FACULTY BIOGRAPHIES
PIANO FACULTY
Christopher Elton, piano
(Week 1, July 30 – August 6, 2023)
Many have won international awards, including first prizes in the Van Cliburn and London World International Piano Competitions as well as in Jaen, Newport and Dudley. Further recent successes came in recent finals of the Tchaikovsky, Leeds, Dublin, Shanghai and Munich (ARD) and Taiwan International Competitions well as previous major awards in the international competitions in Santander, Geneva (CIEM), Geza Anda, Leipzig Bach, New Orleans, Pozzoli, Mazaro del Vallo, Porto, Madrid, Ettlingen and the Stravinsky Awards in the USA. Students have also been successful in the prestigious Young Concert Artists award in New York, as well as in the London Young Concert Artists Trust. Many of his students, such as Inon Barnatan, Freddy Kempf, Ashley Wass and Yevgeny Sudbin are now successful recording artists with major contracts.
While his priority is to his work at the Academy, Christopher Elton has also been much in demand overseas both as a teacher and as a jury member for international competitions including Moscow Tchaikovsky, Leeds International and many others. Within the last few years he has given masterclasses in the USA, Japan, Israel, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Spain, Germany and Ireland and Vietnam, many of them for important conservatories or universities. He has also been a jury member at competitions in Germany, Japan, Roumania and Ireland as well as in the UK. As an adjudicator he has worked both in festivals and on television in the UK, Canada and Hong Kong.
Christopher was a prize winner in several British and international piano competitions and continued his studies with Maria Curcio-Diamand, playing and broadcasting regularly both as a soloist and in chamber music. At the same time he worked as a freelance cellist with the major London orchestras. During recent years he has also given recitals in the USA, Ireland, Spain, Australia and Vietnam.
Born in Edinburgh, Christopher received most of his musical education at the Royal Academy of Music, where he achieved the unusual distinction of gaining the Academy’s highest performing award — the DipRAM — on both piano and cello. He was elected a Fellow in 1983. In 2002, he received the title of Professor of the University of London.
In May 2022, Anna Geniushene – a student of Christopher Elton at the Royal Academy of Music – and subsequently – was awarded the Silver Medal (2nd Prize) at the Cliburn International Piano Competition.
Roberto Prosseda, piano
(Week 2, August 6 – 13, 2023)
Roberto Prosseda, born in Latina, italy, in 1975, is one of the most active and versatile Italian musicians on the current international scene. As a pianist, he gained international fame following his Decca CDs dedicated to the piano music of Felix Mendelssohn, which he recorded in full on 10 CDs (2005 – 2014), published in a single box set in 2017 (“Mendelssohn Complete Piano Works”).
Over the past twenty years Roberto Prosseda has performed regularly with some of the world’s leading orchestras, including the London Philharmonic, New Japan Philharmonic, Moscow State Philharmonic, Santa Cecilia, Filarmonica della Scala, Brussels Philharmonic, Residentie Orkest, Netherlands Symphony, Berliner Symphoniker, Staatskapelle Weimar, Calgary Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, Leipzig Gewandhaus. He has performed under the baton of David Afkham, Marc Albrecht, Christian Arming, Harry Bickett, Oleg Caetani, Riccardo Chailly, Pietari Inkinen, Yannick Nézet-Seguin, George Pehlivanian, Dennis Russel-Davies, Tugan Sokhiev, Jurai Valcuha, Jan Willem de Vriend. With the Gewandhaus Orchester conducted by Riccardo Chailly he recorded the unpublished Concerto in E minor by Mendelssohn, published by Decca in September 2009.
In Italy Roberto Prosseda is a regular guest of the major concert institutions, including the Accademia di Santa Cecilia, the Teatro alla Scala, the Unione Musicale of Turin, the Teatro la Fenice, the Accademia Chigiana of Siena, the Teatro Comunale of Bologna. Prosseda is also particularly appreciated in the interpretations of Mozart, Schubert, Schumann, Chopin, authors to whom he has also dedicated himself in his most recent Decca recordings.
