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.

The Deutsches Kammerorchester Berlin (DKO) was founded in 1989 in the spirit of German reunification and has since become an established part of Berlin’s cultural life. Today, its approximately 20 musicians, drawing on both Berlin and international backgrounds, inspire audiences with their curiosity, commitment, and exceptional artistic quality.

Under the artistic leadership of Concertmaster Gabriel Adorján, the orchestra performs regularly at the Chamber Music Hall of the Berlin Philharmonie. Its repertoire spans from the Baroque era to contemporary music, combining classical masterpieces with modern compositions and lesser-known works beyond the standard concert canon.

The DKO collaborates with renowned conductors and soloists, with Markus Poschner serving as Principal Guest Conductor. Numerous CD recordings document the ensemble’s artistic achievements. Supporting emerging artists is a key part of the orchestra’s mission, as is music education, including a close partnership with a Berlin school that provides young people with direct access to classical music and the work of a professional orchestra.

Photo Credit: Constanze Vielgosz

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.

Ella van Poucke is an internationally acclaimed Dutch cellist who made her debut at the Concertgebouw at the age of ten and has since performed in major concert halls around the world. She has performed as a soloist with numerous renowned orchestras, including the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Brussels Philharmonic, the Kremerata Baltica and has collaborated with conductors and artists such as Christoph Eschenbach and Karina Canellakis. As a committed chamber musician, she regularly performs with leading musicians and at international festivals such as Verbier, Music@Menlo and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Her discography includes highly acclaimed recordings, including her Schumann debut album and a Rachmaninoff tribute. In 2024 she attracted particular attention with her performance of all six Bach suites in one evening.

In addition to her concert activities, she is dedicated to teaching and was appointed professor of violoncello at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam in 2022.

Photo credits: Valentine Bouquet 

Georgy Gusev is a composer, cellist, documentary filmmaker, and inventor.

He graduated from the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory and the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome.

His performances have taken him to some of the world’s most prestigious festivals. Gusev has worked with renowned musicians such as Natalia Gutman, Jordi Savall, Yo-Yo Ma, Giovanni Sollima, Enrico Dindo, and Mario Brunello, as well as internationally acclaimed artists from the popular music industry, including Randy Jackson, Mark Mancina, Walter Afanasieff and Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds.

As a composer, Gusev began his career with a series of works for solo cello titled Traveler’s Diary, which later became the soundtrack for several programs broadcast by the Italian television network RAI. In 2018, he made his debut at Carnegie Hall as both a composer and performer. A year later, his new song cycle for soprano and cello premiered on the same legendary stage. Today, he continues to compose actively across a wide range of genres, collaborating with internationally acclaimed classical musicians as well as film and theater productions.

Photo by Anna Gvozdovskaya

hear now Berlin., founded in 2019 by the American flutist Kelly Watson Woelffer in Berlin, has dedicated itself to innovative, contemporary music: works by young, contemporary composers who celebrate a wide variety of influences and personal preferences with relish. New music enters into a diverse, rhythmically pulsating, highly virtuoso and colourful combination with for example jazz, minimal music, pop or club music.

The musicians not only work with young composers such as Nathan Schram, Andrew Norman, Caroline Shaw and Gabriella Smith, but also initiate innovative collaborations with artists from jazz and pop in search of a modern, fresh sound of contemporary music.

In spring 2023, hear now berlin's debut album was released at the Backlash label.

Photo Credits: Dovile Sermokas

Hiyoli Togawa is a versatile violist whose artistic path is characterized by curiosity and openness. Trained by Rainer Moog, Antoine Tamestit and the Artemis Quartet, among others, she established herself earlyon as a soloist and chamber musician and has won awards at international competitions. With German-Japanese-Australian roots, she combines cultures and the arts and develops her own concert formats that link music with other disciplines.

One focus of her work is contemporary music. For the recording of Kalevi Aho's "Moonlight Concerto" dedicated to her, she received the ICMA Prize in 2026. Her highly acclaimed concept albums on BIS, including "Songs of Solitude" and "CHILDREN!", underline their claim to make social issues musically reflective.

Photo Credits: Anne Hornemann

Ivan Skanavi, winner of the 2022 Grand-Prix Emanuel Feuermann, is one of the leading cellists of his generation, captivating audiences with his broad stylistic sound spectrum, clear projection and vast range of colours.

Combining a fruitful chamber music career with frequent solo performances, Skanavi’s resume of performances include a number of high-profile festivals, venues and orchestras such as Verbier Music Festival, Kronberg Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Festival, Gezeitenkonzerte, Chamber Music Hall of the Berlin Philharmonie, Rundfunk- Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Stuttgart Kammerorchester, Kammerphilharmonie Metamorphosen Berlin, amongst others.

Born in Russia, Ivan received his first cello lessons at the age of 6. His teachers in Moscow were Tamara Alexeeva, Alexey Seleznev and Alexander Rudin.

Since 2017, Skanavi has been honing his skills under Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt at the University Franz Liszt Weimar and at Kronberg Academy.

Ivan Skanavi plays a cello by Matteo Goffriller from 1720.

