Pianist: Peter Wittenberg

Rainer Kussmaul was born in Mannheim in 1946 and studied violin with Ricardo Odnoposoff. He has won prizes at international violin and chamber music competitions, including Berlin (Mendelssohn-Preis), ARD Munich, Montreal, Bucharest and Leipzig. As a soloist he has performed with orchestras such as the BBC Orchestra, the Munich and Berlin Philharmonic Orchestras, the Montreal and Bamberg Symphony Orchestras and most of the German Radio Symphony Orchestras with conductors Abbado, Barenboim, Inbal, Metha, Nagano, Prétre, Ozawa, Solti, Wand and Zender. From 1993 - 1998 he was the concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. As a chamber musician he has performed worldwide and was a founding member of the Stuttgarter Klaviertrio. In 1995 he founded the Berliner Barocksolisten. He is co-founder and artistic director of the "Festival di Musica d´Insieme Sessa Aurunca" in Italy, which has run since 1987. Rainer Kussmaul has been a professor of violin at the Musikhochschule Freiburg and teaches at the Carl-Flesch-Akademie in Baden-Baden. He has given master classes in Australia, the U.S.A., Canada, Japan, China, Sweden and Switzerland and is in demand as a judge at international violin and chamber music competitions. He has been awarded the Echo-Klassik-Preis and a GRAMMY, among others. Rainer Kussmaul plays a violin by Antonius Stradivari from 1724.

Pianist: Nadja Höbarth

Erich Höbarth was born in Vienna in 1956. He studied with Franz Samohyl and Sandor Vegh. Member of the Végh-Quartet; assistent at his master classes.He was 1st concertmaster of the Vienna Symphony from 1980 - 87; concertmaster and soloist with the "Concertus Musicus" under Nikolaus Harnoncourt. 1979 - 2004 member of the "Vienna String Sextet", since 1987 he has been a member of the "Quatour Mosaiques". Erich Höbarth appears frequently as a soloist with the Camerata Academica of Salzburg, the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, Chapelle Royal of Paris, the Baltic Philharmonia, RSO Vienna, the Vienna Symphony and many others. He performs chamber music with Andras Schiff, Sabine Mayer, Elisabeth Leonskaja und Miklos Perenyi among others.He was a guest professor at the Graz University of Music and taught chamber music at the Vienna University of Music He has been professor at the summer academy Prag - Wien - Budapest and the European Chamber Music Academy for string quartet. Artistic director of the CAMERATA BERN from 2000 - 2009.

Assistent: Predrag Katanic (Linz) 16.-24.8.2010

Pianist 1st Session: Yumi Sekiya
Pianist 2nd.Session: Biliana Tzinlikova

Repertoire: one piece by J.S.Bach and at least one other piece

Born in Vienna in 1956, Thomas Riebl studied with S.Führlinger, Peter Schidlof and Sandor Végh. He has won prizes at international competitions such as Munich and Budapest, and in 1982 won first prize at the International Naumburg Competition in New York where he also received the Ernst-Wallfisch-Memorial-Award. He has appeared at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Concertgebow Amsterdam and Wiener Musikverein, with leading orchestras including the Chicago and Vienna Symphony, Bavarian Radio Symphony and Finish Radio Symphony Orchestra, with conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Horst Stein, Edo de Waart, Andrew Davies and Sylvain Cambreling. His chamber music partners include have been Jessey Norman, Andràs Schiff, Oleg Maisenberg, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Gidon Kremer, Natalia Gutman, Sabine Meyer and the Juilliard String Quartet. He was a member of the Vienna String Sextet (1979 - 2004). Thomas Riebl is professor at the University Mozarteum Salzburg since 1983 and has given numerous master classes worlwide. He has recorded for EMI, RCA, pan classics and Hyperion Records.

Pianist: Nenad Lecic

After his studies with André Navarra and Pierre Fournier Christoph Richter was principal cellist of the Northern Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Günter Wand. An intense collaboration with Sandor Végh and prizes at international competitions such as Paris (Rostropovich) and Geneva led him to the decision to leave the orchestra.

He became professor at the Folkwang Hochschule in Essen (Germany), was member of the Cherubini quartet and played as soloist with many leading orchestras (including Munich and Tcheque Philharmonic, premiere of a new work by Henze at the Salzburg Festival).

In 2004 he founded the Heine quartet, with whom he recorded a CD with works of Brahms and Janacek, which became CD of the month by the “The Strad” in London.

His strong interest in contemporary music has led him to work with composers such as Penderecki, Kurtág, Henze, Lachenmann, Holliger, Reimann and Widmann.

