Gdańsk Music Festival 2024

Amelia Jakobsson

Amelia Jakobsson is a musician of rare gifts who has successfully transitioned her career from that of instrumentalist to that of singer. She is in the unique position of having won the Malmö Conservatory’s concerto competition twice, as both cellist and soprano. After finishing her cello studies with a Masters in Performance at McGill University in Montreal and Soloist Degree at The Royal Danish Academy of Music, she later studied at the University College of Opera in Stockholm and with Anna Larsson, Britta Johansson, Kerstin Meyer and Edda Moser. 

Since establishing herself as a professional singer, Amelia has worked in Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Italy, France, Algeria, Poland, Germany, the UK and the USA. She has appeared as a soloist with the Malmö, Norrköping and Helsingborg Symphony Orchestras, the Nordic Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestra della Toscana (Florence), Kuopio Symphony Orchestra, Pori Sinfonietta, Västerås Sinfonietta,  Jönköping Sinfonietta, Musica Vitae and the Lund Academic Orchestra. 

Amelia has appeared at the Algiers Opera, Vattnäs Konsertlada and Skåne Opera. She has collaborated with conductors Eva Ollikainen, Stefan Solyom, Ryan Bancroft, Patrik Ringborg, Eugene Tzigane, Tung-Chieh Chuang, Karl-Heinz Steffens, Wolfgang Wengenroth, Fredrik Burstedt and Mats Rondin. 

In 2021 she sang the role of Minna Wagner in the world premiere of ”Im Treibhaus”, composed by Staffan Storm and librettist Ebba Witt-Brattström, as well as the role of “Princess Yang” in composer Reine Jönsson and librettist Patrik Sörlings opera “Tre knivar från Wei”.

Amelia’s concert repertoire includes Strauss’s Four Last Songs, Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder, Poulenc’s Gloria, Requiems by Mozart, Verdi and Karl Jenkins, Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, Lars Erik Larsson’s Förklädd Gud and symphonies by Beethoven, Carl Nielsen, Mahler and Shostakovich. 

Amelia is a multiple prizewinner both as a cellist and singer, and the recipient of amongst others the Lasse Löndahl Prize, the Torsten Tegstams Stipend, the Sparbanksstiftelsens Culture Prize for Music and OVIS Voice 2013. 

Johannes Held

fot. Jens Oellermann

Johannes Held began his training with the Stuttgart Hymnus choirboys, then studied in Freiburg and completed his studies in Copenhagen at the Opera Academy with Susanna Eken. His coaches include Mikael Eliasen, Fiona MacSherry, Ouri Bronchti, Tim Ribchester and Christopher White.

After completing his studies, Johannes Held was a member of the ensemble at the Oldenburg State Theatre and has since worked as a soloist at many international theatres, including the Royal Danish Opera, Wermland Opera (Sweden), Oldenburg State Theatre, Mainz State Theatre and Bolzano Theatre (Italy).

In recent years, Johannes has made a name for himself as a Lied interpreter and his work with Schubert’s Winterreise in particular has received international recognition.

In concert, Johannes recently performed Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen under the direction of Kolja Blacher with the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano in Milan. Johannes was also a guest at the chamber music festival KAMARA.HU at the Liszt Academy in Budapest, where he sang songs and chamber music by Brahms, Wolf, Bussoni and Schoenberg.

Johannes Held is the founder and artistic director of the Liedfestival Sindelfingen (formerly DER ZWERG), which takes place every two years in Sindelfingen. Starting this year, in collaboration with Prof. Götz Payer, he is setting up the Lied Akademie Sindelfingen, which aims to inspire people of all ages and all levels of performance for the Lied.

Johannes Held is grateful for the diverse support he has received from the Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes, the Evangelisches Studienwerk “Villigst”, the Richard Wagner Stiftung and the Kunststiftung BW.

Jan Łukaszewski

© Grzegorz Mehring

Jan Łukaszewski has come to be accepted as one of Europe’s most accomplished choral music specialists.

He is conductor and director of Polski Chór Kameralny. Much in demand as a guest conductor, he e.g. regularly worked with the Polish Radio Choir and works with the Philharmonic Choir Cracow and the Philharmonic Choir Wroclaw as well as guest conducting abroad.  As an orchestral conductor he enjoys cooperating with such ensembles as, for examle, the Polish Chamber Philharmonic Sopot, the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, The Academy of Ancient Music, or Venice Baroque Orchestra.

His main artistic interests lie in the fields of romantic and of contemporary music, and, especially in connection with Polski Chór Kameralny he has gained a reputation of being able to make possible the impossible and prepare musically valid interpretations of even the most complex of works in a very short time, indeed. Hence the number of premier performances directed by him is vast.

He regularly receives invitations worldwide to hold master classes and seminars for choral conductors (in Japan, for example or as a lecturer at the 'World Symposium on Choral Music').

