Artists

Alexey Stadler has, among others, made guest appearances as a soloist with the San Francisco Symphony, the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra and the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and worked with conductors such as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Vasily Petrenko, Michael Sanderling, Robert Trevino and Tugan Sokhiev. The cellist impresses with depth of expression and tonal precision – "The way he plays is enchanting." (Tagesspiegel). As artistic advisor to the international chamber music festival Krzyżowa-Music, he is involved in a place steeped in history of European remembrance culture. As a professor at the Hamburg University of Music and Drama, he passes on his artistic experience to the next generation.

With the project DIALOGI, which he founded, he promotes musical dialogue across borders.

Image credit: Marco Borggreve

Arash Safaian was born in Tehran and grew up in Germany. His compositions embody a new understanding of beauty and narrative in classical music. He has composed orchestral works, ensemble pieces, film scores and operas and has received several awards for his compositions. He is the winner of several composition prizes like the international Günther Bialas Prize, the Prize of the Reinl Foundation, the Bavarian Art Promotion Prize and the EON Cultural Award. He was a fellow of the Villa Concordia in Bamberg and the "Cité des Artes in Paris. He received the ECHO KLASSIK in 2017 and the Bavarian Film Award in 2020. His albums have repeatedly reached the top 10 of the German classical music charts several times, made it into the US Billboards and topped the iTunes charts in several countries. Arash Safaian unique combination of compositional artistry and modern sound language is celebrated on international stages.

Image Credit: Gregor Hohenberg

The Berlin choir Cantus Domus opens up new approaches to choral music for its audiences with spirited productions and creative concert formats.

Under the artistic direction of Ralf Sochaczewsky, the choir broke new ground with the performance of a choral version of Terry Riley's "In C", with the German premiere of Fredrik Schwenk's arrangement of Schnittke's Faust cantata, as well as with the world premiere of a choral opera staged by Cantus Domus to excellent reviews, the new performance of which is planned. Further highlights: the collaboration with Charlotte Greve, Vox Humana (Oslo), Fahmi Alqhai and the Accademia del Piacere (from Spain, Syria and elsewhere) or Shavnabada and Tutarchela (Georgia).

Claudio Bohorquez is a multiple international prize winner and renowned professor at the Hanns Eisler School of Music in Berlin. Numerous CD recordings on labels such as Berlin Classics, EMI, Deutsche Grammophon, alpha and many others.

Claudio performs regularly as a soloist and chamber musician on all major international stages.

Image credit: Peter Adamik

Craig Armstrong is a Scottish composer known for his orchestral works, electronic music and film scores. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music and combines influences from classical, jazz, pop and experimental music. His album The Edge Of The Sea explores Gaelic psalm singing in collaboration with Calum Martin and the Scottish Ensemble. Armstrong has created award-winning film scores, including for Romeo and Juliet, Moulin Rouge!, Love Actually, and The Great Gatsby. His recent works include Mrs Lowry and Son, The Most Reluctant Convert, as well as new films such as The Critic and The Great Escaper.

Dušan Kostić is a Serbian double bassist based in Berlin, acclaimed for his artistry and international career. A graduate of the Basel Music Academy with Bachelor and Konzertexamen degrees, he has appeared as soloist with the Orchestre National de Cannes, Basel Sinfonieorchester, and Belgrade Radio-Symphony Orchestra, performing major concertos by Bottesini, Koussevitzky, Dittersdorf, Vanhal, and Nino Rota.

He has collaborated with leading conductors and soloists including Manfred Honeck, Jaap van Zweden, Daniele Gatti, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, Patricia Kopatchinskaja, and Christian Tetzlaff. Festival appearances include the Gstaad Menuhin, Lucerne, Kronberg, Merano, and Rheingau Festivals, among others.

In addition to solo and chamber performances, Kostić has played with orchestras such as the Munich Philharmonic, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Monte-Carlo Philharmonic, and Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin.

Over time, I found it strange that musicians write their own biography in the third person.

So I briefly write the following about myself:

I have been playing the cello for more than 20 years. I like to be in nature and spend time with people I love. I really want to learn a lot of new things, such as playing the guitar, singing, boxing and riding.

Image credit: Alexandra Münch

Lena von Almen, born in Switzerland in 2001, discovered her passion for the cello at the age of six and was soon accepted into the Swiss talent promotion of music. After graduating from high school, she completed her bachelor's degree with distinction at the Bern University of the Arts with Antonio Meneses and is currently studying for her master's degree at the Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin with Claudio Bohórquez. She attended master classes with renowned professors and is a scholarship holder and academician of the Zermatt Music Festival with the Berlin Philharmonic. Concert appearances have taken her, among others, to the Berlin Philharmonie, the Konzerthaus Berlin and the KKL Lucerne.

In May 2025, she recorded a CD with works by Craig Armstrong and plays on a cello by David Tecchler from 1698.

Born in Poland into a family of classical and jazz musicians, studied in Gdańsk, Mannheim, Weimar, and later at the Kronberg Academy with Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt. At 19, he won 1st Prize and a special award at the Lutoslawski International Cello Competition, later becoming a laureate at the 2017 Queen Elisabeth Competition and a prize winner at the 2019 YCAT Auditions. He has performed as a soloist with orchestras such as the Warsaw Philharmonic, Brussels Philharmonic, and London Mozart Players, working with conductors like Krzysztof Penderecki and Stéphane Denève.

A passionate chamber musician, Maciej has appeared at major festivals across Europe, Asia, and the Americas, collaborating with artists like Emanuel Ax, Jan Vogler, and the Maisky family.

He plays a Giovanni Baptista Ruggeri cello from 1700, generously loaned by a Charitable Trust.

Born in Russia, violinist Maria Ioudenitch immigrated to the USA with her family at the age of two and grew up in Kansas City. In 2021, she received first prizes at the International Ysaÿe Music Competition, the International Tibor Varga Violin Competition and the International Joseph Joachim Competition.

In recent months, Maria Ioudenitch has made her debut with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin (at the Berlin Philharmonie), the MDR Symphony Orchestra Leipzig, the Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra and the Munich Symphony Orchestra and returned to her hometown Kansas City Symphony. Other recent engagements have taken her to the NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover, the Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra and the Utah Symphony.

Polish cellist based in Berlin, is a versatile and internationally active musician. She studied with Prof. Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt (HfM Weimar) and graduated with honors from UdK Berlin. Since 2024, she is an academist at the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin and began her Konzertexamen with Prof. Alexey Stadler at HfMT Hamburg in 2025. She has performed at festivals such as Prussia Cove, Kronberg Academy, Villars Institute Academy, and Zermatt Music Festival, and played in venues like Elbphilharmonie, Berlin Philharmonie and Musikverein Vienna. She is a laureate of numerous competitions including the Janigro International Competition, Tonali18, Mendelssohn Competition, and German Music Competition. As of 2023, she is part of the Pirastro Young Artist family. 

Oliwia plays an exceptional Italian cello by Paolo Castello, generously loaned by a private sponsor.

Image credit: Anna Tena