One of the most versatile and original cellists of his generation, Adrian Brendel has travelled the world as soloist, collaborator and teacher. His early immersion in the core classical repertoire inspired an enduring fascination that has led to encounters with many fine musicians at the world’s most prestigious festivals and concert halls. His discovery of contemporary music through the works of Kurtag, Kagel and Ligeti in his teenage years opened a new and vital avenue that he continues to explore with huge enthusiasm alongside his passion for jazz and world music. In 2014 he became a member of the Nash Ensemble of London.

Projects with contemporary composers and conductors such as Kurtag, Thomas Adès and Peter Eötvös among others inspired him to cultivate new music in his concert programmes wherever possible. A three-year project with Sir Harrison Birtwistle led to premieres of his song cycle Bogenstrich and a piano trio released on the ECM label. He also premiered York Hoeller’s cello concerto Mouvements with NDR Hamburg alongside Bernd Alois Zimmermann’s Canto di Speranza.

The pianist and composer Hyung-ki Joo enraptures audiences
with his jovial and contagious stage presence as well as his
high-energy, virtuosic performance. The English pianist of
South Korean heritage has performed as a soloist with
renowned orchestras such as the London Philharmonic, Vienna
Symphony, Seoul Philharmonic, Warsaw Sinfonia and the
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

Alongside piano performance, Hyung-ki Joo takes on various
musical roles and develops special projects that present him
as orchestra leader, communicator, arranger and composer.
This season he appears as a conductor and pianist with
groups including the Trondheim Soloists with the programme
Keys Ringing and Strings Attached, which includes
arrangements of works by Debussy as well as his own
compositions based on works by Edvard Grieg. In 2020 he led
the UNOF (Norwegian National Youth Orchestra) in his Haydn Seek programme, which brings the
humour and elements of surprise in Haydn’s music to the fore. As a soloist, an invitation from the
Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santi Cecilia under Sakari Oramo is a high point of the current
season.
A love for chamber music has shaped Hyung-ki Joo’s musical career, and has led to cooperation with
artists including Gilles Apap, Renaud Capucon, Michael Collins, Martin Fröst, Janine Jansen, Dame
Felicity Lott, Mischa Maisky, Julian Rachlin, Radovan Vlatkovic and the Belcea Quartet as well as
members of the Alban Berg Quartet, the Artis Quartet, Meta4 and the Quatuor Ébène. The piano trio
he founded in 2001 with violinist Rafal Zambrzycki-Payne and cellist Thomas Carroll won the
prestigious Parkhouse Award in London in 2005. Their seven-year collaboration culminated in a
highly-praised recording of Brahms’ Piano Trio No. 1 and Frank Bridge’s Phantasie No. 1. In 2021 he
will present a new trio project with members of the Quatuor Ébène, Pierre Colombet and Raphaël
Merlin.

Hyung-ki Joo’s compositions have been performed by renowned ensembles such as the New York
Philharmonic, the Tonhalle Orchester Zürich, the Orchestra of the Komische Oper Berlin and Meta4,
and have been recorded by artists such as the pianist Shani Diluka and the Ahn Trio. His works are
published by Universal Edition and Modern Works. In 2001 Hyung-ki Joo recorded the first album of
Billy Joel’s works for piano solo, Fantasies and Delusions, for Columbia/Sony Classical; the album
stayed at no.1 of the Billboard Classical Album Charts for 18 weeks. He has also appeared in several
films, including Pianomania, Noseland and Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Classical
Music.

A passionate communicator, Hyung-ki Joo works to inspire the next generation of musicians, himself
having been accepted by the Yehudi Menuhin school at the age of 10, before continuing his studies at
the Manhattan School of Music. In his Beyond the Practice Room workshops, he places the focus on
the joy of making music and encourages participants to explore other directions beyond “classical”
performance. He loves to work regularly with students, youth orchestras and ensembles.

