WHO WE ARE

Biliana Tzinlikova (piano)

The pianist Biliana Tzinlikova is at home on the solo stage and both as a chamber musician and song accompanist. Her curiosity and spirit of discovery enable her to look back on a multi-faceted discography, which largely includes world premiere recordings from the piano literature.

 

Biliana Tzinlikova developed the broad spectrum of her pianistic abilities during her studies, influenced by diverse piano traditions: the Russian Piano School – studies with Marina Kapatzinskaja at the State Academy of Music in Sofia – as well as the Leygraf Piano School – master’s concert studies with Christoph Lieske at the Mozarteum University. Biliana Tzinlikova also gained important impulses from master classes with Elisso Virsaladze, Arndzej Jaszinsky, Pavel Gililov, Menahem Pressler, Paul Badura-Skoda, Alexander Lonquich and Klaus-Christian Schuster. Especially notable was her intensive work with Ruggiero Ricci (1998-2003) and Ferenc Rados (2002-2005).

More recently, her artistic work as a concert pianist has focused on the rediscovery and performance of forgotten piano music. This passion is showcased in her CD recordings. In 2014, she released a world premiere of Franz Anton Hoffmeister’s Piano Sonata on a 3 CD set (Grand Piano, Naxos International), which promptly made a name for her in the professional world. The recordings received enthusiastic reviews from internationally recognized music organizations and academics alike. She continued recording, releasing a CD with virtuosic variations from Stephen Heller in 2016, piano music of the French composer Louise Farrenc in 2018, and a CD with works from Germaine Tailleferre, Georges Auric and Louis Durey in 2020. (All three published by Paladino Music)

 

Since 2017 Tzinlikova has also been working together with actresses and actors to organize cross-genre concert programs that focus on female composers’ works in music history.

 

As a sought after chamber music partner, she collaborates often, locally and abroad, with internationally renowned artists such as Christian Gerhaher, Adrian Eröd, Thomas Selditz, Klara Flieder, Thomas Riebl, Colin Jacobsen, Ulf Schneider, Ann Harvey-Nagl, Vesna Stankovic, Stephan Picard, Patrick Demenga, Gustav Rivinius, Dany Bonvin, Esther Hoppe, Christophe Pantillon, Marta Sudraba, Andreas Schablas, Christoph Zimper, and members of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.

 

As a soloist, she has performed at the Mozart Week Festival in Salzburg, and with Stefan Sanderling with the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra. She has given concerts in almost every country in Europe, as well as the USA. In 2004, she had her debut in the Viennese Concert house.

 

Biliana Tzinlikova teaches at the Mozarteum University. Since her habilitation in 2019 she has led a class for piano and chamber music there, and is the initiator and artistic director of the festival „Kammermusiktage Erika Frieser“, which is dedicated to works by female composers.

Klara Flieder (violin)

Klara Flieder was born into a Viennese family of musicians. She began her violin studies with Margarethe Biedermann at the Vienna Conservatory and continued with Christian Ferras in Paris and Arthur Grumiaux in Brussels. Master classes with Henryk Szeryng, Nathan Milstein and Augustin Dumay rounded off her education.

 

Concert activities as a soloist and chamber musician have taken her to the world's most renowned concert halls (including the Vienna Musikverein, Vienna Konzerthaus, Berlin Philharmonie, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, South Bank Center) and to numerous international festivals throughout Europe, the USA, South America and China (including Kuhmo Festival Finland, Carinthian Summer, Midsummer Music Festival Sweden, Norfolk Chamber Music Festival, Narnia Festival Italy).

 

She is a long-standing member of the Flieder Trio, the Leschetizky Trio Vienna and the Hyperion Ensemble and also looks back on many years of intensive collaboration in the violin-violoncello duo with Christophe Pantillon and in the violin-piano duo with Patrick Leung.

In 2014 Klara Flieder gave performances of the complete sonatas for piano and violin by W. A. Mozart with Patrick Leung in Shanghai. She has also participated in a number of CD recordings (EMI, Dabringhaus & Grimm, Extraplatte and Preiser Records) in all of the above-mentioned ensemble formations and works with artists such as Pierre Amoyal, Roberto Benzi, Ernst Kovacic, Vladimir Mendelssohn and Ludwig Streicher.