His complete Mozart Sonatas and Variations, recorded on Fazioli piano with unequal Vallotti tuning (2015-22), has received considerable international acclaim. Also active in the promotion of today’s music, Prosseda has in his repertoire the complete piano productions of Petrassi, Dallapiccola and Aldo Clementi and numerous compositions by contemporary Italian composers.
He is the dedicatee of numerous piano compositions by famous contemporary composers, including Aldo Clementi, Ennio Morricone, Luca Lombardi, Marcello Panni, Alessandro Solbiati, Michele dall’Ongaro, Paolo Castaldi, Ivan Fedele, Carlo Boccadoro, Nicola Campogrande. In 2010 Deutsche Grammophon selected twelve recordings by Prosseda to include them in the “Classic Gold” box set, published in May 2010.
Since 2011, Prosseda has also been playing the piano-pedalier in public, having rediscovered and presented in modern premieres various pieces by Alkan and the Concert by Charles Gounod for piano-pedalier and orchestra with the Toscanini Philharmonic of Parma, which he has re-performed with the Berliner Symphoniker, the Weimar Staatskapelle, the Lahti Philharmonic, the Netherlands Symphony Orchestra.
Roberto Prosseda is also involved in musical research and dissemination. He is co-author of three documentaries, dedicated to Mendelssohn, Chopin, and Liszt, directed by Angelo Bozzolini, produced by RAI Educational and distributed by Euroarts. He has curated numerous radio cycles for Radio Vaticana and Radiotre (including the one on Aldo Clementi) and is the conductor and author of over 40 “music lessons” for Italian National Radio, and of several television cycles. He is regularly invited as a guest professor at various foreign universities and conservatories (Yale University, UCLA, Beijing Central Conservatory) and as a member of the jury in piano competitions (including the Venice Prize of the Teatro La Fenice and the ARD competition in Munich).
He is the author of the volume “Guide to listening to piano music” (Curci, 2013).
Jan Jiracek von Arnim, piano
(Week 2, August 6 – 13, 2023)
Born into a family of musicians, pianist Jan Jiracek von Arnim was described by BBC Music Magazine as one of the leading pianists of his generation.
He won the first prize at the Steinway Competition in Hamburg at age ten and made his formal debut the following year in his hometown of Hannover (Germany), performing a piano concerto by Mozart. Mr. Jiracek has since performed extensively throughout Europe, including recitals at the Herkulessaal Munich, Philharmonie Berlin, Steinway Hall London, Salle Cortot Paris, Palau de la musica Barcelona, Tonhalle Zurich, Konzerthaus Vienna, Musikverein Vienna, Musikhalle Hamburg and the Gewandhaus Leipzig, as well as orchestral appearances with the Berlin and St. Petersburg Philharmonics, Cologne Chamber Orchestra, Vienna Chamber Orchestra, and the Northern Sinfonia of England.
Jan Jiracek is a scholarship holder of prestigious foundations, such as the “Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes” and “Paul Harris Fellow” of Rotary Foundation, 2020. He is also honorary citizen of Fredericksburg, Texas (USA).
A top prize winner at the Busoni Competition (Italy) and Maria Canals Competition (Spain), Jan Jiracek von Arnim was one of the winners of the Tenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (USA). Following his success at the Cliburn Competition, he was invited to join the roster of Community Concerts, resulting in more than 180 performances throughout the United States. He received special honors and awards for his interpretations of music by Ludwig van Beethoven and Olivier Messiaen. Recent engagements included recitals at the Tilles Center at Long Island University, the University of Vermont Lane Series, and Spivey Hall in Atlanta. He also performed with the Washington Chamber Orchestra at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C., the Riverside Symphony at the Lincoln Center in New York and with the Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra at Bass Performance Hall. Jan Jiracek von Arnim has been featured on several European radio and television stations, including ZDF, BBC, SFB Berlin, Deutschlandradio, Radio Hilversum, Radio Stockholm, and Radio France, and on NDR as a soloist with the NDR Symphony Orchestra.