Photo Credits: Kristina Revva

Joe Boyd (*1942 in Boston) is an influential music and film producer who, after graduating from Harvard, began his career in the 1960s, including at the Newport Folk Festival and with Bob Dylan's electric debt. In Londonhe founded the UFO Club in 1966 and later produced artists such as Pink Floyd, Nick Drake, Fairport Convention, R.E.M. and Billy Bragg.

As head of the music department of Warner Brothers Films, he was responsible for important film scores and produced a Jimi Hendrix documentary. He founded Hannibal Records, was involved in film projects and published successful memoirs. Since 2016, he has been producing BalkanMusik with his wife Andrea Goertler. 

His book "And the Roots of Rhythm Remain" sheds light on the stories behind the music from all over the world that has shaped Western musical tastes. 

Judd Greenstein is considered an active advocate of independent New Music both in the USA and worldwide. As the founder of New Amsterdam Records and the Ecstatic Music Festival, the composer is at the forefront of developing a genre-fluid musical landscape. By building a new, progressive musical infrastructure, he aims to increase diversity and representation within the contemporary music scene.

Judd has worked on behalf of leading institutions such as Carnegie Hall, the Lucerne Festival, and the Minnesota Orchestra. However, his main focus is on small ensembles, such as Roomful of Teeth, NOW Ensemble and yMusic, as well as self-led projects that allow for close collaboration with hand-picked artists and maximum interpretive freedom for the performers.

Photo Credits: Anja Schütz

Composer, pianist and producer Kaan Bulak was born in 1991 in Aachen, spent his childhood in Istanbul and finished high-school in Stuttgart. During this period he was studying piano with Andrej Jussow. In 2015 Kaan Bulak achieved a first class Bachelor’s Degree in Audio Production from SAE Berlin. Under the supervision of Martin Supper for composition and Jean-Boris Szymczak of Funkhaus Studio P4 for sound production, Kaan Bulak graduated in 2017 as Master of Arts in Sound Studies from University of Arts Berlin.

Kaan Bulak is currently living and working in Berlin where he runs the audiovisual label Feral Note with its own production studio and concert salon.

As the chairman of Tonkünstlerverband Berlin, Kaan Bulak represents musicians in cultural politics. 

Photo credits: Manuel Abella

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

Founded in Lüneburg in 2017, the Rothko String Quartet (RSQ) with Marc Kopitzki (viola), Jakob Nierenz (violoncello), Joosten Ellée and William Overcash (violins) is characterized by stylistic versatility resulting from its preoccupation with old and new music. The ensemble sees it as its task to make works by marginalized composers as well as little-known pieces of music history visible.

A strong collaborative approach characterises both the rehearsals and projects with contemporary female composers and artists from other disciplines. In addition to new music, the RSQ specifically seeks to cross boundaries between genres and works with jazz, techno, dance and visual artists, among others. There are collaborations with Mirna Bogdanovic, dOP, Tian Gao and inti figgis-vizueta (Album "Music for Transitions", release 2026).

In cooperation with PODIUM Esslingen, the RSQ develops innovative concert formats and is a regular guest at renowned festivals, including the Ludwigsburg Castle Festival, the PODIUM Festival Esslingen and international festivals. In 2025, the ensemble continued its path with its first US tour.

Photo Credits: Sophia Hegewald

Sven Helbig composes music for choir, orchestra, and chamber ensembles. A multi-instrumentalist, he combines classical compositional techniques with subtle, experimental electronics, creating a distinctive sonic universe that bridges tradition and innovation.

Raised in Eisenhüttenstadt, a planned city in eastern Germany, Helbig discovered his passion for music amid brass bands, his parents’ record collection, and the few radio stations he could receive using self-built devices. These early experiments with electronics shaped his creative approach and remain a defining element of his work to this day.

Helbig initially studied the clarinet and guitar, later adding drums and piano to his musical repertoire. His debut album, Pocket Symphonies, was released by the renowned label Deutsche Grammophon, introducing the self-taught composer to an international audience.

Sven Helbig regularly performs on international stages with his concert programs, appearing not only with classical ensembles but also as a live electronics artist and percussionist. Important milestones in his career include performances at London’s Barbican Centre and Southbank Centre, Madrid’s Reina Sofía, the Accademia dei Lincei in Rome, the Prague State Opera, the Alexandrinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Singapore’s Esplanade Concert Hall, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, and the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden.

His compositions have been performed by leading ensembles and artists, including the BBC Singers, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Fauré Quartet, the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, cellist Jan Vogler, and conductor Kristjan Järvi.

Transcending traditional genre boundaries, Helbig is also a sought-after collaborator for exceptional cross-genre projects. Among others, he has worked with the Pet Shop Boys, Snoop Dogg, Rammstein, Heaven Shall Burn, and many other internationally acclaimed artists.

Since 2017, he has hosted the weekly radio program Schöne Töne on Radio Eins (Berlin), where he shares his passion and deep knowledge of music history while introducing listeners to new sounds and musical discoveries.

In recognition of his artistic achievements, Sven Helbig was awarded the Art Prize of the City of Dresden.

Photo Credits: Ulrike Heise