In 2004 Hyung-ki Joo and violinist Aleksey Igudesman founded the duo IGUDESMAN & JOO. Their
first show A Little Nightmare Music, a combination of classical music, comedy and pop culture, took
the music world by storm. To date, their videos have been viewed over 45 million times on YouTube,
and IGUDESMAN & JOO have since given guest performances of their programmes with orchestras in
the world’s greatest concert halls and festivals. Illustrious musical guests such as Emanuel Ax,
Joshua Bell, Gidon Kremer, Viktoria Mullova, Yuja Wang and actors John Malkovich and Sir Roger
Moore have taken part in their sketches. IDUGESMAN & JOO have received commissions to create
new works for the New York Philharmonic, the Tonhalle Orchester Zürich, the Pittsburgh Symphony
Orchestra, the Düsseldorf Symphoniker and the Oslo Philharmonic. In October 2019, their joint
book Save the World was released by the edition-a publishers.

Priya Mitchell grew up in Oxford and studied with David Takeno at the Yehudi Menuhin School and with Zachar Bron in Germany. She was then chosen as the British representative of the European Concert Halls Organisation ‘Rising Stars‘ Series, this success led to highly acclaimed tours and performances with, amongst others, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, English Chamber Orchestra, London Mozart Players, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic and the Philharmonia.

She has worked with many eminent conductors including Sir Andrew Davis, Yuri Temirkanov, Richard Hickcox, Emmanuel Krivine, Heinrich Schiff and Yan Pascal Tortelier. Abroad, Priya has worked with many orchestras including the Belgian Radio and Television Philharmonic, Sinfonia Varsovia, the Polish Chamber Orchestra, Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Australian Chamber Orchestra, the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Deutsche Sinfonie-Orchester. As a recitalist and chamber musician she has performed extensively at international music festivals including Schleswig-Holstein, Schubertiade Schwarzenberg, Kuhmo, Lockenhaus, Risør, Heimbach, Ravinia, Lugano, Cheltenham, Bath, Stavanger and Trondheim.

This year sees the 20th anniversary of Priya’s highly acclaimed Oxford Chamber Music Festival. Her artistic directorship of this unusual and much acclaimed festival inspired The Daily Telegraph to call it ‘a musical miracle.‘

In the current season Priya performs Mendelssohn Violin Concerto D minor in Stockholm, Philip Glass violin concerto also in Stockholm, Schumann Concerto in Düsseldorf, Mozart Concertos in Munich and Piazzolla’s Four seasons in Mecklenburg Vorpommern festival. She will also return to the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival and many others.

As violinist and director Hugo imbibes all possible forms of creativity, whether it be performing premieres in Carnegie Hall, improvising with monks in India, or devising innovative programmes for O/Modernt. Alongside his passion to discover and learn from music of all ages and traditions, Hugo embraces contemporary music, performing works written for him in prestigious halls around the world.

He is also regularly asked to devise and present concerts with a unique twist at such halls, collaborating with, directing and conducting ensembles such as Basel Chamber Orchestra, Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Manchester Camerata and his own O/Modernt Orchestra. In 2018 he is artist-in-residence at Kings Place London and from 2019 has been appointed principal conductor of Orchestra da Camera di Perugia. Over forty works have been written for Hugo by eminent composers such as Erkki-Sven Tüür, Peteris Vasks and Albert Schnelzer. With a passion for chamber music, Hugo collaborates with artists such as Evelyn Glennie, Anne Sofie von Otter, Nils Landgren, Steven Isserlis, Angela Hewitt and Olli Mustonen.

Hugo frequently lectures on music-related subjects, most recently inspired by the work of the French philosopher, Henri Bergson.

Johannes Marmen enjoys a varied, international career as a chamber musician and orchestral leader. He is the first violinist of the award winning Marmen Quartet, co-leader of the O/Modernt chamber orchestra, as well regularly guest leading ensembles such as the Helsingborg Symphony Orchestra, Camerata Nordica and Sinfonia Cymru.

Having studied with Radu Blidar and Carolin Widmann at the Royal College of Music, supported by the prestigious ABRSM scholarship, Johannes went on to be mentored by the late Peter Cropper of the Lindsay Quartet through Music In The Round’s inaugural “Bridge” scheme.