In spring 2009 ECM released his recording of works by Schumann and Holliger with pianist Denes Varjon. A second CD with the entire works by Brahms and Webern as well for ECM is planned.

Upcoming concerts include the Schumann cello concerto at the Musikverein in Vienna, projects with the Camerata Bern, and chamber music concerts with Andras Schiff, Isabelle Faust, Thomas Riebl, Erich Höbarth, and Levon Chilingirian in London, Milan, Bern, Salzburg and Berlin.

Since the foundation of the European Chamber Music Academy (ECMA) in 2004 he is teaching young string quartets and piano trios together with colleagues such as Hatto Beyerle, Gabor Takacz, Johannes Meissl and Peter Cropper. Regularly he teaches at the Menuhin Academy in Switzerland and the London String Quartet Foundation and gives master classes in various countries.

As juror he was invited to international competitions such as the Haydn competition in Vienna, the Joachim competition in Weimar, the London String Quartet Competition and the Trondheim Competition in Norway.

Christoph Richter has made solo and chamber music recordings for the labels EMI, ECM, Naxos, Tudor, cpo, Wergo and Genuin.

http://www.christoph-richter.com

Pianist: Srebra Gelleva

Born in 1965, he studied with Claus Kanngiesser, David Geringas, Zara Nelsova und Heinrich Schiff, among others.

Having been a prizewinner at numerous national and international competitions, he won first prize and gold medal at the IX. International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moskow.

His worldwide appearances include concerts with the Helsinki Philharmonik and Cincinnati Symphony Orchestras, the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, the Bamberg and Bavarian Symphony Orchestras.

Recordings for Harmonia mundi and the WDR.

He is a member of the Trio da Saló and Professor at the Acedemy of Music in Saarbrücken/Germany.

Natalie Gal was born in Salzburg. She studied instrumental education at Brucknerkonservatorium in Linz and graduated in 1996, passing all exams with distinction, and continued to study Viola da Gamba with Pierre Pitzl in the Department for Early Music at Konservatorium Wien in Vienna. In the summer of 2000, she finished her concert diploma. Natalie Gal is a member of the Paul Hofhaimer Consort, an early music ensemble which has built up over the years an excellent national and international reputation for performing medieval and Renaissance music. She has specialized in the art of historical dance and since 2000, is in charge of the Musica et Saltatoria-ensemble which looks back on numerous performances in Austria as well as abroad and has taken part in theatre, opera and TV productions. At present, Natalie Gal teaches gamba and historical dance at Musikum Salzburg where she also coordinates current projects, and works as an instructor at Athanor Akademie for Performing Arts in Burghausen, Germany.

To dance like The Sun King at Versailles … This course is an introduction to Baroque Dance teached by Natalie Gal.

In the 17th century, during the reign of Louis XIV, France took over the leading role in dance culture. For the court ceremony at Versailles, dance had become a central aspect that finally led to the establishment of the "Acadèmie Royale de Danse" in 1661. The dance technique that developed during this period was common for both theatrical and ballroom dancing. Pierre Beauchamp, the most important master of the Academy of this period, published the first dance notation that correlated choreography and music in a relatively exact way. Various collections of English country dances (the name was changed to French contra- dance later) attest to the great popularity of this convivial social dance. The dancers formed either a circle or quadrangle or stood opposite each other. The latter form, the so-called Longway, remained popular until the 19th century.

Helmut Zeilner teaches voice and choral conducting at the Musikum Salzburg. As Department Director, he leads the voice and choir departments and is also the State Choir Director of the Salburger Choir Society. Under his direction, both choirs, the chamber choir “KlangsCala” and the Salzburger Boys´ and Girls´ Choir have won numerous awards and perform regularily in the Salzburger Festival, Carinthian Summer Festival and the Salzburger Cultural Event. In 2003, he conducted the Salzburger Premier of Heinz Werner Henze´s opera “Pollicino”. In addition to conducting, Helmut Zeilner has been active as a singer with concerts in Europe and Japan, performing Lieder Recitals including some of the most beautiful works written for voice by Schubert (“Dichterliebe”, “ Winterreise” and “ Schwanengesang”). He has also recorded 5 CDs with an entertainment orchestra as the vocal soloist. Through his involvement in various educational institutions and organizations within Austria, he gives masterclasses and serves as a juror in voice and choral competitions.

This seminar offers an introduction to the basics of singing and breath control,which are beneficial to all instrumentalists. Included are exercises in breathing and relaxation, as well as studies in vocal production, allowing each participant to explore their own vocal qualities.