Jan Łukaszewski holds the title of Professor of Musical Arts. Taking an educational interest in amateur singing, he frequently works in the juries of internationally renowned choral contests, among others in Japan [Takarazuka, Karuizawa], Wales [Llangollen], Lithuania, Italy, Switzerland, and of composers’ competitions in Poland, England [Cambridge], and in France [Rouen].

While advertising abroad the musical heritage of his nation and of his home town of Gdansk (e.g. the choral works of Andrzej Hakenberger), in Poland, Jan Łukaszewski is regarded as one of the few that propagate the music of such composers as Schönberg, Messiaen, Xenakis, Globokar, Castiglioni, Takemitsu, R. Strauss, Pepping, Tippett, Ives, and Barber. His abundant recordings for Polish Radio, Dutch Radio, Sender Freies Berlin, Bayrischer Rundfunk, Südwestrundfunk, and Westdeutscher Rundfunk and for Polish and German Television as well as his numerous CD-, MC-, LP- and video recordings reflect the quality of his work, for which, in addition, he has received countless prestigious awards. The high artistic level of Polski Chór Kameralny under his direction time and again inspires composers to write works for unaccompanied choir and world premiere performances conducted by Jan Łukaszewski are counted in their many hundreds.

Apart from all that, always keen to share his unique knowledge and appreciation of music with the public, Jan Łukaszewski has given many a stimulus to musical life in general. In Gdansk alone, to date he initiated and directed, among others, 10 International Symposia on Choral Music, the “Bach Days”, the “Chopin Festival”, and last but not least is founder and director of the hugely popular annual International Mozart Festival “Mozartiana” which attracts thousands of visitors every year.

Marek Pijarowski

© Łukasz Rajchert

Marek Pijarowski - born in Wrocław. During his education in the High School of Music he mastered playing several instruments, including the piano (as the main one), violin, oboe and organ. He graduated with honours from the Academy of Music in Wrocław with Tadeusz Strugała and completed his conducting studies in 1971-1973 at the International Music Courses in Weimar, working under the supervision of the excellent Latvian conductor Arvid Jansons.  In 1977 he received a scholarship from the Austrian government and stayed in Vienna for 9 months, improving his skills with Professor Carl Oesterreicher at the famous Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst. During this time, he had the opportunity to experience directly the art of conducting and to meet personally such masters of the baton as: Herbert von Karajan, Leonard Bernstein, Zubin Mehta, Georg Solti or Claudio Abbado. He started his full-time work in 1974 as the assistant conductor of the Wrocław Philharmonic. The same year, in December, he took part in the 2nd Polish Conducting Competition in Katowice, where (being the youngest participant) he won the 1st prize and a special prize of the Silesian Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra. This success resulted in numerous invitations to many philharmonic institutions, e.g. the Warsaw National Philharmonic and the National Symphonic Orchestra of Polish Radio in Katowice.

In 1975 he took a position of the second conductor of Wrocław Philharmonic and in 1980 he was promoted head and artistic director of this institution, which he led till 2002. He was also the artistic director of the Duszniki International Chopin Piano Festival (Poland) and the first conductor of the Cracow Philharmonic. During years 1980-2000 he was the artistic director of the Polish Contemporary Music Festival in Wrocław and from 2002 to 2005 the artistic director of the Arthur Rubinstein Philharmonic. Currently he is the Chief Conductor of the Poznań Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra.

For almost 50 years, he has been continuously active as a conductor, performing with all philharmonic and radio orchestras in Poland. He has also conducted numerous concerts with Polish ensembles abroad, including the Warsaw National Philharmonic (Germany), the National Symphonic Orchestra of Polish Radio (Spain, France), the Cracow Philharmonic (France), Sinfonia Varsovia (Spain), the Łódź Philharmonic (Italy, Spain) and a number of tours with the Wrocław Philharmonic Orchestra, including Spain, France, Italy, Germany and the Netherlands. He has made many archival recordings for the Polish Radio. He has cooperated closely with the Eastern Music Festival in Greensboro and the Texas Music Festival in Houston (USA), as well as with the Presidential Orchestra in Ankara.

Marek Pijarowski’s conducting art could be known to music lovers in most European countries as well as in Egypt, Israel, Canada, China, the USA, Mexico, South Korea and Cuba.

In 1997, he obtained the title of professor of musical art from the President of Poland. For many years he has been affiliated with the Karol Lipiński Academy of Music in Wrocław, where he is a professor. He holds a conducting class, at the same time being the Head of the Chair of Conducting and, previously, the Deputy Rector of the Academy. He is the initiator, artistic director and chairman of the Jury of the National Competition for Students of Conducting organised by the Academy of Music in Wrocław every three years. In 2006-2019, he was also professor of conducting at the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw. Many of his alumni hold leading positions in music institutions in Poland and abroad.

