Kumamoto, Japan, and has been arranging music since her childhood based on her special talent of being able to play without sheet music once she hears it. 18 years old, she went to Paris, France to study at the Paris Conservatoire (CNR), and won first prize at the 1st International Marimba Competition in Paris in 2003. She has performed at some of the most prestigious chamber music festivals in the world, unprecedented for a marimba player, including the Bürgenstock Festival (Switzerland), Rolandzeck International Music Festival (Germany), Zagreb International Music Festival (Croatia), Salon-de-Provence International Music Festival (France), Evermay Chamber Music Project (USA), and Pharos International Chamber Music Festival (Cyprus), performing with Emmanuel Pahud, Paul Meyer, Andreas Ottensamer, François Leleux, Eric Le Sage,Guy Braunstein, Daishin Kashimoto,Boris Brovtsyn,Nabil Shehata and others. In Japan, together with guitarist Kaori Muraji, Ria has created many new duo repertoire of guitar and marimba.
Since 2012, Ria Ideta has been a resident artist of the Munich Chamber Opera, performing various operas with the world’s first chamber orchestra including marimba, which has been attracting much attention in various places.
Ria is also actively involved in commissioning activities, and has been involved in the world premieres of many works – marimba concerto “SUGARIA” by Eric Sammut(2007, France), marimba concerto by Ohad Ben-Ari with the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Kazuki Yamada (2014, Japan), and “Sawa Sawa” for marimba and chorus by Dai Fujikura with the Polish Radio Choir at the Huddersfield International Contemporary Music Festival (2017, UK). Ria has studied with Yoshihiko Mizuno, Emmanuel Séjourné, and Eric Sammut. Ria Ideta is a visiting professor at the Heisei College of Music(Japan) and the London Academy of Arts (UK), living in Berlin.
Acclaimed as “a player of impressive authority and presence” (The Strad) and “one of the top violinists of tomorrow” (Diapason), Yossif Ivanov, has quickly established himself as one of the most exciting violinists of his generation. At the age of 16 he was awarded First Prize at the Montreal International Competition, and two years later the Second Prize, as well as the Public Prize, at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels.
Over the past seasons Yossif Ivanov has made acclaimed debuts in all the major European halls. He has performed with orchestras such as the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra Sinfonica della RAI, Vancouver Symphony, Residentie Orchestra The Hague, English Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Lucerne Symphony, Sinfonia Varsovia, the Milano Verdi Orchestra, Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne, Luxemburg Philharmonic, Orchestre National de Lille, Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, as well as all major Belgian orchestras.
He has collaborated with well-known conductors such as Neëme Järvi, Marin Alsop, Yannick Nézet-Séguin, Vladimir Jurowski, Kazushi Ono, Jean-Claude Casadesus, Philippe Herreweghe, Jaap Van Zweden, Jesus Lopez-Cobos, Ion Marin, Yuri Simonov, Louis Langrée and John Axelrod.
In 2010 he was invited to tour North America with the London Philharmonic Orchestra (under Vladimir Jurowski) and made his Asian debut (Malaysian Philharmonic and Singapore Symphony Orchestras).
Yossif Ivanov has been invited to play recitals at a.o. the Menton & Montpellier Festivals (France), Mozarteum Salzburg, Tokyo (Kichijoji Theatre), Philharmonie Essen, Beethovenfest Bonn, the Istituzione Universitaria dei Concerti Roma, Carnegie Hall (New York), and the Ladies’ Morning Musical Club in Montréal. As well as his regular recital partner Itamar Golan, Yossif has collaborated with Ingrid Fliter, Frank Braley, David Kadouch and Plamena Mangova.
Highlights of 11/12 included debuts with the Philharmonia Orchestra and City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (Bruch), Orchestra Sinfonica della RAI (Bartók 2), Vancouver Symphony (Mendelssohn), Oregon Symphony (Dutilleux), as well as return visits to the Brabants Orchestra (Bruch), Orchestre National d’Ile de France (Brahms), etc.
Future orchestral projects include debuts with the Polish Chamber Orchestra in Stuttgart (Beethoven), Hong Kong Sinfonietta (Chausson and Ravel) and several Belgian orchestras. Future recital engagements include performances at the Montreal Chamber Music Society, Brussels (Bozar), as well as a tour in Italy (Ravenna, Ferrara and Imola).
His debut recording on the Ambroisie/Naïve label (sonatas by Franck,Ysaye & D’Haene) was awarded a Diapason d’Or de l’Année. Both his concerto recordings (concerti by Bartók & Shostakovich, as well as a Dutilleux-CD) also received high critical acclaim.