As a composer and interpreter of contemporary music, Johannes is regularly commissioned and has recently had works and arrangements performed in the Wigmore Hall, Kings Place and Berlin Konzerthaus as well as being featured on releases by Signum Records and Orchid Classics. His work ‘Waiting’ was featured on the album Sonic Philosophy, recorded by Hugo Ticciati and Henrik Måwe. Johannes was a founding member and leader of London based contemporary group Explore Ensemble.

As a touring chamber musician, Johannes regularly performs in the venues across Europe and collaborates with Hugo Ticciati, Priya Mitchell, Gareth Lubbe as well as fellow string quartet members from the Doric, Piatti, Ebene and Sacconi quartets.

Johannes’ main occupation, the Marmen Quartet, is one of Britain’s and Europe’s most promising emerging groups, having won the Royal Overseas League Competition in 2018 as well as prizes from the Concordia Foundation, the Royal Philharmonic Society and Music In The Round. They perform regularly in the main London venues, tour the U.K. extensively and play regularly at festivals abroad.

Johannes plays on a 1796 Giuseppe Gagliano.

Originally from New Zealand, Bryony is a graduate of the Royal College of Music, The Juilliard School, the University of Canterbury and the Pettman National Junior Academy. She is a member of the Marmen Quartet, winners of the Ensemble Section of the Annual Royal Overseas League Music Competition, Second Prize of the International Joseph Joachim Chamber Music Competition and the Musicians Company Concerts Concordia Award. While at the RCM, Bryony won the Viola Competition and the Tagore Gold Medal and she now serves as teaching assistant to Andriy Viytovych. She keeps a close connection with home – recent visits have included performing and teaching at the International Akaroa Music Festival and recording New Zealand composer Philip Norman’s When Gravity Fails with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. She freelances with various ensembles including Britten Sinfonia and the English Chamber Orchestra and is thrilled to be joining the London Mozart Players as No. 2 Viola.

Jordi Carrasco Hjelm is a Swedish Double Bass player focusing on chamber music and free improvisation. He lives in Amsterdam where he was a Bachelor student in the class of Olivier Thiery and Rick Stotijn at the Conservatorium van Amsterdam where he finished his Masters degree in Cross-Over music making with the jazz violinist Tim Kliphuis.

He performs regularly as a member of the O/Modernt Chamber Orchestra, the Swedish contemporary folk music band Garizim and with the Dutch improvising violist and singer Yanna Pelser. Together with young musicians from all over Europe Jordi is a founding member of the C/o Chamber Orchestra that combines orchestral playing with principles of non-hierarchical collaboration.

In 2019/2020 Jordi looks especially forward to playing Schöenbergs Verklärte Nacht in Kings Place with the O/Modernt Chamber Orchestra, improvising with Gareth Lubbe in the Sylt Chamber Music Festival in Germany and to playing Hindemith duets in the alps with Matthew Hunt.

Regarded as one of the finest interpreters of Classical and Romantic repertoire, Imogen Cooper is internationally renowned for her virtuosity and lyricism. Recent and future concerto performances include the Berliner Philharmoniker with Sir Simon Rattle, Sydney Symphony with Simone Young, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra with Thomas Dausgaard and the Aurora Orchestra with Nicholas Collon, the latter including performances in London and at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. Her solo recitals this season include London, Istanbul, Madrid and Washington DC.

Imogen has a widespread international career and has appeared with the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia, Boston, Cleveland, Vienna Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Budapest Festival, NHK and London Symphony Orchestras. She has also undertaken tours with the Camerata Salzburg, Australian and Orpheus Chamber Orchestras. She has played at the BBC Proms and with all the major British orchestras, including particularly close relationships with the Royal Northern Sinfonia and Britten Sinfonia, play/directing. Her recital appearances have included Tokyo, Hong Kong, New York, Singapore, Paris, Vienna, Prague and the Schubertiade in Schwarzenberg.

