Entertainment

Alexey Stadler has recently made headlines with his debuts at the BBC Proms, the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. In the 2024/25 season, he will perform with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and the Staatskapelle Weimar, among others. As a sought-after chamber musician, he has collaborated with Janine Jansen, Vadim Repin, Christian Tetzlaff, Igor Levit, and the Ebène Quartet, and has appeared at festivals such as the Menuhin Festival Gstaad, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, and the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival.

As a soloist, he has performed with renowned orchestras like the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and the Munich Symphony Orchestra under conductors such as Dmitri Kitajenko and Valery Gergiev.

After studying with Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, he taught chamber music at the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt Weimar and has been a professor of cello at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg since 2023. Alexey Stadler plays a cello by David Tecchler from 1715.

The Polish violinist Bartosz Zachlod, born in 1983, studied at the F. Chopin Music Academy in Warsaw, the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, and the European Chamber Music Academy. In 2006, he won the 6th International Karol Szymanowski Violin Competition in Łódź, where he also received the special prize for the best interpretation of a Szymanowski work.

He is a member of the award-winning Apollon Musagète String Quartet, which won first prize and nearly all special prizes at the 57th International Music Competition of the ARD in Munich in 2008. Zachlod regularly performs in renowned concert halls such as Carnegie Hall, the Concertgebouw, and the Elbphilharmonie and is featured at festivals like the Edinburgh International Festival and the Schwetzinger Festspiele.

He has collaborated with artists such as Gabriela Montero, Martin Fröst, and Igor Levit. Bartosz Zachlod plays a violin by Antonius and Hieronymus Amati, Cremona circa 1625, and has been the principal violinist of the NDR Radiophilharmonie in Hannover since May 2023.

Piotr Szumieł, born in 1977 in Warsaw, is one of the most versatile violists of his generation. He is a professor of viola, a sought-after juror, and a lecturer at masterclasses. Early in his career, he won prestigious awards, including the Jan Rakowski Viola Competition (1998) and the International Johannes Brahms Competition (2002). From 2002 to 2008, he was the principal violist of the Dresden Philharmonic and has been teaching at the Dresden University of Music since 2005. Since 2019, he has been a professor and head of the string department at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Rostock.

As a soloist and chamber musician, Szumieł has performed in renowned venues such as Wigmore Hall, the Berlin Philharmonie, Carnegie Hall, and the Concertgebouw Amsterdam. Since 2006, he has been a member of the award-winning Apollon Musagète Quartet, which has become a prominent presence in the music scene following their successes at the ARD Competition.

He has performed with orchestras like the Dresden Philharmonic, the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, and has collaborated with artists such as Igor Levit, Jörg Widmann, and Nils Mönkemeyer.

Olga Zado, described as "a master of the art of Rubato" (Hamburger Abendblatt) and "a sorceress on the piano" (Mannheimer Morgen), captivates audiences and critics worldwide with her poetic musicianship and electrifying technique. She gave her first solo recitals and performed as a soloist at the age of seven. She has performed in prestigious venues such as the Berlin Philharmonie, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, and Gewandhaus Leipzig, collaborating with orchestras like the Biel Solothurn Symphony Orchestra and the Kosovo Philharmonic. 

Olga Zado is also a passionate chamber musician and the founder of the "FinestClassics" chamber music series in Mannheim. She has worked with artists such as the Jerusalem Quartet, Sharon Kam, and Johannes Moser. She is a laureate of numerous international competitions and a recipient of many scholarships.

Born in Odessa (Ukraine), she studied at the Stolyarsky Music School and the University of the Arts in Bern. She received significant guidance from Leon Fleisher, Arcadi Volodos, and Sergei Babayan. Olga Zado is a Steinway Artist.