A graduate of the UdK Berlin, he studied with Hans Leygraf and has performed in masterclasses with Alfred Brendel and Bruno Leonardo Gelber, among others. Jan Jiracek von Arnim gives master classes on a regular basis in North America, Asia, and Europe. He was appointed professor for piano at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien in 2001, making him the youngest tenured professor in the history of that school. Mr. Jiracek von Arnim is frequently invited as a judge at international piano competitions, e.g. the "Hamamatsu International Piano Competition", the “Busoni International Piano Competition” and the "Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition for young musicians". Since 2011, he is the Artistic Director and Chairman of the “International Beethoven Piano Competition Vienna”, one of the most prestigious music competitions worldwide.
Boris Berman, piano
(Week 3, August 13 – 20, 2023)
Boris Berman Photo Bob Handelman
Born in Moscow, Boris Berman studied at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory with Lev Oborin and graduated with distinction as both pianist and harpsichordist. He performed extensively throughout the former Soviet Union as a recitalist and appeared as guest soloist with numerous orchestras, including the Moscow Philharmonic and the Moscow Chamber orchestras. In 1973 he left the Soviet Union to immigrate to Israel, quickly establishing himself as one of the most sought-after keyboard performers and a highly influential musical personality. Presently residing in the USA, he continues to perform internationally as a recitalist, chamber musician and soloist with the world’s most prestigious orchestras and conductors.
Mr. Berman’s acclaimed recordings on the Philips, Deutsche Gramophon and Melodia labels have been complemented with 2 CDs of the complete piano sonatas of Scriabin for the Music and Arts label and a recital of Shostakovich piano works (Ottavo), which received the Edison Classic Award in Holland. The recording of three Prokofiev concertos with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Neeme Järvi (Chandos) marked the beginning of an ambitious project of recording the complete Prokofiev solo piano works. The first pianist ever to undertake this task, Mr. Berman has released it on nine Chandos CDs to great critical acclaim. His most recent discography shows the breadth of his repertoire: a disc ‘Debussy for Children’ (Ottavo); two releases of works for prepared piano by John Cage (Naxos – named Top Recording by the BBC Music Magazine); piano quintets of Shostakovich and Schnittke with the Vermeer Quartet (Naxos); and a recording of Scott Joplin’s Ragtimes (Ottavo).
A dedicated teacher of international stature, Boris Berman has served on the faculties of Indiana (Bloomington), Boston, Brandeis and Tel-Aviv universities. He currently heads the Piano Department at Yale School of Music. In 2000, the prestigious Yale University Press published his book ‘Notes from the Pianist’s Bench’, in which Berman draws on his vast experience as performer and teacher to explore issues of piano technique and music interpretation. Mr. Berman is a frequent jury member of international competitions such as Leeds, Dublin and the Artur Rubinstein Competition in Tel-Aviv. Mr. Berman regularly gives international master classes and he was director of the Yale Summer Piano Institute (1990-92) and of the International Summer Piano Institute in Hong Kong (1995-97).
Jacques Rouvier, piano
(Week 3, August 13 – 20, 2023)
Born into a family of musicians in Marseille in, Jacques Rouvier has held concerts and master classes in France and abroad for some thirty years now. He studied with Vlado Perlemuter, Pierre Sancan, Jean Fassina and Jean Hubeau at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris, where he was awarded two First Prizes, in piano and in chamber music. He went on to an appointment as professor for piano there in 1979. A true virtuoso, he is the winner of the Gian Battista Viotti International Music Competition in Vercelli, the Maria Canals Competition in Barcelona, and the Marguerite Long-Jacques Thibaud International Competition in Paris. In 1970, together with violinist Jean-Jacques Kantorow and cellist Philippe Muller, he formed the Rouvier-Kantorow-Muller Trio with whom he continues to perform on a regular basis. His discography includes over thirty titles, including the complete works of Claude Debussy. His recordings of the complete works for piano by Maurice Ravel, as well as sonatas for violin and piano by Ravel and Debussy, won the Grand Prix du Disque in France. Concerts and masterclasses bring him all over the world. Former students include Hélène Grimaud and Arcadi Volodos.