 

Since 2005 Klara Flieder has held a professorship for violin at the University Mozarteum Salzburg. She has held teaching positions and guest professorships at the Universities of Music in Vienna and Graz, and also gives master classes in Austria, Sweden, Spain, Italy, the USA and China.

Christophe Pantillon (cello)

The cellist Christophe Pantillon was born in Neuchâtel; he comes from a family of musicians of Swiss and American origin.

 

He received his first cello lessons in his hometown with J.-P. Guy and with Elena Botez in Bern. He then continued his cello studies with Heinrich Schiff at the Music Academy in Basel. Further studies with Valentin Erben ( Alban Berg Quartet ) at the Academy of Music in Vienna and with Ralph Kirshbaum at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester as well as master classes, among others with Mischa Maisky in Siena, complete his education.

 

He has lived in Vienna since 1992, where he co-founded the aron quartet in 1998. He is also a member of various chamber music ensembles and performs regularly as a duo with his wife, the violinist Klara Flieder.

Christophe Pantillon has recorded numerous chamber music CDs (cpo, Cascavelle, Preiser Records, Nimbus Records), many of which have won international awards. His CD "Paroles de violoncelle", released in 2013, with French works for violoncello solo, enjoys the highest national and international recognition.

 

Performances as a soloist or as a member of various chamber music ensembles have taken Christophe Pantillon to Vienna ( Musikverein, Konzerthaus), Salzburg ( Mozarteum ), London ( Wigmore Hall ), Washington ( Library of Congress ), Paris ( Opéra Bastille ), Tokyo ( Casals Hall, Oji Hall ), Moscow ( Tchaikovsky Conservatory ), Buenos Aires ( Teatro Colon ), Madrid ( Teatro Real ), Zurich ( Tonhalle ), Prague, Berlin, Amsterdam, Warsaw, Saint Petersburg, Helsinki. ... and to internationally renowned festivals.

 

Christophe Pantillon teaches at the Musikschule Wien and is a sought-after teacher at national and international master classes (Norfolk Chamber Music Festival (Yale School of Music)USA, Académie Internationale d'été de Nice, Sommerakademie Lilienfeld, austrian arts session (Ossiach), Sommerakademie Schässburg (Romania), Sounding Jerusalem, etc.).

Our guests for the season 2024/25

Trio Bohémo

Shortly after its formation in 2019, the trio's talent and deep musicality became apparent. They received numerous awards.
In 2021, Trio Bohémo not only received the first prize, but also the audience prize at the “International Johannes Brahms Competition” in Austria and only few weeks later they won the “International Parkhouse Award” in London.
The trio was on BBC Radio's 3 'In Tune' show. This was followed by first prize and prize for the best interpretation of the composition by S. Vainiunas at the “Stasys Vainiunas International Chamber Music Competition” in Vilnius, Lithuania. Few days later they were awarded the top prize at the “International Joseph Joachim Competition” in Weimar (without awarding the first prize) and prize for best performance of a contemporary piece.
2023 they received first prize, prize for the best interpretation of Joseph Haydn, and the audience prize at the “International Joseph Haydn Chamber Music Competition” in Vienna. The trio also won third prize and the audience prize at the “Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition” in Australia. On top of that, Trio Bohémo was selected to receive the prestigious prize of the “Czech Chamber Music Society”.

Debut concerts include the Vienna Musikverein, Wigmore Hall in London and Stoller Hall in Manchester, UK. They performed at numerous festivals such as the Prague Spring, CZ, Schwarzwald Musikfestival, DE and in Gent at the Festival van Vlaanderen, BE.
 
Trio Bohémo was member of the “European Chamber Music Academy” from 2020-2022 and studied under the direction of Hatto Beyerle, Johannes Meissl, Patrick Jüdt or Avedis Kouyoumdjian.