Yossif Ivanov has studied the violin with Zakhar Bron, Igor & Valery Oistrakh and Augustin Dumay. Since 2008 he is the youngest violin teacher at the Royal Conservatory of Brussels.
Yossif Ivanov plays on the 1699 “Lady Tennant” Stradivarius, kindly lent by the Stradivarius Society of Chicago.
A fascinating personality of the international music scene, Ion Marin is one of few conductors to work on the highest level in both the symphonic and operatic domains. He has conducted virtually all the great European orchestras, including the Berliner Philharmoniker, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Staatskapelle Dresden, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Orchestre national de France, Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia and St. Petersburg Philharmonic. He also appears regularly in Japan, where he conducts the NHK Symphony Orchestra and the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. He is a regular guest at the world’s major opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Deutsche Oper Berlin, Bayerische Staatsoper and Opéra national de Paris. The Salzburg Mozarteum University appointed Maestro Ion Marin Professor of the Endowed Claudio Abbado chair for conducting, starting academic year 2020/2021. He is also the Artistic Director of the University’s symphonic activities.
Born in Romania, Ion Marin studied composition, piano and conducting at the George Enescu Music Academy and at Mozarteum Salzburg. He also studied philosophy and the history of religion. Defecting from Romania’s dictatorship in 1986 led to a new life and musical career as well as his receiving Austrian citizenship. He became Resident Conductor of the Wiener Staatsoper during Claudio Abbado’s tenure (1987-1991) and worked with some of the leading singers of the world. In Vienna, he also benefited from the guidance of Herbert von Karajan and Carlos Kleiber.
In 2012, Maestro Marin initiated the Cantus Mundi and the Symphonia Mundi projects in Romania, dedicated to the education and social integration of the country’s disadvantaged children through music. Today more than 70.000 children benefit from this program.
In 2021 Ion Marin was awarded the title of Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres of the French Republic.
Hervé Boissière is a producer, broadcaster, and promoter of music, mainly classical, for over 30 years.
He began his career as a stage manager at the Marionnettes de Bourgogne in Beaune, where he was born on September 12, 1966. There he discovered the magic of live performance, the artists, the backstage, the tours, the audiences. His choice was made and studies in Art History and Political Science were put aside to devote himself fully to this passion for music.
In 1987, he joined the press department of the Opera de Lyon and every evening attended shows created in particular by John Eliot Gardiner, Kent Nagano, Georges Lavaudant and Maguy Marin.
During recordings sessions at the Lyon Opera, Hervé Boissière met Michel Garcin who suggested that in 1989 he join the prestigious Erato Disques label in Paris. New decisive artistic encounters appear: Scott Ross, Olivier Messiaen, Daniel Barenboim, Hélène Grimaud, William Christie… It is also the opportunity to conceive the creation of Warner Classics France which he developed until 1998. In the meantime, hundreds of recordings, with Nikolaus Harnoncourt and Maxim Vengerov among others, were released. The relaunch of the Das Alte Werk collection at Teldec, the development in Europe of the Nonesuch label, the second album of the Three Tenors in Los Angeles or the creative partnerships with Claude Nobs and the Montreux Jazz Festival illustrate the richness of his collaboration with Warner.
In 1998, Hervé Boissière created naïve classique with Patrick Zelnik, a new independent label, “une maison d’artistes”, which brought together eclectic and creative musicians, such as Jordi Savall, Marianne Faithfull, Accentus, Fazil Say, Seu Jorge, Pascal Dusapin, Grigory Sokolov… or the Vivaldi Edition which will remain an unrivaled discographic adventure to this day. He left his position of CEO of naïve in 2006 to found medici.tv.
In July 2007, Hervé Boissière brought together a team to broadcast 29 concerts live from the Verbier Festival. With real artistic, public, and technological success, the experience was perpetuated on May 1, 2008, with the Berliner Philharmoniker live from Moscow, thus marking the official launch of the medici.tv platform, which will quickly become the world leader in Classical music video streaming. In 2010, he joined forces with Pâris Mouratoglou to accelerate the growth of the platform.
The impact of medici.tv is then understood across the entire music industry with numerous world premieres (Written on Skin by George Benjamin for example), new experiences for audiences live at the Tchaikovsky Competition, Carnegie Hall or during prestigious events such as the New Year’s concert with the Wiener Philharmoniker. Hervé Boissière attaches particular importance to long-term partnerships as evidenced by loyal relationships with artists like Yuja Wang, Joyce DiDonato, Klaus Mäkelä or institutions like the Salzburg Festival and partners like Rolex, to name just a few. Since its inception, medici has broadcast more than 3,500 live events from 5 continents and offers online the world’s largest catalog of concerts, operas, ballets, master classes, archives, documentaries.