VIOLIN FACULTY
Takashi Shimizu, violin
(Week 1. July 30 – August 6, 2023)
Takashi Shimizu was studying the violin with S. Tokunaga at the age of 6 and then with S. Sumi. Also he studied sometimes under Y. Yankelevich.
He won the first prize in the All Japan Student Music Competition at age of 10 and made his debut concert with the NHK Symphony Orchestra. After Shimizu won 3 first prizes of the All Japan Music Competitions at the age of 17. The following year he was dispatched to United States by government. And studied under Jascha Heifetz at Southern California University. Shimizu studied French and Russian bowing under M. Auclair with advice of Heifetz. After he went to London with advice of Auclair.
He was studying chamber music with Y. Neaman for over 10 years. In the meantime he studied with Yehudi Menuhin and Nathan Milstein with advice of Neaman.
Shimizu won the 1st prize of Granada, 2nd prize of Carl Flesch and 3rd prize of the Queen Elizabeth and Long Thibaud International competitions. Also he won the Grand Prix at the competition for winners of international competition in France. Shimizu made his London debut with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra under the leader of Yehudi Menuhin.
After he played with the major orchestras in UK and many country. He was given his family’s misdiagnosis, it let him to go back to Japan. He was resumed playing activities in 1999 by advice of Heifetz’s assistant Madam Claire Hodgkins.
Shimizu has performed with orchestras, such as Het Residentie, Limburgs S., and others in Netherlands, the London S., Royal P. and othersIn UK, National de Belgique, Brussel P. and others in Belgium, Her Resident, Stuttgart P. and others in Germany, Austria, Spain and Italy In Western Europe. Eastern Europe, he has played with the State S. Russia, Moscow Radio S. and others in Russia, George Enescu P., Brasov P. and others in Romania, Sofia P., Plovdiv P. and others in Bulgaria, Poland, Ukraine, Turkey, Moldova and Montenegro.
In Asia he has performed with orchestras in China, Korea, Singapore, Indonesia and Japan. He played chamber music with Martha Argerich many time. And played with Ivry Gitlis, Bruno Canino, Pavel Gililov, Yuri Bashmet, Mario Burnello, Alexander Rudin, Alexander Kniazev, Misha Maisky, etc.
He was invited as jury member for many International Competitions and masterclass.
Krzysztof Wegrzyn, violin
(Week 2, August 6 – 13, 2023)
Krzysztof Wegrzyn was born in Gdansk in Poland. He began playing the violin at an early age, studying with Zenon Brzewski and Irena Dubiska in Warsaw, Wolfgang Marschner in Freiburg and Yfrah Neaman in London. He was a laureate in renowned international competitions like the Louis Spohr Competition in Montreal and winner of the Karol Szymanowski and Lipizer Competitions.
His concert activities have taken him around the world and he has made numerous recordings for radio, television and CD. In his broad repertoire he also gives special attention to works by Lutoslawski, Ligeti, Nono, Schnittke, Pärt and Penderecki. Krysztof Wegrzyn served for many years as concertmaster of the Hanover State Opera and Philharmonic Orchestra and since 1993 he has been a professor at the University of Music and Drama Hannover. Among his students are many who have won important prizes at international competitions.
Prof. Wegrzyn has given frequent master classes worldwide including at the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole, the Juilliard School in New York, at the Aspen Festival and in Seoul and Tokyo. He has been a juror at such esteemed violin competitions as the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, the Kreisler Competition in Vienna, the Paganini Competition in Genova, the ARD Competition in Munich, among others. Furthermore, he is very active in chamber music, for example as the co-founder of the New Warsaw Piano Quintet. Since 1995 he has also served as artistic director of the Gdansk musical seminar and Spring Music Festival in Poland.
Krzysztof Wegrzyn is the founder and Artistic Director of the Hannover International Joseph Joachim Violin Competition. The State of Lower Saxony awarded him in 2004 the State Music Prize for his outstanding contributions to musical life.