 

Stéphanie Grandpierre (violin)

Stephanie GRANDPIERRE, violin Stephanie Grandpierre was born in Paris in 1984 and had her first violin lessons at the age of four. She studied violin in Paris and musicology at the famous Paris-Sorbonne University. She continued her violin studies with Maighréad Mc Crann at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz and graduated with honours with a Bachelor's and Master's degree. Masterclasses with Olivier Charlier, Akiko Tatsumi, Stephan Picard, Sergey Kravchenko and Marcin Baranowsky, among others, round off her training. Stephanie Grandpierre has performed as a chamber musician in Austria (including at Congress Graz and the Grafenegg Festival) and internationally. As a soloist, she has performed works by contemporary composers and the violin concertos by Mozart, Bach and Mendelssohn. From 2009 to 2013, Stephanie Grandpierre was principal violinist with the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra. Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

William Coleman (viola)

William Coleman is the violist of the renowned Berlin Kuss Quartet and performs regularly as a chamber musician and soloist. He is a regular guest at the International Musicians' Seminar Prussia Cove and the famous Marlboro Festival in Vermont (USA), has performed at the Salzburg Festival, the Edinburgh Festival, the Berlin Philharmonie, the Vienna Konzerthaus, London's Wigmore Hall, the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris and New York's Carnegie Hall. His chamber music partners include Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Miklos Perenyi, Kim Kashkashian, Boris Pergamenschikov, Leif Ove Andsnes, Till Fellner and Antje Weithaas. William Coleman is Professor of Viola at the Mozarteum University Salzburg and took over Kim Kashkashian's class at the New England Conservatory in Boston during her sabbatical in 2023. He has given masterclasses at the University of Berlin, the Royal Academy of Music London, the Kronberg Academy, the Sun- tory Academy in Tokyo and in the USA at the Juilliard School New York and the Manhattan School of Music. In April 2019, he stood in for Yuri Bashmet as a jury member at the Tertis International Viola Competition on the Isle of Man, and in 2022 he was a jury member at the Tokyo International Viola Competition. He plays a viola by Carlo Antonio Testore from 1735, which belonged to the legendary violist Lionel Tertis. He is a Pirastro artist and plays Evah Pirazzi Gold strings exclusively.

Amandine Savary (piano)

Winner of First Prize at the Osaka Chamber Music Competition, the Commerzbank Piano Trio Competition in Frankfurt, Second Prize at the YCA in New York and Third Prize, Audience Prize and Special Prize at the Vienna Chamber Music Competition, Amandine Savary has performed throughout Europe as well as in Japan, the United States and Australia and has established a solid reputation as an accomplished and versatile pianist and chamber musician. Amandine is a recipient of awards from the Fondation d'Entreprise Banque Populaire, the Tillett Trust, the Kirckman Concert Society, the Philip and Dorothy Green Award and Park Lane Group, the Martin Musical Scholarship Fund, the Hattori Foundation and the Worshipful Company of Musicians. Amandine's passion for chamber music is reflected in her numerous recordings, for which she has been honoured with the prestigious Diapason d'or, Gramophone magazine's Editor's Choice and the Telerama FFFF, among others. In addition to her concert activities, she is regularly invited to teach at academies and appear as a jury member at international music competitions, and until 2021 she was Professor of Piano and Chamber Music at the Royal Academy of Music in London, where she was honoured with the title "Associate of the Royal Academy of Music". Since October 2021 she has been teaching at the Beethoven Institute of the MDW in Vienna. www.amandinesavary.com Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Christoph Zimper (clarinet)

Christoph Zimper, born in 1986 in Wr. Neustadt, graduated with honours from the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (MDW) with Prof. Johann Hindler in 2013. From 2012-2018 he was principal clarinettist in the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg. In 2017, Christoph Zimper was appointed as the first professor of clarinet at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna who did not come from the ranks of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in the university's 200-year history. He is also active as a composer of cross-genre works and a pioneer of innovative concert formats. In 2015, he founded the Weißensee Klassik Festival, of which he has been Artistic Director ever since. Since 2023, he has held the same position at the Milch&Honig Festival in Wiener Neustadt, of which he is a co-founder.