In 2020, Hervé Boissière was instrumental in the creation of a division dedicated to classical music within the Les Échos/LVMH Group, with the establishment of a new joint venture around medici.tv. On this occasion, he took over as executive director of the Mezzo channel and then organized the integration of EuroArts, a production company based in Berlin. Numerous synergies are then developed. Hervé Boissière also managed an ambitious policy of acquisition of audiovisual catalogs, including the documentary work of Bruno Monsaingeon.
Hervé Boissière has been awarded “Chevalier des Arts et Lettres” from the French Ministry of Culture. He is regularly invited as an expert in professional bodies (CNC, European Commission…) and several of his productions have been recognized by international prizes (Gramophone Awards, Victoires de la Musique…).
On April 15, 2024, Hervé Boissière will serve as Co-CEO of the Verbier Festival, alongside Martin T:son Engstroem, founder of the event internationally known since 30 years for its artistic and educational excellence.
Luca Ballabio obtained a Master’s Degree in Orchestra Conducting at the Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana in Lugano, studying under Marc Kissoczy and Arturo Tamayo. He focused on opera through courses with Riccardo Muti and Daniel Oren. As assistant conductor to Sesto Quatrini from 2018 to 2020, he contributed to productions at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre. Luca made his mark at the Rossini Opera Festival in 2021, conducting Il Viaggio a Reims to critical acclaim. He served as cover conductor for Norma at La Monnaie Opera House in Brussels. Invited by numerous institutions, he has conducted various orchestras worldwide. Notable performances include those at Serate Musicali and the Verdi Hall in Milan. Since the 2021/22 season, Luca has been the Music Director of the Filarmonica Ettore Pozzoli and co-founded the FEP Specialization Course in Operatic Singing. He began his musical journey with a Master’s Degree in Music Performance (Trombone) in Leipzig. Throughout his career, he has collaborated with esteemed musicians across major European orchestras and opera houses.
Boris Brovtsyn, a fourth-generation musician, is renowned as a versatile violinist in high demand worldwide. He has an extensive repertoire of over fifty violin concertos and hundreds of chamber works, frequently premiering new pieces. Brovtsyn is a regular at “Les Grands Interprètes” in Geneva and Spectrum Concerts Berlin, where he has performed every season since 2008.
Trained at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, he has held professorships at the GSMD, Trinity College, and currently at the Musik und Kunst Privatuniversität in Vienna.
As a soloist, he has collaborated with maestros like Sir Neville Marriner, Vladimir Jurowski, and orchestras including the London Philharmonic and Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. His chamber music partners include Janine Jansen, Gidon Kremer, and Misha Maisky, with appearances at top festivals like Verbier and Salzburg.
His recordings on Decca, BIS, and Naxos have earned accolades, including an ECHO Klassik award.
Wu Fei studies with Ben Johnson at the Royal College of Music (London) where he has sung the roles of Tamino in The Magic Flute, Ferrando in Cosi fan tutte, Grimoaldo in Rodelinda, and Armand Brissard in Der Graf von Luxemburg. In 2019, he took part in the International Vocal Artists Academy of Payerbach, led by Vladimir Chenov and Olga Topokova. Wu Fei is also well-regarded in Singapore, where he has performed several art song recitals at the Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay and where he has collaborated with the Singapore Symphony Orchestra.
Nathanaël Iselin, a French conductor based in Scandinavia, secured the First Prize and Orchestra Prize at the Eighth International Jorma Panula Conducting Competition. In 2023, he served as Conductor in Residence of the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and earned Second Prize at the German Conducting Award, conducting the WDR Sinfonieorchester and Gürzenich-Orchester. His notable achievements include leading performances with orchestras such as the Danish Radio Orchestra, the Copenhagen Philharmonic, and the orchestras of Odense, Aarhus, and Oulu, in repertoire ranging from Berlioz’ Symphonie Fantastique to Debussy’s La Mer. Nathanël has also conducted operatic productions including Cenerentola, Carmen, and Rigoletto. His extensive training in orchestra conducting includes studies in Helsinki, Paris, Zurich, and Copenhagen, under the guidance of renowned conductors like Iván Fischer, Mariss Jansons, and Sakari Oramo.Top of Form