Boris Garlitsky, violin
(Week 3, August 13 – 20, 2023)
“Boris Garlitsky is an extremely lively musician of high intelligence and flexibility, with a wonderfully round tone and solid reliable technique … Concert Master of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Mr. Garlitsky measures up to every Concert Master of the world’s top orchestras, such as New York, Vienna, Berlin etc., and can play an outstanding role in all leading international orchestras.”
These are the words of Kurt Masur, one of the greatest conductors of the 20th century, with whom Boris Garlitsky worked together throughout many years. And still, Mr. Masur’s words grasp but a part of Boris Garlitsky’s musical richness.
In 1982, Boris Garlitsky won the Italian Paganini Competition and began his career as a soloist. Since then, he has played, among others, with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, the Vienna Radio Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia as well as the Milan based Giuseppe Verdi Orchestra and the British Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment. His interpretations of Shostakovich’s violin concerto with the Orchestra National de Lyon were praised in the press. “The intensity and irresistible force of persuasion brought to it by all the skill of Boris Garlitsky was worthy of the work’s first interpreter, David Oistrakh”, the Lyon Figaro commented.
Mr. Garlitsky is an active participator in several international music festivals. He regularly takes part in the Pablo Casals Festival in France, Mostly Mozart in New York, the London Proms, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival and Gidon Kremer’s Chamber Music Festival at Lockenhaus in Austria. Also, Mr Garlitsky performs for the BBC, Radio France as well as a number of radio stations in Italy, Russia and the United States. He has recorded for RCA, Naxos, Chandos and Polymnie.
“Boris Garlitsky was a worthy partner of Anne-Sophie Mutter in Bach’s double concerto, performed together with the London Philharmonic… Let us concentrate on the gigantic chaconne from the partita in d minor for violin solo: Mr. Garlitsky’s interpretation as such made this a concert of outstanding class. Highly differentiated and uniquely colourful in play, Mr. Garlitsky’s brilliant intellectual understanding of the piece and expressive characterisation of the individual variations reflected the authenticity and individual depth of the artist’s Bach interpretation” (Dr. Karl Georg Berg).
Garlitsky is an outstanding chamber musician and member of the Hermitage String Trio, praised right and left in critical reviews: “… undoubtedly one of finest of its type, with discipline and musicianship second to none”(www.classicalsource.com); “true brilliance!
This ensemble will do much to put more string trio repertoire on the musical map” (Strad); “with virtuosic elegance and, above all, affection” (Hexham and District Music Society); “that gentle exaltation of chamber music which passes by the dramatic gestures of symphonic music but rather expresses intimate and the profound, which goes straight to the heart and transports you to a dream” (Nice Matin).
Mr. Garlitsky’s repertoire is amazingly rich. Among his partners are Pinchas Zuckerman, Gidon Kremer, Marta Argerich, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Vadim Repin, Truls Mork, Maria-Joao Pires. Last but not least, Mr. Garlitsky is so popular among his colleagues due to his amiable character. “Garlitsky’s charisma is glaringly obvious. And how! A first violin of such imposing presence is a blessing for any ensemble” (La Montagne).
Born in Russia, Mr. Garlitsky received his first music lessons from his father, the author of the standard textbook for young violinists, “Step by Step”. He studied with Professor Yankelevich at the Moscow Conservatory, and afterwards worked as the Concertmaster for the Moscow Virtuosi and the London Symphony Orchestra, the Covent Garden Opera, the Vienna ORF Orchestra, the Hamburg Philharmonic and many more.
Today, Mr. Garlitsky devotes a large amount of his time to education. He holds a chair at two outstanding music Institutes, the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris and the Folkwang Universität der Künste, Essen (Germany). In addition, Mr. Garlitsky offers master classes on a yearly basis at the most renowned music institutions including the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, the Peabody Conservatoty in Baltimore, Hanns Eisler Musikhochschule in Berlin and Kronberg Academy.
