AKIRA NISHIMURA

Music Director

Born in Osaka in 1953. He studied composition and musical theory to post graduate level at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. In 1977, he won the first of his numerous later prize winnings at the Queen Elizabeth International Music Composition Competition and the Luigi Dallapiccola Composition Award. The Otaka Prizes were awarded to him five times. (1988, 92, 93, 2008, 11) He was awarded the ExxonMobil Music Prize in 2001 and Suntory Music Award in 2004. He has been commissioned from many overseas music festivals and ensembles such as ULTIMA Contemporary Music Festival Oslo, Octobre en Normandie, Arditti Quartet, Kronos Quartet, ELISION Ensemble, Hannover Society of Contemporary Music and so on. He is currently a Professor at the Tokyo College of Music and the Musical Director of the Izumi Sinfonietta Osaka, KUSATSU International Summer Music Academy & Festival.

 

 

GEMMA BERTAGNOLLI

Voice

Born in Bozen, Gemma Bertagnolli was a winner of both the AsLiCo and Francecso Viñas Competitions. Her career has already taken her to major Opera Houses and Concert Halls including the Teatro La Scala, Milan, the Teatro La Fenice, Venice, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Paris, the Rome Opera, the Maggio Musicale, Fiorentino, the Opernhaus Zurich, the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Rome, the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, the Musikfestspiele Potsdam Sansoucci, and the La Coruña, Pesaro, Salzburg and Wexford Festivals. Her concert repertoire ranges from Bach, Hendel, Pergolesi and Vivaldi to Mozart, the 9th symphony of Beethoven and the 2nd and 4th Symphonies of Mahler. It is above all as a singer of Baroque Music that she is most celebrated. Her operatic repertoire includes Sophie Der Rosenkavalier, Oscar Un ballo in maschera and Nannetta Falstaff. Conductors with whom she has worked in opera and concert include Lorin Maazel, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti. From 2006 she taught “canto barocco” in many italian conservatorys. In 2016 she taught in Conservatorio Martini in Bologna and Conservatorio Rossini in Pesaro. From 2011 cooperates at the Hochschule für Künste- University of Art Bremen, holding masters about the Italian pre-classical vocality. In 2011 and 2012 she taught at summer courses of early music in Salzburg – Mozarteum. She periodically holds short masters by many Italian conservatories. She joined Kusatsu International Summer Music Academy & Festival from 2013.

ANTHONY SPIRI

Piano

Anthony Spiri is one of his generation’s most versatile pianists. Lied accompanist, soloist and chamber music partner with many of the most prominent musicians of the day. Born in USA, he received training in Cleveland and Boston before moving to Europe in 1978, where he completed his studies in Paris, Vienna and at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. Among his teacher were Hans Leygraf, Rudolf Firkusny and Kenneth Gilbert. He taught at the Mozarteum until 1999 and was assistant to Nikolaus Harnoncourt 1987-1993. For 25 years he performed on harpsichord, fortepiano and organ and often appeared with the Concentus Musicus Wien and other leading ensembles, but has concentrated on the modern piano since 2000. Extensive research in performance practice, publications of Alessandro Scarlatti cantatas, articles on keyboard intonation and continuo practice. As piano soloist, he has appeared all over the world and with many leading orchestras (Chamber Orchestra of Europe, under the baton of N. Harnoncourt, C. Hogwood, Z. Mehta, F. Welser-Möst and Tilson-Thomas and has been a consistent advocate of lesser-known piano composers, performing and recorded music by the sons of Bach, Johann Wilhelm Hässler, Eduard Marxsen and Ernst Krenek. He particularly admires the late works of Gabriel Fauré.

His partners in the lied repertoire have included Marjana Lipovsek, Bernarda Fink, Peter Schreier, Edith Mathis, Christiane Oelze, Florian Boesch, among others. His chamber music partners have included Gidon Kremer, Nils Mönkemeyer, Sabine Meyer, Ariadne Daskalakis and many noted string quartets. Well over 50 CDs document the extent of Spiri’s artistic development. Since 1994 he has lived in Munich and is professor of piano chamber music at the Musikhochschule in Cologne. He is guest professor for lied interpretation at the Royal North College of Music in Manchester and for historical performance practice at the Robert Schumann Musikhochschule Düsseldorf. In addition, Spiri has expanded into the areas of composition and trombone playing (both classical and jazz) and regularly sings in two choirs, one of which specializes in Gregorian chant. In 2016 he was nominated for the Deutscher Schallplattenpreis.He has carried out several projects integrating music and social problem zones.

