A graduate of the Academy of Music in Cracow (in Professor Zbigniew Szlezer’s violin class), winner of international music competitions (including the Nicolo Paganini Competition in Genoa), he began his musical career as concertmaster of the Polish Radio and Television Orchestra in Cracow. In 1983, he became a member of the famous Berlin Philharmonic, where he was first concertmaster and soloist for 35 years.
He played with them Sergei Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 1, Kurt Weill’s Violin Concerto No. 3, Jenő Hubay’s Violin Concerto No. 3, Rudi Stephan’s Music for Violin and Orchestra, Andrzej Panufnik’s Violin Concerto, and the sensationally received – and first performed at the Berlin Philharmonic in June 1994, under the baton of Mariss Jansons – Karol Szymanowski’s Violin Concerto No. 1.
InstrumentViolin
Łukasz Jakowicz born June 10, 1981, Warsaw, Poland. He took violin lessons at the Karol Szymanowski State Music School Complex No. 4, where his violin teachers were S. Winiarski, S. Kawalla, Prof. Slawomir Tomasik; chamber music was taught by his mother, Julia Jakimowicz-Jakowicz. Under the guidance of his father, Krzysztof Jakowicz, he studied at the Fryderyk Chopin Academy of Music in Warsaw. He was also the last student of Tadeusz Wroński. The artist received a doctorate in musical arts in 2013, and a postdoctoral degree in 2020, in the field of arts, in the artistic discipline of musical arts.
UniversityFryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw
InstrumentViolin
Emanuel Salvador
Emanuel Salvador, a highly regarded Portuguese violinist, has established himself as a leading figure in the world of classical music. Noted by Strad Magazine as one of the best violinists of his generation in Portugal, he has showcased his exceptional talent as a soloist, chamber musician, and concertmaster on numerous international stages. Salvador’s performances have taken him to various countries including the UK, Kazakhstan, China, Japan, the Netherlands, Mexico, Turkey, and the USA, among others. He has achieved notable success in prestigious competitions such as Isolde Menges, Beckenham Festival, and Barbirolli Memorial. Salvador holds degrees from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and the Royal College of Music in London. Alongside his solo and concertmaster engagements, he founded the Guimarães String Quartet and serves as its leader. Previously serving as concertmaster of the Orquestra do Norte, he is currently the artistic director and first concertmaster of the Baltic Neopolis Orchestra. Renowned for their performances in Europe and Asia, this ensemble has garnered significant praise from both audiences and critics alike.
ConcertmasterBaltic Neopolis Orchestra
InstrumentViolin
Vasko Vassilev, Bulgarian violinist and conductor. He has held the position of first concertmaster at London’s Royal Opera House since 1993. Vassilev showed incredible talent from an early age and quickly established himself as a boy genius on the violin.
UniversityRoyal Collage of Music in London
InstrumentViolin
Konstantin Heidrich is cellist of the Fauré Quartet and professor for cello at the Berlin University of the Arts.His father, Peter Heidrich, violinist and composer, was important for his musical development. During his school years, Konstantin was a junior student at the Music University in Lübeck with Thomas Grossenbacher.
His studies then took him to Martin Ostertag in Karlsruhe and to Frans Helmerson in Cologne. Master classes with Young Chang Cho and David Geringas supported his development as a cellist.
UniversityUniversität der Künste in Berlin
InstrumentCello
Considered one of Britain’s finest and most versatile alto viola players. He also worked in the London Symphony Orchestra before becoming leader of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden viola group in 2000. As a soloist, he has performed with orchestras from Spain, Italy, Switzerland, France, Ukraine, Russia, Japan, Argentina and the United States.
UniversityFryderyk Royal Collage of Music in London
InstrumentViola
Piotr Szumieł, born in 1977 in Warsaw, belongs to the group of the most versatile violists of his generation. He is also a viola professor and a sought-after juror and lecturer at master classes. Already at a young age he was the recipient of numerous prestigious prizes at international competitions, including winning the Jan Rakowski Viola Competition in Poznan in 1998, the special prize at the 36th International Instrumental Competition in Markneukirchen in 2001, a 2nd prize at the 9th International Johannes Brahms Competition in 2002 in Pörtschach (Austria) and 3rd prize at the Vienna International Viola Competition in 2004. Between 2002 and 2008 Piotr Szumieł was a member and principal violist of the Dresden Philharmonic and the Dresden Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra. He has also been conducting very intensive educational work for many years – he is a lecturer for viola and chamber music at the College of Music „Carl Maria von Weber” (since 2005), between 2013-2018 he was a lecturer at the “Karol Szymanowski” Academy of Music in Katowice and from October 2019 Piotr Szumieł is a professor of viola and head of the string department at the University of Music and Drama in Rostock.
UniversityHochschule für Musik und Theater in Rostock
InstrumentViola
Janusz Widzyk, double bassist, studied under the supervision of excellent double bass pedagogues such as Bonaventura Nanck, Czeslaw Ząbek, Veit-Peter Schüßler, Franco Petracchi and cellists Monique Bartels, Boris Pergamenschikow, Heidi Litschauer.
He won first place at the CIEM international music competition in Geneva in 1998, and has been a double bassist with the Berliner Philharmoniker orchestra since 2001. He teaches a double bass class at Berlin’s Hochschule für Musik Hanns
UniversityHochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler in Berlin,
Academy of Art in Szczecin
InstrumentDouble bass