“He is also very successful as a teacher and his instruction would be an enrichment for any musical institution, be it orchestra or music academy. His knowledge, his energy, his honesty and his ability to connect with people and create harmony are in my opinion the quintessence of why he can serve as a role model and ‘leading light’ for the young generation.” (Kurt Masur)
CELLO FACULTY
Leonid Gorokhov, cello
(Week 1, July 30 – August 6, 2023)
Leonid Gorokhov was born in St. Petersburg, then Leningrad and begun his cello studies at the age of seven. His first cello teacher was S. Zagursky. From the age of 12 he joined the cello class of Prof. Anatoli Nikitin, where he stayed until graduating the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatoire. He also took part in masterclasses of Daniil Shafran.
Winner of Concertino Praga (First Prize) and Paris chamber music competition (Premier Grand Prix), Leonid Gorokhov is the only Russian cellist to be awarded the Grand Prix and the First Prize of the Geneva Concours. In 1995 the European Association for Encouragement of the Arts awarded the Cultural Achievement Prize to Leonid Gorokhov for “exceptional talent and outstanding artistic accomplishment”.
In 1991 Leonid Gorokhov appeared as soloist with the St. Petersburg Philharmonic conducted by Lord Menuhin, who took interest in the young cellist and invited him to join the Yehudi Menuhin School in the UK as a teacher. That also provided Leonid with chances to perform under Maestro Menuhin’s baton with many leading orchestras and to share a stage as a chamber music partner in Piano Trios and Beethoven Triple Concerto, which was enormously inspiring for a young musician.
Some of the highlights of this work were appearances with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, St. Petersburg Philharmonic, The Royal Philharmonic as well as other British, Russian, Swiss, Scandinavian orchestras with a range of repertoire, from Haydn, Schumann, Tchaikovsky and Dvorak to Walton and Lutoslawsky.
Leonid returns regularly to Russia to perform a range of repertoire, most recently in Moscow with the Russian premiere of Sonata Notturna by Nicholas Maw under Evgeny Bushkov as conductor and as a soloist and chamber musician with Musica Viva, a chamber orchestra conducted by Alexander Rudin.
His passion is chamber music where the main interest is to involve younger musicians alongside more prominent and experienced partners.
The other passion is teaching. Leonid is a Professor at the Hochschule für Musik,Theater und Medien in Hannover Germany since 2008.
Reinhard Latzko, cello
(Week 2, August 6 – 13, 2023)
Reinhard Latzko is one of the most multifaceted cellists of his generation. In addition to his extensive performing career, he has especially made a name for himself as a successful cello teacher and music communicator. Born in Freising, near Munich, he studied with Jan Polasek, Martin Ostertag and Heinrich Schiff. From 1987 – 2003 Reinhard Latzko was solo cellist of the Südwestfunk Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Michael Gielen. Teaching has been one of the special focal points in his artistic career, already since 1990, when he was tutor in the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra. From 1988 – 2005 he took over Boris Pergamenschikow’s cello class at the Music Academy in Basel. Since 2003 he has held a professorship at the University for Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. His students include prize winners of international competitions and hold leading positions in orchestras around the world. World-wide masterclasses underscore Reinhard Latzko’s international status as one of the most sought-after instructors. Additionally he has been since October 2016 Senior Lecturer for chamber music at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz. Reinhard Latzko is himself a winner of national and international competitions, performing as soloist as well as chamber music partner, with Markus Schirmer, Christian Tetzlaff, Ernst Kovacic, Christian Altenburger, Christopher Hinterhuber. He has performed in concert halls world-wide, including the Musikverein as well as Konzerthaus in Vienna, Shanghai Concert Hall, Philharmonie in Berlin, among others. He has also been invited to the Cello Biennale in Amsterdam, the Shanghai Cello Festival and the Supercello Festival in Peking. Reinhard Latzko has performed as soloist with the Basel Symphony Orchestra, the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, Südwestfunk Symphony Orchestra, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie, Wiener Kammerorchester and the Camerata Salzburg. His thorough exploration into comtemporary music has resulted in world premieres of works, including those by Wolfgang Rihm, Ernst Krenek and Michael Gielen. Reinhard Latzko is artistic director of the chamber music festival “con anima” in Ernstbrunn. For several years Reinhard Latzko has put his stamp on a new and innovative form of orchestra leading, working with Ensemble Resonanz in Hamburg and Het Balletorkest in Amsterdam, among others.