HIROMI OKADA

Piano

Japanese pianist HIROMI OKADA studied at the Toho Gakuen School of Music in Tokyo where he graduated with the Highest honours. From 1982 to 1984 he won first prizes in three international piano competitions in Barcelona, Tokyo and Pretoria, and then moved to London to study with Maria Curucio before making his Wigmore Hall debut in 1985 and receiving outstanding critical acclaim “undoubtedly a star of the future” (Daily Telegraph). Hilary Finch has commented in The Times, “A technique of massive assurance, imaginatively developed to articulate a passionately engaged musical understanding” Recently, as well as touring extensively in Japan and throughout Europe, he has appeared as soloist with the Philharmonia, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra de Genova and major Japanese orchestras.

CHRISTOPHER HINTERHUBER　

Piano

Born in Austria, Christopher Hinterhuber studied with Rudolf Kehrer, Avo Kouyoumdjian and Heinz Medjimorec at the University for Music and performing Arts in Vienna and with Lazar Berman at the Accademia “Incontri col Maestro“ in Imola, Italy. He has won numerous top prizes at several international piano competitions in Leipzig (Bach), Saarbrücken (Bach), Pretoria (Unisa), Zurich (Geza Anda) and Vienna (Beethoven) among others. As “Rising Star” 2002/03, he performed with violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja at the Carnegie Hall, New York and in other important musical centers in Europe. Since then, his performances and recordings brought him international recognition and regular invitations to festivals as the Ruhr Piano Festival, Mozart week Salzburg, Enescu Festival Bucarest, Lockenhaus Chamber Festival among many others. Beside his extensive activities as soloist in recitals or with orchestras with conductors as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Jakub Hrusa or Sylvain Cambreling he is a distinctive chamber musician, for instance as member in the internationally renowned Altenberg Piano Trio, which has its own annual series in the Musikverein in Vienna. He often gives master classes in Europe, Asia and New Zealand and is professor for piano and head of piano department at the University for Music and performing Arts in Vienna.

SASCHKO GAWRILOFF

Violin

Received his first violin lessons from his father, and studied further with Walter Davisson and Martin Kovacz. At 18 he became the Concertmaster of Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. As professor he taught at the Musikhochschules in Berlin (UdK) and Cologne. As soloist he plays worldwide with renowned orchestras and with conductors such as Solti, Boulez, Dohnanyi, Inbal, Gielen, Salone, Bertini, Eötvös, Nagano. Besides his classical programmes his main concern is contemporary music and chamber music. He has played many works by composers like Ligeti, Boulez, Kagel, Maderna, Rihm, Yun and Schnittke. In 1992 he played in Cologne, with great success, the world premiere of Ligeti’s completed Violin Concerto with the Ensemble Modern, and in 1993 the American premiere with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Salonen. Since then he has performed this concerto approximately hundred times with the world-famous orchestras. Gawriloff was awarded several international prizes, i.e. the Paganini prize, the “Best Chamber Music Performance” at the Grammy Awards in 1998. Records are on DGG, Sony, Wergo, Tudor, Schwann, Koch. Every year he gives masterclass at Carl Flesch Academy, Baden-Baden, Germany.

WERNER HINK

Violin

Born in Vienna in 1943. He studied the violin at the Vienna Academy of Music under Prof. Franz Samohyl where he graduated from at the first on the list. Engaged with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra as a first violinist in 1964, when he formed the Vienna String Quartet together with the members of the orchestra and appeared at concerts of the Musikverein in Vienna, etc. The Vienna String Quartet began recording for RCA and Camerata Tokyo in 1973, and since then left almost 50 recordings including Schubert’s “Death and the Maiden” which won the Record Academy Award in Japan. The great success of their performance owes much to Hink’s solo violin. 1974 to 2008 he was the first Concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. He is the leader of the Vienna String Quartet and the Vienna Octet. In 1982, he was installed as a professor at the Vienna Conservatory succeeding Prof. Samohyl.

MARKUS WOLF

Violin

Born 1962 in Vienna. Since 1989 Principal concertmaster at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich after the same position at the Vienna Symphoniker. He studied at the Music University in Vienna with G.Pichler, and took further lessons with M.Rostal, N.Milstein, O.Shumsky and S.Vegh. 1985 he established the piano trio “Beethoven Trio Vienna” and toured through Europe, Japan, Canada, Mexico and the USA. As a soloist and chamber musician, he gave concerts with the “Alban Berg Quartett”, W.Sawallisch, Sir C.Davis, Z.Mehta, M.Viotti, P.Schneider, K.Nagano, I.Bolton and Ph.Entremont. Many CDs for EMI, JVC, Camerata, Farao Classics and triptychon. 2012 he won the “ECHO Klassik” Price. 1997-2002 he regularly appeared as guest leader of the London Symphony Orchestra. He has been teaching at the Vienna Music University (1983-1989) , at the Munich Richard-Srauss Conservatory (2000-2008) and has been D.Zsigmondy´s successor at the Musikhochschule Augsburg (2005-2008). Since 2008, he is teaching at the Musikhochschule Munich. Markus Wolf plays the “Vollrath-Stradivarius” from 1722.