As a supporter of new music, Imogen has premiered two works at the Cheltenham International Festival; Traced Overhead by Thomas Adès (1996) and Decorated Skin by Deirdre Gribbin (2003). In 1996, she also collaborated with members of the Berliner Philharmoniker in the premiere of the quintet, Voices for Angels, written by the ensemble’s viola player, Brett Dean.

Imogen is a committed chamber musician and performs regularly with Henning Kraggerud and Adrian Brendel. As a Lieder recitalist, she has had a long collaboration with Wolfgang Holzmair in both the concert hall and recording studio. Her discography also includes Mozart Concertos with the Royal Northern Sinfonia (Avie), a solo recital at the Wigmore Hall (Wigmore Live) and a cycle of solo works by Schubert recorded live and released under the label ‘Schubert Live’. Her recent recordings for Chandos Records feature music by French and Spanish composers, Beethoven, Liszt and Wagner.

Imogen received a CBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours in 2007 and was the recipient of an award from the Royal Philharmonic Society the following year. In 1997 she was awarded Honorary Membership of the Royal Academy of Music and in 1999 she was made a Doctor of Music at Exeter University. Imogen was the Humanitas Visiting Professor in Classical Music and Music Education at the University of Oxford for 2012-13. The Imogen Cooper Music Trust was founded in 2015, to support young pianists at the cusp of their careers and give them time in an environment of peace and beauty.

Ian Bostridge CBE has made regular appearances at the Salzburg, Edinburgh, Munich, Vienna, Schwarzenberg and Aldeburgh festivals. He has had residencies at the Wiener Konzerthaus, Carnegie Hall New York, Het Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Philharmonie Luxembourg, London’s Barbican Centre and Wigmore Hall. In 2018 Ian began an auspicious Artistic Residency with the Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra, the first of its kind for the ensemble.

In opera, he has performed the roles Lysander (Britten A Midsummer Night’s Dream) for Opera Australia and at the Edinburgh Festival, Jeptha at the Opéra National de Paris, Tamino (Mozart Die Zauberflöte) and Jupiter (Handel Semele) for English National Opera and Peter Quint (Britten The Turn of the Screw), Don Ottavio (Mozart Don Giovanni) and Caliban (Adès The Tempest) for the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. For the Bayerische Staatsoper he has sung Nerone (Monteverdi L’Incoronazione di Poppea), Tom Rakewell (Stravinsky The Rake’s Progress) and Male Chorus (Britten The Rape of Lucretia), for the Wiener Staatsoper he has sung Don Ottavio and for the Teatro alla Scala Milan he has sung Peter Quint. He has sung Aschenbach (Britten Death in Venice) for English National Opera, La Monnaie, Brussels and in Luxembourg.

Highlights of the 2019/20 season include his return to the operatic stage at the Deutsche Oper as Aschenbach Death in Venice;  a tour of the USA with Brad Mehldau; performances of Schubert’s Winterreise at the Cartagena Music Festival in Colombia; a concert tour with Lucerne Festival Strings through Slovenia and Italy; Evangelist Matthew Passion in Torino and Bajazet in Handel’s Tamerlano with the Moscow State Philharmonic.

After being a junior student with Grigorij Gruzman at the “Akademie für Tonkunst” Darmstadt he studied at the “Musikhochschule Karlsruhe” with André Boanain,at the “Musikhochschule Frankfurt” with Lev Natochenny and at the “Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique Paris” with George Pludermacher. 1st prize at the competition of the “Musikhochschule Karlsruhe” with piano solo in 1996, in 1997 1st prize as a Duo with violin, 3rd prize at the “Newport International Piano Competition” (Great Britain).

In 1998 1st prize at the “International Music Competition Torino” (Italy), 2nd prize at the “Kuhmo International Duo Competition” (Finnland). Radio- and TV productions; performed as a soloist for example with the BBC Symphony Orchestra and the “Stuttgarter Kammerorchester”). Lecturer for piano at the “Musikhochschule Karlsruhe”.

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