Marc Coppey, cello
(Week 3, August 13 – 20, 2023)
Recognised for his celebrated interpretations as soloist, his extensive exploration of chamber music with some of the finest musicians today, and a dedication to widening the cello literature, Marc Coppey is considered to be one of the world’s leading cellists – in addition, now with a growing reputation as a fine conductor on the international podium.
A protégé of Lord Yehudi Menuhin and Mstislav Rostropovich, Coppey first shot to international acclaim at the age of 18, winning First Prize and ‘Prize for the Best Bach Performance’ at the prestigious Leipzig Bach Competition (1988). Soon thereafter, he made major debuts in Paris and Moscow in collaboration with Yehudi Menuhin and Victoria Postnikova (captured on film by the celebrated director Bruno Monsaingeon), and performed at the Evian Festival by personal invitation of Mstislav Rostropovich. Since then, Coppey has carved out an impressive solo career to date, working regularly with many of the world’s finest orchestras and conductors – including, amongst others, Alain Altinoglu, Lionel Bringuier, Lawrence Foster, Alan Gilbert, Kirill Karabits, Emmanuel Krivine, John Nelson, Pascal Rophé, Yan Pascal Tortelier, and Yutaka Sado. He was made Officier des Arts et des Lettres by the French Cultural Ministry in 2014.
The breadth of Coppey’s repertoire is testament to his profound musical curiosity: alongside mainstream cello literature, he is a champion of lesserknown and contemporary works. He has given the world premieres of cello concerti by such celebrated composers as Jacques Lenot, Marc Monnet, Eric Tanguy, and the French premieres of works by Elliott Carter, Mantovani, and Erkki-Sven Tüür. Amongst those composers to have dedicated worksto Coppey are such leading voices as Lera Auerbach, Christophe Bertrand, Hugues Dufourt, Frédéric Durieux, Ivan Fedele, Philippe Fénelon, Philippe Hurel, Michael Jarrell, Betsy Jolas, Frank Krawczyk, Philippe Leroux, François Meïmoun, Brice Pauset, Enno Poppe, Thierry Pécou, Michèle Reverdy, Johannes Maria Staud, and Frédéric Verrières.
Recent and forthcoming highlights include performing as soloist with Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse/Lio Kuokman, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio-France/Kazushi Ono, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg/John Nelson, and the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra/Lawrence Foster. As conductor, Coppey collaborates with the Deutsche Kammerakademie and the Orchestre Royal de Chambre de Wallonie, amongst other leading ensembles, and serves as Music Director of the Zagreb Soloists (2011-present).
2021 marked Coppey’s first year as Artist-in-Residence with the Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto Casa da Música, performing Dutilleux (with John Storgårds), Dvořák (with Vassily Sinaisky), and Elgar (with Michael Sanderling), alongside Rhim (with Peter Rundel) and Shostakovich No.1 (with Stefan Blunier).
Coppey is a much acclaimed recording artist, working exclusively with the audite classics label. 2021 saw the release of Shostakovich: Cello Concertos (with Polish Radio Symphony/Lawrence Foster), and 2022 saw the release of Kodály: Music for Solo Cello, and The French Cello (Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg/John Nelson). All three albums received exceptional reviews, universally placing Coppey on a par with the greatest cellists in history.
Coppey’s recordings have received exultant critical acclaim, including a Diapason d’Or and “Choc” in the Monde de la Musique for his recording of the Dutilleux Cello Concerto (with Orchestre Philharmonie de Liège/Pascal Rophé), and the highly sought after “ffff” from Télérama, amongst other awards. Coppey has also recorded extensively for the Accord/Universal, Aeon/Outhere, Decca, Harmonia Mundi, K617, Mirare, and Naïve record labels. In the streaming sphere, Coppey’s performances can be found on both Arte.tv and Medici.tv.