PAOLO FRANCESCHINI

Violin

Studied violin under Arnaldo Apostoli at the F. Morlacchi Conservatory in Perugia and graduated there with the maximum number of votes and rave reviews. He went on to the Academy of St. Cecillia in Rome, where he studied with the prestigious teacher Pina Carmirelli. Dedicating himself largely to chamber music, he studied with Riccardo Brengola and Franco Rossi. At the same time, he began playing chamber music in concert with the piano or other instruments. In Italy he has played for prestigious concert societies and recorded extensively with RAI. Outside Italy he has played many concerts in Germany, Austria, Romania, Spain, Mexico, Egypt and Greece, winning high praise from both critics and audiences. He was Concertmaster and producer of a string orchestra, “Sinfonia Perusina”, and the Symphony Orchestra of Umbria. He is now a professor in the violin department of the F. Morlacchi Conservatory. He plays a precious Marino Capicchioni, generously donated by Pina Carmirelli.

ROBERT BAUERSTATTER

Viola

Robert Bauerstatter was born in Linz, Austria, in 1971. He recieved his first musical education at the Musikvolksschule in Leonding, then later at the Music School and the Bruckner Conservatory in Linz. In 1989 he began his viola studies with Professor Siegfried Führlinger and Professor Peter Ochsenhofer at the Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Vienna and graduated with distinction in 2000. From 1998 until 2001 he was a member of the Tonkünstler Orchestra, in 2001 he won the audition for a spot in the orchestra of the Vienna State Opera, 3 years later he became a member of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and was appointed section leader.

He is also a passionate purveyor of chamber music. He has appeared with several chamber music ensembles of the Vienna Philharmonic, such as the Küchl Quartet or the Wiener Kammerensemble. He is a member of the Lissy-Quartet, the Ignaz-Pleyel Quartet and the Theophil Ensemble. He has played numerable concerts on TV and radio as well, and has recorded 15 CDs. As soloist he appeared with many Austrian orchestras, also the Philharmonic Orchestras of Sofia, Plovdiv and Varna or the Orquestra Filarmonica de la UNAM in Mexico City. He has performed the works Karl Stamitz, F.A. Hoffmeister, Paul Hindemith, Bohuslav Martinu, Max Bruch, Hector Berlioz and Ignaz Pleyel. His recording of Ignaz Peyel’s Viola concerto was released in 2015. He performs on a viola by Stephan von Baehr, made in 2002.

TAMÁS VARGA

Violoncello

Born in Budapest in 1969 and began studying the cello at age of seven. In 1992, he completed a degree with honors at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music, where his teachers included László Mező, Ferenc Rados and György Kurtág. He received additional artistic motivation in master classes held by Miklós Perényi and Uzi Wiesel, with whom he studied on a scholarship to the Rubin Academy of Music in Tel-Aviv.

Tamas Varga is Principal Cellist of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (VPO) as well as the Vienna State Opera. A regular soloist with the VPO, he performed under Giuseppe Sinopoli, Zubin Mehta, Seiji Ozawa, Michael Tilson-Thomas, Christoph Eschenbach, Adam Fischer. He has appeared in numerous solo and chamber music engagements across Europe, Canada, South Africa, Australia and Japan.

He is also an enthusiastic chamber musician. As a member of the Ensemble Wiener Collage, the Breughel Ensemble and the Wiener Kammerensemble, he regularly appears in the Wiener Konzerthaus and Salzburg Festival, among other European venues. He also has collaborated with numerous artists.

An avid teacher, He has given master classes in Austria, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Australia, USA, South Africa, and Japan. He served as a tutor for the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra, for the New World Symphony as well as for the YouTube Symphony Orchestra, and he was teaching at the International Orchestra Institute in Attergau, Austria for several years.

He has recorded more than 20 CDs for labels such as Camerata Tokyo, Naxos, Hungaroton, King Records, Cavalli Records.