Marek Pijarowski has been a supervisor or reviewer of many doctoral theses, habilitation proceedings, proceedings for obtaining the title of professor of musical arts, as well as a laudator or a reviewer in the proceedings for obtaining the doctor honoris causa title of Polish music academies for outstanding masters of baton, among others: Jerzy Semkow, Tadeusz Strugała, Gabriel Chmura, Helmut Riling, Neville Marriner, Joshua Rifkin, Jerzy Maksymiuk, Kurt Masur and Stanisław Skrowaczewski.

He has repeatedly chaired the Jury of the Witold Lutosławski International Review of Young Conductors in Białystok. He is also a Jury member of the Grzegorz Fitelberg International Competition for Conductors in Katowice.

He was honoured, among others, with the Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta and the Gold Medal for Merit to Culture - Gloria Artis.

Marek Toporowski

Marek Toporowski was born in Warsaw in 1964. He teaches harpsichord at the Academies of Music in Cracow and Katowice, as well as harpsichord and organ at the Warsaw Chopin Conservatory of Music. He studied with Leszek Kędracki, Aline Zylberajch and Bob van Asperen (harpsichord), Martin Gester (basso continuo and chamber music) and Józef Serafin and Daniel Roth (organ).

He won first prize in the 1st Wanda Landowska National Harpsichord Competition, and was also a finalist of the 1st Wanda Landowska International Competition in 1994.

In 1991, he formed his own chamber ensemble Concerto Polacco—one of the pioneering ensembles of baroque music in Poland. The group very soon became the leading orchestra which was joined by the chamber choir Sine Nomine specializing in performing baroque cantatas and oratorios. With those two ensembles, Marek Toporowski made numerous recordings of early Polish music, including such works as the opera Agatka by Johann David Holland, the oratorio Christiani poenitentes ad sepulchrum Domini by Jan Tomasz Żebrowski, and sacred music by Grzegorz Gerwazy Gorczycki, Amando Ivančič Józef Zeidler, and Marcin Józef Żebrowski.

As harpsichordist, he made the first-ever recording of Charles Noblet’s Livre de clavecin. As an organist, he records extensively on historical organs. His participation in the documentary project Orgeln in der Niederlausitz, or the first recording on the Silbermann organ in Oederan are well worth mentioning.

His latest recording—Bach’s organ trio sonatas BWV 525-530 on the historical Joachim Wagner Organ in Siedlce (a version with added continuo instruments) received the prestigious prize of the Polish recording industry—Fryderyk (the fifth time in his career).

Marek Toporowski is the chamber partner of many renowned soloists. He’s also very active in the field of preservation of national heritage. In 2012, he founded Fortepianarium—a unique collection where his own instruments are exhibited and used for concert and teaching purposes.

Berlin Piano Trio

Nikolaus Resa – piano

Krzysztof Polonek – violin

Katarzyna Polonek – cello

„…one reacts at thoughts, that have not even been transformed into notes yet.“
- (Badische Neueste Nachrichten regarding the Berlin Piano Trio)

Founded in 2004 as „Berolina Trio“, the Berlin Piano Trio counts as one of the leading piano trios. With their charismatic style and warm tone, this trio impresses the audience and press alike. In 2007 the trio won the biggest international chamber music competition in Poland, the international competition created by Krzysztof Penderecki. As a special recognition the trio also received the interdisciplinary Grand Prix. During that year the trio also won the first prize as well as the audience award of the European Chamber Music Competition in Karlsruhe.
In 2009 the Berlin Piano Trio obtained the highly coveted “Prix Marguerite Dütschler” in Gstaad, Switzerland. Furthermore the Berlin Piano Trio tied in for first (ex aequo) at the international Joseph-Haydn- Competition in Vienna, where they also were honored with the audience award of the Esterhazy Foundation.

The Berlin Piano Trio studied in Professor Markus Becker’s chamber music class at the University for Music, Theater and Media in Hannover. In 2007 the Berlin Piano Trio became a permanent member of the widely renowned European Chamber Music Academy, which promotes leading string quartets and piano trios at an international level by working together with chamber music ensemble founders such as Prof. Hatto Beyerle (Alban Berg Quartett), Prof. Shmuel Ashkenasi (Vermeer Quartett), Prof. Peter Cropper (Lindsay Quartett), Prof. Eckart Heiligers (Trio Jean Paul), Prof. Avedis Kouyoumdjian, Prof. Anner Bylsma and Prof. Ferenc Rados. Besides their chamber music activity, the Berlin Piano Trio’s musicians are academic lecturers, regularly invited to lead masterclasses.