Passionate about inspiring future generations of musicians, Coppey is a Professor at the Conservatore National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, and is regularly invited to give masterclasses across Europe, Asia, and both North & South America. Since October 2020, he is the Artistic Director of the Saline Royale Academy d’Arc-et-Senans: a state-of-the-art new music education facility in France.
Marc Coppey is also a passionate chamber musician, and former member of the Ysaÿe Quartet (1995-2000). He now serves as Artistic Director of the annual Festival Les Musicales de Colmar. Coppey collaborates regularly with such luminary pianists as Nelson Goerner, Stephen Kovacevich, Kun-Woo Paik, and Maria-João Pires, leading string players including Ilya Gringolts, Vadim Gluzman, Viktoria Mullova, Alina Pogostikina, and Lawrence Power, and the internationally acclaimed flautist Emmanuel Pahud. Coppey’s regular sonata partner is esteemed Russian pianist Peter Laul.
Marc Coppey performs on a cello by Matteo Gofriller (Venice, 1711), known as the ‘Van Wilgenburg’, and resides in Paris.
PIANO TRIO FACULTY
Vivian Hornik Weilerstein, piano trio
(Week 2, August 6 – 13, 2023)
Vivian Hornik Weilerstein has performed as a soloist and chamber musician throughout the world and is a frequent collaborator with many of today’s most eminent artists and ensembles. She has appeared as a soloist with the Kansas City Symphony and the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale di Torino, and has toured throughout Europe, China, and Japan. She has been featured in More Magazine and on the Jane Pauley Show in stories about professional mother/ daughter teams.
Ms. Weilerstein is a member of the Weilerstein Trio, which is in residence at the New England Conservatory. The trio’s highly acclaimed first CD, featured on NPR’s “All Things Considered”, featured music of Dvorak and their second release on the Koch label included music of Schumann and Janacek.
Critics and audiences have welcomed Ms. Weilerstein’s performances as part of the Weilerstein Duo, with violinist Donald Weilerstein. Among their many recitals the duo has performed at Alice Tully Hall and the 92nd Street Y in New York City, and throughout the world. Their discography includes the complete works of Ernest Bloch for violin and piano, the sonatas of Janácek, Dohnanyi, and Enescu for Arabesque Records and the complete Schumann sonatas for Azica Records. Fanfare declared the Bloch recordings a “must” on the journal’s annual “Want List,” and American Record Guide lauded both the Bloch and Janácek recordings. The Duo premiered Joseph Hallman’s concerto for violin and piano with the NYCP orchestra in NYC. Ms. Weilerstein has also recorded for the EMI Debut Series.
In addition to performing at major American and International Festivals such as Marlboro, Aspen, The Banff Centre, and Music Academy of the West, Ms. Weilerstein returns regularly to the Yellow Barn Music Festival and the Perlman Music Program. She has also taught and performed throughout China and in Venezuela as part of El Sistema, as well as at Femusc in Brazil. She has performed and given masterclasses at Guildhall in London, the Hannover Hochschule, the Lubeck Conservatory, the Franz Liszt Hochschule in Weimar, and in Aldeburgh, England. She will be helping to create a new Piano Trio program at the Holland Music Sessions beginning summer of 2022.
Ms. Weilerstein has recently been interviewed by Noa Kageyama for his podcast called the Bulletproof Musician about piano and string chamber music, the link for which is: https://bulletproofmusician.com/vivian-hornik-weilerstein-on-listening- leading-and-learning-how-to-be-more-in-sync-with-your-music-making-partners
Widely sought after for masterclasses and known for her dedication to mentoring piano and string ensembles, Ms. Weilerstein is the director of the Professional Piano Trio Program at the New England Conservatory, where she serves on the piano, collaborative piano, and chamber music faculties. Most recently, the Merz Trio, graduates of the Trio program, were the winners of the Concert Artists Guild and Naumburg Competitions. She is a former faculty member of the Juilliard School and the Cleveland Institute of Music.