KARL-HEINZ SCHÜTZ

Flute

Karl-Heinz Schütz has been a solo flutist at the Vienna State Opera and therefore also soloist at concerts of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra since December 2011. He has taught the principal artistic subject flute at the Musik und Kunst Privatuniversität der Stadt Wien sincère September 2005. He was a solo flutist at the Vienna Symphony Orchestra from 2005 to 2011 and 2000 to 2004 at the Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra. He studied with Eva Amsler in Feldkirch, Aurèle Nicolet in Basel and Philippe Bernold at CNSM de Lyon. As a soloist he has enjoyed the opportunity to perform with renowned orchestras such as the Vienna Philharmonic, and Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Tokyo, New Japan Philharmonic, Gunma Symphony, Tokyo Symphony, the Sapporo Symphony under conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Fabio Luisi, Tadaaki Otaka, Yakov Kreizberg and Sir Neville Marriner. He won international acclaim already as a student by winning two international competitions: Carl Nielsen in 1998 and Cracow in 1999.

He is also active in chamber music as a member of both the ENSEMBLE WIEN-BERLIN and the WIENER RING-ENSEMBLE which he succeeded Wolfgang Schulz’s position.

THOMAS INDERMÜHLE

Oboe

Born in Bern in 1951, Thomas Indermühle is the scion of a Swiss family of musicians. He studied with Heinz Holliger at the Staatliche Musikhochschule in Freiburg in Breisgau, and with Maurice Bourgue in Paris. Afterwards, he spent several years as solo oboist in the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra and the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. In 1974 he was awarded a prize at the International Competition in Prague, and in 1976 he won the International ARD Competition in Munich. Since then, he has appeared as a soloist in almost all European countries, in the USA, Canada, Mexico, Japan, Korea and Australia. Leading composers as Manfred Trojahn, Wolfgang Rihm and Akira Nishimura have written oboe concertos for Thomas. Of great importance to him are also his “Ensemble Couperin”, his activity as a conductor, and his work with his students. Indermühle has been responsible for an oboe class at the Zürich Conservatorium ZHdK since 1984, and in 1989 he was appointed professor at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik in Karlsruhe. He has recorded for Philips, EMI, Novalis and Camerata Tokyo.

SEIKI SHINOHE

Clarinet

Seiki Shinohe studied at Tokyo University of the Arts and while he is in the university he won the Japan Music Competition. At the first Brahms Competition, he received 1st prize and special award in trio section. His performance of Mozart concert was recognized by Herbert von Karajan and he got a chance to study at Karajan Academy in Berlin in 1974. He studied with Prof. Karl Leister and played for Berlin Philharmony as a contract player to play their subscription concerts as well as at Saltsburg Festival. From 1975 to 1995, he played as the solo clarinet player at Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie and Berliner Sympnoniker. After returning to Japan, he was the principal clarinet of Yomiuri Nippon Symphony, till 2011. He has performed with numerous conductors such as H.v Karajan, C. Abbado, S. Ozawa and Sir S.

Rattle. Besides these performances, he also played with other orchestras and festival, such as Saito Kinen Orchestra, Mito Chamber Orchestra, Kusatsu Summer Music Academy. He has rich experiences as soloist, chamber music and orchestra works.

In 2012, he was invited to 40th anniversary of Karajan Academy, he played Bruchner symphony #8 under the batton of Sir S.Rattle. He has several CDs of chamber music from Classic Studio Berlin, TDK, DENON, Camerata Tokyo and Art Union. He is currently a professor at Tokyo College of Music and teaches at Toho Gakuen and Nippon University.

KATEŘINA JAVŮRKOVÁ

Horn

Kateřina Javůrková began playing horn at the age of nine with Tomáš Kreibich and continued at the Prague Conservatory with prof. Bedřich Tylšar. In 2016 she successfully graduated from the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague (in the class of Zdeněk Divoký and Radek Baborák). During her studies she has passed an intership on the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et Danse Paris in the class of prof. André Cazalet.

She is a winner of a number of international competitions, among them the „Federico II di Svevia“ competition in Italy (2011), International Horn Competition of the festival Moravian Autumn (2011) and the International Brass Competition in Brno (2013). Her latest and most significant success is the 1st prize and title of laureate on the prestigious Prague Spring International Competition 2013 and International ARD Competition in 2016. In January 2017 she became one of the first holders of the new Prague Classic Awards.

In 2016 she was admitted into the Czech Philharmonic and is a founding member of the Belfiato Quintet ensemble, which was awarded a 3rd prize on the 6th International Wind Quintet Competition in Marseille, France (2011). As a soloist she has appeared with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, PKF – Prague Philharmonia, Münchener Kammerorchester, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, NOSPR Katowice etc.