Nikolaus Resa is an internationally successful German concert pianist and chamber musician. In various formations and especially as member of the Berlin Piano Trio, he always impresses with spontaneity, energetic playing and an exceptionally beautiful sound. He is frequently invited to substitute in several prestigious orchestras like the Berliner Philharmoniker or the Deutsches Sinfonie-Orchester (DSO) Berlin. Additionally, he is teaching at the Berlin University of the Arts and the Orchestra Academy of the Berliner Philharmoniker. Born in 1980 in Berlin, Nikolaus Resa had his first piano lessons at the age of four and started playing the violin shortly thereafter. He studied piano with Georg Sava at the Academy of Music „Hanns Eisler”, Berlin, and took on his postgraduate studies at the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media with Markus Becker. Nikolaus is winner of many competitions, e.g. the International Johannes Brahms Competition in Pörtschach (Austria), the International Joseph Haydn Chamber Music Competition in Vienna (Austria) and the International Rimsky-Korsakov Competition in St. Petersburg (Russia). He was “Featured Soloist” in Howard Shore’s soundtrack for “A Dangerous Method” (2011).

Krzysztof Polonek is concertmaster of the Berliner Philharmoniker. He is lecturer of the Karajan Academy of the Berliner Philharmoniker. Krzysztof Polonek initially studied as a young student at the Julius-Stern-Institute, University of the Arts, Berlin with Prof. Tomasz Tomaszewski before he obtained his degree at this university. He played his concert exam (Konzertexamen) under the supervision of Prof. Thomas Brandis at the Lübeck University of Music. Furthermore he has attended masterclasses with the professors R. Kussmaul, K. Węgrzyn, K. Sassmannshaus, I. Gitlis and Z. Bron. Krzysztof has performed as soloist with the Sinfonie Orchester Berlin, the Lübeck Philharmonic Orchestra, the State Orchestra at Frankfurt (Oder), the Baden-Baden Philharmonic Orchestra, the Cracow Philharmonic Orchestra, among others. As a chamber musician and soloist he has been invited to renowned festivals like the “Music in old Cracow” festival, the Hubermann Violin Festival, the Aspen Music Festival, the Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad and the Max-Reger Tage at Weiden.
Krzysztof Polonek is the co-founder of the Berlin Piano Trio, which, after multiple international competition victories, is considered one of the leading piano trios. Up to 2009 he taught at the Music Academy in Wrocław, where he successfully defended his doctoral thesis under the supervision of Prof. Jarosław Pietrzak. Krzysztof Polonek obtained his habilitation  at the Music Academy Poznań.  Before joining the Berliner Philharmoniker he was concertmaster of the Dresden Philharmonic Orchestra and the Deutsche Oper Berlin as well as a principal player of the Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin.

Katarzyna Polonek is one of the most interesting musical personalities of her generation. She is a laureate of International Cello as well as Chamber Music Competitions in Liezen, Pörtschach, Poznań and Brno, including First Prize and Grand Prix at the 11th International Competition of Contemporary Chamber Music in Kraków, winner of the J. Haydn International Chamber Music Competition in Vienna. She is an accomplished soloist,  made recordings for Polish, German, Swiss, Austrian and Japanese Radio and Television. As a chamber musician she has participated in many renowned music festivals and performed in the most important European concert halls. Playing as a guest in the Berliner Philharmoniker or Staatskapelle Berlin orchestras, she collaborated with such conductors as Daniel Barenboim, Bernhard Haitink, Pierre Boulez, Michael Sanderling, Ivan Fischer and Sir Simon Rattle.
Katarzyna Polonek received her music education from i.a. Mstislav Rostropovich, Natalia Shakovskaya, Angelica May, Markus Nyikos, Wolfgang Aichinger, Wolfgang Boettcher, Zara Nelsova, Miloš Sádlo. Her artistic development was particularly influenced by collaboration with Daniel Barenboim at the Staatskapelle Berlin Orchestra Academy. Katarzyna Polonek is the co-founder of the Berlin Piano Trio, which, after multiple international competition victories, is considered one of the leading piano trios. After she has finished her doctoral dissertation and habilitation, Katarzyna teaches as a professor for cello at the Music Academy Poznań and leads masterclasses at the International Music Course in Opole. Her students go on to win first prizes at international solo and chamber music competitions.

Amadeus Chamber Orchestra of Polish Radio

Amadeus Chamber Orchestra of Polish Radio was founded by Agnieszka Duczmal in Poznań in 1968. Initially supported by the Polish section of the Jeunesses Musicales movement, and later by the Poznań Music Society, following the silver Herbert von Karajan Medal awarded at the International Young Orchestra Meeting in West Berlin in 1977, the ensemble conducted by its founder was transformed first into Polish Radio and Television Orchestra, and later into Amadeus Chamber Orchestra of Polish Radio. In 2009, Anna Duczmal-Mróz became the ensemble’s second conductor. The female conductor duo makes the orchestra an enterprise truly unique in the world.