Ernst Weißensteiner (doublebass)

Born in 1965 in Styria, Austria. Ernst Weissensteiner received his musical education at the University of Music in Vienna in the class of Ludwig Streicher. He graduated in 1989 with unanimous honours and the award of an appreciation prize from the Federal Ministry of Science and Art. Whilst still a student, Ernst Weissensteiner became a member of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra and has been the orchestra's principal bass since 1990. As a soloist, he is responsible for the world premieres of numerous solo works for double bass. In addition, his concert activities testify to a wide stylistic range and liveliness, including in the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Vienna Art Orchestra, Klangforum Wien, Vienna String Soloists, Dolby's Around, Vienna Symphony Jazz Project, and the double bass sextet Bass Instinct. In 2012 he ended his teaching career at the Vienna Conservatory/Private University and has since been Professor of Double Bass at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz. He also gives masterclasses in Santiago de Chile, Madrid, Barcelona and at the Escuela de Altos Estudios Musicales in Santiago de Compostela, where he also held a guest professorship in 2011 and 2012.

Ineo Quartet

"Enter, begin and flourish" are the three meanings of the Latin word "Ineo", which the quartet has chosen as its name. Since its foundation, the Ineo Quartet has performed several times in Austria, including at the Beethoven Museum, the Museumsquartier and the Austrian Parliament, at the concert series "Echo des Unerhörten" in the Ehrbarsaal in Vienna, as well as at the "Steirisches Kammermusikfestival" in Graz. On an international level, the Ineo Quartet made its debut in Paris, where it performed at the Conservatoire national des arts. They have also been invited to festivals such as "Trame Sonore" in Mantua and the "Sion Festival", where they had the opportunity to perform with artists such as Pablo Barragan, Reinhard Latzko and Lena Belkina. Under the direction of Johannes Meissl (Artis Quartet), they have been working on deepening their understanding of music since their formation. They have been inspired by musicians such as Alfred Brendel, Quatuor Diotima, Francois Kieffer (Quatuor Modigliani) and Günther Pichler (Alban Berg Quartet). Future projects include performances in concert halls such as the Vienna Musikverein, as well as at festivals such as the "Festival St. Gallen" and "Musik im Kontext" in Berlin. A CD recording containing a string quartet by Richard Dünser dedicated to the quartet is planned for summer 2024.

Thomas Selditz (viola)

Thomas Selditz has made an international name for himself as a chamber musician. After his studies, he played as 1st solo violist under Daniel Barenboim in the Staatskapelle Berlin. Before being appointed professor at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna in 2010, he held professorships at the conservatories in Hanover and Hamburg.

 

He belonged to the renowned Gaede Trio for over 20 years and was a member of the Hugo Wolf Quartet from 2013-2016. He has performed in halls such as New York's Carnegie Hall, Vienna's Konzerthaus, London's Wigmore Hall and the Cité de la musique Paris.

 

As a chamber musician, he has been a guest at many renowned international festivals and has recorded over 20 CDs for labels such as Sony, Largo Records, Tacet, MDG, Audite and Phoenix. His recording of Henri Vieuxtemps' works for viola and piano was awarded the Diapason d'Or and the German Record Critics' Prize in France in 2003. Most recently, the solo recording with the BBC Concert Orchestra London (Sinfonia Concertante by Walter Braunfels) was also awarded the German Record Critics' Prize in 2019.

Aoi Selditz (viola)

Aoi Selditz left her Japanese homeland in 2017 out of love for music to study viola in Vienna. Coming to Europe was a kind of return for her: her first solo performance was in 2000, when she played as a violinist at an international festival in Rome. Since then, she has been pursuing her desire to be both a musician and a scientist. She first completed a bachelor's degree in ecology at Kyoto University and has already published articles and given lectures at international conferences worldwide. In 2017, she began her concert studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. At the end of her first year, she was nominated as one of the six semi-finalists of the ARD Competition Munich, where she played with the Munich Chamber Orchestra. In the same year, she was honoured with a prize at the Allegro Vivo International Chamber Music Festival. A year later, she was awarded the special prize at the 13th Lionel Tertis International Viola Competition. In 2019/2020 she was a scholarship holder of the Anny Felbermayer Fund. Since 2017, she has performed at several festivals in Austria with artists such as Benjamin Schmid, Christian Altenburger, Herbert Mayr, Franz Bartolomey, Michel Lethiec and Reinhard Latzko.

Our guests for the season 2024/25

Photos and biographies of our guests for the 2024/25 season will be published shortly.