CLAUDIO BRIZI

Organ/ Cembalo/ Basso Continuo

Studied under W. v. d. Pol at the Morlacchi Conservatory of Music. He then specialized further with J. Uriol, M. Radulescu and M. Morgan. He also studied harpsichord with A. Conti at the G. B. Martini Conservatory in Bologna. He carries out intense concert activity as a harpsichordist, organist and conductor. As a soloist his repertoire of interpretations is extensive; from Bach and Haydn’s concertos to the works of De Falla and F. Martin, Mozart’s church sonatas and organ concertos of Bossi and Poulenc. For many years a composer himself, he takes particular note of the music of this century, collaborating with both Italian and foreign composers. Of these a number have dedicated pieces that he gave world premier performances. His discography ranges from the late Renaissance to the present day. He is active also as both a musicologist and an Organologist. Since many years he is committed in research and performances involving the so-called Hybrid Keyboard instruments, such as the Claviorgan, the Harmonium-Celesta, and the Harmoniumklavier. He is professor for organ and organ composition at the Conservatorio di Musica “Stanislao Giacomantonio” in Cosenza. He gives master classes throughout Spain, Italy, Germany and Japan. He is also working diligently to research for the Claviorgan, the Harmonium-Celesta, and the Harmoniumklavier. His collection of early keyboard instruments ranges from Hammerklavier to harmonium, from harpsichord to Pedalpiano.

PANOCHA QUARTET

Chamber Music

Formed in 1968, while its members were still students at Prague Conservatory. 1975 won 1st prize at the Prague Spring International String Quartet Competition. Since that times the Quartet has achieved international fame progressing from one triumph to another. The Quartet has participated at important international festivals as Edinburgh, Salzburg, Prague, Kusatsu, Menton, Dubrovnik, Tel Aviv, Kuhmo and Mondsee. In 1976, awarded the Bordeaux Gold Medal and in 1982 came a Supraphon Gold Disc.1983 the Grand Prix Academy Charles Cros was received in Paris for the recording of Martinů’s Quartet Nos. 4 and 6. 2008 the MIDEM Cannes Classical Awards were awarded for the recordings of Dvorak’s quartet No. 10 and the Cypresses. Panocha Quartet places particular emphasis on Czech music, especially the works of Smetana, Dvořák, Janáček and Martinů. The Quartet follows the great Czech string quartet tradition, founded by the České (Bohemian) Quartet and continued by the Smetana, Janáček and Vlach quartets.

Jiří Panocha, 1st Violin / Pavel Zejfart, 2nd Violin / Miroslav Sehnoutka, Viola / Jaroslav Kulhan, Violoncello

HIKOTAROU YAZAKI

Conductor

Mr. Hikotaro Yazaki studied mathematics at the Sophia University. But as he could not forget the desire for music, he entered again into Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, and graduated in 1970. After appointed as the apprentice conductor to the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra under Seiji Ozawa, he had furthered his conducting studies in Europe with Swarowsky, Kosker, Ferrara, Celibedache, and Dervaux.

On those days he received several awards such as laureate at the Concours International de Besancon (1975), and started his career as a conductor, conducting Bournemouth Municipal Orchestra and BBC Symphony Orchestra etc. In 1979, he moved his bases to Paris, and at the same year, he made his professional debut in Japan, conducting the subscription concert of Tokyo Symphony Orchestra.

Since then, several titles he has held include: conductor of the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, principal guest conductor of Hofer Symphoniker Germany and the Tokyo City Philharmonic Orchestra, music director and principal conductor of the Bangkok Symphony Orchestra, and music director of the Nusantara Symphony Orchestra, Indonesia, and so on.

Currently, he is the guest conductor of Bangkok Pro Musica Orchestra.

In 2000, for his continuous efforts at contributing of French music and culture, he was awarded the “Chevalier dans l’Orde des Arts et des Letters” and also, in 2008, “Officier dans l’Order des Art et des Lettre” from the French Government.

In 2002, he received music award from Exxon Mobil Music Awards.

FUMIAKI KURIYAMA

Chorus Conductor

Fumiaki Kuriyama (b.1942) is one of the most active and famous choral conductors in Japan.

He has gained his reputation by excellent performance of contemporary Japanese works, his energetic commission activities, and his phenomenal marks in the All JApan Chorus Competition. He was awarded the Grand Prix in Tolosa International Choral Contest (Spain) in 1994, and European Grand Prize of Choral Chant at Arezzo (Italy) in 1995, with Coro Kallos. He was invited to the Oregon Bach Festival (USA) in 1992, to Polyphonic Choir Meeting in Citta di Fano (Italy) in 1993, to the third World Symposium on Choral Contest in 1998 to sit on the jury. Now he is a professor at Musashino Academia Musicae.