In April 2023, the album Music for Chamber Orchestra vol.III with works by Grażyna Bacewicz performed by the Orchestra, conducted by Maestra Agnieszka Duczmal, was chosen as the best world orchestral recording according to the BBC Music Magazine Awards.

The ensemble’s artistic achievements include many first performances, such as the first world recording of Josef Koffler’s transcription of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Goldberg Variations for chamber orchestra. Covering repertoire from the Baroque to contemporary music, Amadeus’ regular recordings for Polish Radio have produced more than ten thousand minutes of music, as well as hundreds of concert broadcasts. The ensemble has collaborated with foreign radio stations, including the German NDR, WDR, and SFB, the BBC in London, the CBC in Montreal, and the Mexican Radio (for which the orchestra recorded mainly Polish repertoire).

The ensemble’s television recordings include over a hundred concerts and programmes for the Polish Television, five hours of music for Télévision Française 1, as well as onehour programme of Polish music for the Japanese NHK TV station.

With over fifty records to its credit, the Orchestra has given concerts in most European countries, the USA, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Kuwait, Taiwan, and Japan, as well as collaborated with such world-class soloists, as Maurice André, Martha Argerich, Avi Avital, Patric Gallois, Charles Richard-Hamelin, Steven Isserlis, Gary Karr, Kevin Kenner, Konstanty Andrzej Kulka, Mischa Maisky, Wynton Marsalis, Jeremy Menuhin, Igor Oistrakh, Piotr Paleczny, Michala Petri, Ivo Pogorelić, Alexandre Rabinovitch, Vadim Repin, Grigory Sokolov, Guy Touvron, Henryk Szeryng, Maxim Vengerov, Ingolf Wunder, Gheorghe Zamfir, and leading Polish soloists.

The Orchestra has performed at such renowned concert venues, as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, philharmonic concert halls in Berlin, Cologne, Munich and St. Petersburg, the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, the Musikvereinsaal in Vienna, Pollack Hall in Montreal, Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, La Scala in Milan, or Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall. The ensemble regularly appears at numerous European music festivals.

Šarūnas Šapalas

Young baritone Šarūnas Šapalas was born in Lithuania and studied opera singing at Vilnius Music and Theatre Academy with Vytautas Juozepaitis. Later he completed his studies at University of Music and Dramatic Arts in Bratislava, Slovakia, in class of Dagmar Bezačinska.
Šarūnas made his debut in part of Morales in G. Bizet's opera Carmen at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre in 2014.
In the same theathre he performed other roles,( Il Barone) G. Verdi's La Traviata, (Bretigny) J. Massenet's Manon, (Shaudard ) G. Puccini's La Boheme, (Danilo) F. Lehar's Die lustige Witwe, (Dr. Falke) J. Strauss's Die Fledermaus, ( Il Deputato ) G. Verdi’s Don Carlo, ( Mr. Ben ) R. Šerkšnyte’s opera Five Miracles of Merry. G. Puccini’s Turandot (Ping), L. Bernstein’s Candide (Maximilian)
In 2015 Šarūnas was named „The most Promissing young singer of the Year “in Lithuania. In 2016 he started also cooperate with Vilnius City Opera where he sang role of Sciarrone from G. Puccini‘ s Tosca and Wagner in Ch. Gounoud‘s Faust.


In May 2017 Šarūnas introduced himself for Slovak audience too. He was invited to sing role of Aleko- opera written by S. Rachmaninoff ,in Banska Bystrica State Theathre. After his Slovak debut was named as„Discovery of the Year „ by Slovak critics.
In Klaipeda Musical Theatre sings role of Marcello and Shaunard in G. Puccini’s La Boheme, Silvio in R. Leoncavallo’s I Pagliacci. Mazetto in W.A.Mozart’s opera “Don Giovanni”, V. Ganelin’s musicale “Velnio nuotaka” he sang Girdvainis role. B. Kutavičius “Lokys” he sand Count Šemeta, G. Donizetti “Lesir damore” he sang Dulcamara.
In 2018 Šarūnas made he’s debut for Portugal audience with P. Tchaikovski’s opera “Eugen Onegin”- Viseu and Bataglia open air festivals. 2021 he sang role of Don Giovanni in W. A. Mozart’s opera “ Don Giovanni”.

2020 baritone had pleasure to introduce him self also to Switzerland public with the role of Escamillo in G. Biset opera Carmen- Bucks summer festival open air.

Alexandre Tharaud

His extraordinary discography of over 25 solo albums, most of which received major awards from the music press, features repertoire ranging from Couperin, Bach and Scarlatti, through Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Brahms, and Rachmaninov to the major 20th century French composers. The breadth of his artistic endeavours is also reflected in collaborations with theatre makers, dancers, choreographers, writers and film makers, as well as with singer-songwriters and musicians outside the realm of classical music.

Alexandre is a sought-after soloist, appearing with many of the world’s leading orchestras: upcoming highlights include concerto performances with Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, National Symphony Orchestra Taiwan, Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse & Hong Kong Sinfonietta. Recent concerto engagements include Aurora Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Les Violons du Roy, Sao Paulo State Symphony, BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Royal Concertgebouworkest, Cleveland and Philadelphia Orchestras, Cincinnati Symphony, London Philharmonic and hr-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt.

As a recitalist, Alexandre Tharaud is a regular guest at the world’s most prestigious venues. Highlights include recitals at the Philharmonie de Paris, Wigmore Hall, Frankfurt Alte Oper, Bayreuth, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Casa da Música Porto, Zankel Hall and extensive touring in Japan, China and Korea. Alexandre continues his long collaboration with the cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras for an extensive European tour.

Following the critically acclaimed production of ‘Unstill Life’, a collaboration with the choreographer Benjamin Millepied in Paris, Lyon & Spoleto, Alexandre will bring this production to Walt Disney Hall in Los Angeles. He also continues his collaboration with the singer Angelique Kidjo. This season Alexandre will be Artist in Residence at Muziekgebouw Amsterdam where, alongside recitals and chamber music, he will bring a range of projects including an electronic project with the artist Para One, accompanying a silent film and a meditation on sleep entitled ‘Dodo Tharaud’.

Alexandre is an exclusive recording artist of Warner Classics. This season his highly anticipated recording of the two Ravel concerti with Orchestre National de France & Louis Langree, will be released to celebrate the Ravel anniversary. In October 2020, ‘Le Poète du Piano’ was released and features some of Alexandre’s best-known recordings on one album. His discography reflects an eclectic affinity to many musical styles, with recent recordings including Versailles, which pays tribute to composers associated with the courts of the French kings Louis XIV, XV and XVI, a tribute to singer-songwriter Barbara, a Brahms duo album with Jean-Guihen Queyras (a regular chamber music partner for 20 years), and Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2. Over the course of his career he has made critically acclaimed recordings of Rameau, Scarlatti, Bach’s Goldberg Variations and Italian Concerto, Beethoven’s three final sonatas, Chopin’s 24 Preludes, and Ravel’s complete piano works.

In 2017, Alexandre published Montrez-moi vos mains, an introspective and engaging account of daily life as a pianist. He had previously co-authored Piano Intime, with journalist Nicolas Southon. He is the subject of a film directed by Swiss film maker Raphaëlle Aellig-Régnier: Alexandre Tharaud, Le Temps Dérobé, and appeared in the role of the pianist “Alexandre” in Michael Hanneke’s celebrated 2012 film Amour.

In 2021, Alexandre won the Instrumental Soloist of the year award at the Victoires de la Musique Classique.

Inma Hidalgo

She performed Magnificat de Rutter, Harmonia Caelestis de Pàll Estherazy, Rossini's Stabat Mater, Beethoven's Fantasia Coralle, on the Theatres such as Teatre Principal in Palma de Mallorca, Brandenburg, Augsburg and the Berlin Philharmonic; and has also performed such roles as Marcellina in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro, Paggio in Verdi's Rigoletto, Rosita in F. M. Torroba's Luisa Fernanda, Encarna in La Revoltosa by R. Chapí, Irene in La Doña Francisquita by A. Vives, Prima Dama in La Flauto Màgico, Donna Elvira in Mozart's Don Giovanni (reduced version), Anna in Verdi's Nabuco, Rowan in Britten's The Little Sweep, Mercedes in Bizet's Carmen in Festival Musica Mallorca, Clotilde in Bellini's Norma under the baton of Andres Salado and directed by Lorenzo Amato, Sacerdotessa in Verdi's Aida and La Ciesca in G. Puccini's Gianni Schicchi.

She has had the opportunity to sing in venues such as: Grand Hall of the Tchaikovsky Conservatoryin Moscow, National Opera of Latvia, Livings Arts Center in Toronto, Casa da Musica in Porto with the Orchestra do Atlantico, Campoamor Theatre in Oviedo, Theatre Ancient Theatre in Vilnius, Dzintari Hall in Jürmala and Kolarac Concert Hall in Belgrade.

Anastasia Kobekina

© Julia Altukhova

Described by Le Figaro as an "unrivaled musician", Anastasia Kobekina is known for her breath- taking musicality and technique, her extraordinary versatility and her infectious personality. As soloist, Anastasia performed with worldwide renowned orchestras like Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Wiener Symphoniker, BBC Philharmonic, Kremerata Baltica, Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra Moscow, Wiener Kammerorchester, Symphoniker Hamburg, Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Barcelona Symphony, National Orchestra d’Ile de France and under the guidance of Krzysztov Penderecki, Heinrich Schiff, Omer Meir Wellber, Vladimir Spivakov,
Charles Detoit, Jean-Christophe Spinosi, Xian Zhang and Dmitrij Kitajenko.

Highlights of the 2023/24 season include concerts with the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich
conducted by Paavo Järvi, the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Jakub Hrusa, the Orchester National du Capitole de Toulouse, the Gstaad Festival Orchestra, the Orchester National de Belgique, as well as appearance at the Gstaad Menuhin Festival, Rheingau Music Festival and Dvořák Prague International Music Festival.

Anastasia is prizewinner at international competitions such as Tchaikovsky Competition (St.Petersburg 2019) and Enescu Competition (Bucharest 2016).
She has been a BBC New Generation Artist from 2018-2021 and became Borletti-Buitoni Trust Artists by receiving an award in 2022.

Anastasia performs at the major venues and festivals, including the Concertgebouw
Amsterdam, the Lincoln Center, Konzerthaus Berlin, Tonhalle Zurich, Les Flâneries Musicales de Reims, Easter Festival of Aix-en-Provence, Wigmore Hall and Festspiele Mecklenburg Vorpommern, Gstaad Menuhin Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival and Rheingau Music Festival.

Anastasia is an exclusive Sony Classical artist, her debut album will be released in early 2024. Born in Russia, she received her first cello lessons at the age of 4. Anastasia studied with Frans Helmerson and Prof. Jens-Peter Maintz in Germany and then in Paris with Jerome Pernoo. Currently, she is studying baroque Violoncello with Kristin von der Goltz in Frankfurt.

Kobekina performs on Violoncello Antonio Stradivarius from 1698 generously loaned by Stradivari Stiftung Habisreutinger.

Egle Wyss

Lithuanian mezzo-soprano Egle Wyss impresses with her intense and dramatic performances in the repertoire of Mozart, Donizetti, Bellini, Verdi, Wagner, Tchaikovsky and Strauss. Her most recent engagements include Venus "Tannhäuser" at the New National Theatre Tokyo, Jeanne d'Arc "Die Jungfrau von Orleans" at the Domstufen Festspiele Erfurt, Romeo "I Capuleti ed i Montecchi" at the Lithuanian National Opera in Vilnius and Eboli "Don Carlos" at the Lithuanian National Opera, the Latvian National Opera, Riga, and the Estonian National Opera, Tallinn. Her roles in Germany and Austria have included covering Elina Garanča as Venus Tannhäuser at the Salzburg Easter Festival alongside Jonas Kaufmann; Fenena "Nabucco" at the Freiburg Theatre and the Third Lady "Die Zauberflöte", Flower Girl "Parsifal" and Sonyetka "Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk" at the Staatstheater Kassel.

She covered Ekaterina Gubanova in a production of Don Carlos at the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino under the baton of Zubin Methas.

Future engagements in 2024 include Mère Marie de l'Incarnation "Dialogues des Carmélites" at Teatro Cervantes Málaga, her debut at Teatro Comunale Bologna for Rheingold and Walküre, Amneri's "Aida" at MTS Belgrade, Charlotte "Werther" at Teatro Sassari and finally in 2025 her debut at Teatro della Scala "Walküre".

Borun Li

Borun Li, born in 1994 in Luoyang, China. He started piano lessons at the age of 4. He completed his elementary and junior high school at the Wuhan Conservatory of Music, then went to Poland and studied with Professor Alicja Kledzik at the Genius High School of the Ignacy Jan Paderewski Academy of Music in Poznan. Since 2013, He has been enrolled in Prof. Gerrit Zitterbart’s class at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover and has completed Bachelor and Master studies and now is studying with Prof. Arie Vardi at Solo Class. During the Study, he received important artistic impulses from pianists such as Andrea Bonatta, Matti Reakallio, Pavel Gililov, Bernd Goetzke, Klaus Bäßler etc. In 2011 he won Sixth prize in 9th Arthur Rubinstein In Memoriam International Competition for Young Pianists in Bydgoszcz Poland and Third Prize in Zabrze Piano competition Poland and in 2019 received the scholarship from the "Dr. Gerda Rohde Prize for the Promotion of Young Musical Talents" for Outstanding University Graduates in 2019. In 2023 he won third prize in 5th Baltic Piano Competition in Gdańsk. He has performed concerts in many cities in China such as Beijing, Wuhan, Luoyang etc. also in Germany such as Hannover, Göttingen, Leipzig, Bielefeld, Verden etc.

Ewa Marciniec

Ewa Marciniec graduated from two faculties: The Composition and Musical Theory, The Vocal – Actor’s in Zofia Janukowicz – Pobłocka’s class. She got diplomas with distinction.

She was continuing learning on the artistic post – graduated studies thanks to the DAAD scholarship in Musikhochschule in Stuttgart in Luisa Bosabalian’s class ( the diploma with distinction in 1996 ).

Ewa Marciniec was making progress of her musical knowledge and vocal skills art the master’s courses led by such authourities like Carlo Bergonzi (Accademia Musicale Chigiana – Siena ), Paul Esswood ( Internationale Haendel Akademie – Karlsruhe ), Helmuth Rilling (Stuttgarter Bach Akademie – Kraków ), Adele Stolte ( The J. S. Bach Music Interpretation – Gdańsk ).

She took part in such prestige vocal contests as: The Performing of Polish Artistic Songs in Warsaw ( 1st prize and two special prizes - one of them from Krystyna Szostek – Radkowa  “ for the best performing and the most beautiful voice “), The Ada Sari Contest – prize in Nowy Sącz ( distinction ), IVC’ s-Hertogenbosch ( final), ARD Munich ( final ).

Ewa Marciniec is keen on old – time music ( Bach – St. Matthew Passion; Haendel – The Messiah, Alcina, Rodelinda; Vivaldi – Griselda ), romantic ( Mahler – Das Lied von der Erde, Kindertotenlieder, Brahms – Rhapsody for Alto) and modern one ( Penderecki – The Seven Gates of Jerusalem, Credo; Elżbieta Sikora – Omnia tempus habent – pre-original performance oratorium which was composed for the Gdańsk millenium ; Wojciech Kilar – Missa pro pace ).

Great forms of sacral music are presented on the stages in Poland ( Warsaw: The National Philharmonic, The Concert Studio of The Polisch Radio S1; Katowice: The Silesia Philharmonic, NOSPR ( National Symphonic Orchestry of Polish Radio; Kraków, Gdańsk, Poznań ) and abroad ( Germany: Berliner Philharmonie, Konzerthaus Berlin, Rundfunk – Sinfonieorchester Saarbrücken; Belgium: Palais des Beaux-Arts, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, Orchestre Philharmonique de Liege, Charlemagne Orchestra; Switzerland: Kunsthaus Luzern, Kongresshaus Zürich, Casino Basel, Casino Bern; Italy: Teatro La Fenice di Venezia, Filarmonica della Scala, Vatican, Spain: Real Filharmonia de Galicia, Croatia, Denmark, Netherlands, France, Israel ).

Her interpretation and vocal skills are used by international opera theatres. She was present on the Italian stages ( Theatro dell’Opera di Roma, Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Teatro Comunale Giuseppe Verdi di Trieste, Teatro Nuovo Giovanni da Udine ), German ones ( Oper Frankfurt, Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden, Staatstheater Oldenburg ) and Austrian ( Landestheater Linz ).

Ewa Marciniec is a guest on different musical festivals. The most important are: The International Festival Wratislavia Cantans, The Europalia Festival 2001 – Brussels, The Culture Festival Bornholm, Bard SummerScape 2008 – Annandale-on-Hudson/New York, The Krzysztof Penderecki Festival – Kraków 2000, Abu Ghosh Vocal Music Festival – Israel, The Days of Organs Music – Kraków, Musica Sacra Europea – Norymberg, The Organs Music Festival in the Oliva Cathedral, The Chamber Music Festival Musica nos unit – Gdańsk.

She cooperates with such conductors as Marc Albrecht, Tomasz Bugaj, Frans Brüggen, Myung-Whun Chung, Daniele Gatti, Christopher Hogwood, Toshiyuki Kamioka, Jacek Kaspszyk, Jerzy Katlewicz, Kazimierz Kord, Jan Krenz, Wojciech Michniewski, Gabor Ötvös, Marek Pijarowski, Stefan Anton Reck, Jerzy Salwarowski, Jerzy Semkow, Stanisław Skrowaczewski, Tadeusz Strugała, Antoni Wit, Tadeusz Wojciechowski.

She performs on the concerts and stages with well – known – world and famous stars – Susan Annthony, Eva-Maria Bundschuh, Albert Dohmen, Zdzisława Donat, Wojtek Drabowicz,  Simon Estes, Sabine Hass, Julia Juon, Hans-Joachim Ketelsen, Chris Merritt, Wiesław Ochman, Kenneth Riegel, Kurt Rydl, Elżbieta Szmytka, Alan Titus, Endrik Wottrich.

“… dark and warm “ Ewa Marciniec alto voice can be heard on the archives records of Polish Radio ( pieces of Polish composers ) and also on the CD’s ( Rossini – Messa di Gloria; Haendel – The Messiah by Mozart; Mahler – Symphony No. 8 “Symphony of a Thousand”; Penderecki – Credo; Seven Gates of Jerusalem; Szymanowski – Demeter;  Stabat Mater ).