Li Biao, one of the few outstanding solo percussionists in the recent international music stage, win the world acclaim as an exceptional solo percussionist in the contemporary era by virtue of his extraordinary musicality of the percussion instruments as well as his unique demeanor.
Born in Nanking, China, Li Biao manifested his natural endowment in music at a very early age. He began his musical studies at the age of five. At the age of seven, Li had already performed as soloist representing China in many countries. He attended the China Conservatory of Music in the year 1982 for percussion study. Upon graduation in 1988, Li was selected by the Chinese government as the first percussionist to study in Moscow at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory. Learning from V. Sniegerew, Li Biao graduated with a master degree of first honor. After winning the DAAD scholarship, Li continued his music education at the Munich Conservatory of Music in Germany between 1995 and 1998 and graduated with a Master Diploma.
During his studies，Li attained rewards in many international prestigious competitions, such as the Debrecen Percussion Competition in 1993 and the Alimata Music Competition in 1995. Consequently, he became the first Chinese, who won the international percussion competition.
As a talented soloist, Li is competent in performing an extensive range of musical work. Apart from various musical pieces from different periods, he also plays his own percussion work, written specially for him by many accomplished composers after inspired by his extraordinary performances. Li is proficient in playing a variety of percussion instruments including Marimba to others from Africa、America、Europe and Asia. At the concert, Li tends to perform more than 50 to 60 different kinds of percussion instruments, so as to reveal a fresh musical world to the audience.
Li Biao gave a great number of solo recitals during various music festivals, including the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Festival der National, Fuji Music Festival and Bela Bartok Festival, Bad Kissingen Music Festival，Music Biennale Zagreb, Night of percussion in Berlin philharmonic and Music Viva, etc.
Li has performed his percussion pieces in more than 70 countries, as well as cooperated with renowned orchestras and chamber philharmonic society, such as: Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, China Philharmonic Orchestra and many others around the world.
Li Biao has recorded his percussion albums with world famous record companies, such as EMI and Teldec. Meanwhile, his solo concerts have been broadcasted by the TV and Radio Stations that include: ZDF、Br and CCTV，etc. Li Biao has also gave lessons at many music institutes in Europe U.S, and Japan as well as took the role of judge at international percussion competitions.
In the year 2003, Li Biao accepted the invitation from Beijing Central Conservatory of Music as a percussion professor there. Simultaneously, he began to teach in Hochschule fuer Musik“Hanns-Eisler” in Berlin and was employed as a professor later in 2006. Thus，Li became the first Asian percussionist who was offered the title of professor of the prestigious music institute in the world. In recent years, the students of Li Biao have attained fruitful achievements in the music circle, for example，some got rewards in the international competitions and some obtained offers from world top symphony orchestras.
In March，2008，Li Biao received the "National Spirit Achiever Award" from Mercedes-Benz. In the same year, Li Biao and his percussion group were invited to perform at the closing ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, and to record all the percussion music for the closing ceremony.
The year 2009 is a unique year for Li Biao and his percussion group. The miserable memory of the “5.12” Wenchuan earthquake in May, 2008, for which thousands of people died, was unforgettable for this Chinese percussionist. Thus, Li asked composer GuoWenjing to write a piece of concerto “Sacrifices of Mountain” to mourn the victims. During the 1st anniversary of Wenchuan Earthquake, Li Biao played this piece in his 27-day music tour in 8 European countries, whose performances were up to 22 times. The strong will and determination of Chinese people, in contrast with the affectionlessness of the catastrophe, were expressed thoroughly and vividly. Consequently, the audience was moved with the applause lingering in the music hall for long time. 
In 2009, Li Biao stirred up the mania of percussion music in China mainland. Carried instruments with total weight of 8 ton, Li Biao led his percussion group to hold a series of concerts in 14 cities in China. Li Biao Youth Percussion Group Summer Camp, aiming at the proliferation of percussion music in China, has attracted thousands of youth to participate in, which in turn has enlightened their understanding of percussion music as well as the enthusiasm for art.
Comments on Li Biao from International Media
La Repubblica (Italy): the music of Li Biao like a surge overwhelmingly came at you, and every corner of the music hall was immersed with his touching rhythm.
Austrian Kronenzeitung: Unparalleled glory
Germany Süddeutsche Zeitung:  indescribable shocks moved the audience into tears
Budapest Daily: Unimaginable Techniques
Classic Music Magazine: A Percussion Music, Touched You into Tears

Rhythm is the most basic forms of musical expression. Drawing on the rhythms of the heart and pulse, our ancestors were instinctively led to turn these primal rhythms into a form they could hear and to integrate them into their daily lives.
Today more than ever before, rhythm has a fundamental importance in our conscious lives, far more so than melody and harmony. Percussionists find themselves constantly crossing the boundaries of conventional forms; it is partly in that the musical styles of other countries and continents have a great fascination for us and that the techniques involved in playing exotic instruments have to be specially learnt and studied .It was very important not only to take account of established works but also to discover and initiate new pieces. The members of Li Biao Percussion Group are all classically trained musicians, as well as being specialists in the most varied areas of folk music.
As one of the best percussion groups in the world, we give performances at many international art festivals and music events, performing the exclusive work written by renowned composers. The range of music performed here-it comes from five different continents-and, above all, the tone colors of the almost two hundred percussion instruments that we have used have turned this project into what a critic of an international newspaper once aptly described as “a multi-sensory music world tour”.

Novosibirsk Philharmonic Orchestra has been well-known out-side Siberia for a very long time. It has become a cultural wealth of not only the city of Novosibirsk and the Siberian region but the whole Russia. According to the opinion of the critics, musicians and audience at home or abroad, the orchestra is one of the top orchestras in Russia and can be rated at the same level as the orchestras of Moscow and Saint-Petersburg.

Set up in 1956 and headed by the People's Artist of the USSR, laureate of the National Award of Russia, professor Arnold Kats (1924–2007) till his decease in January 2007, had tours to big and small cities and towns of our country, participated in numerous international musical festivals.

The great event that is considered to become an apotheosis of the jubilee year and as the most important in the history of the orchestra took place on 8 June, 2006. The Novosibirsk Philharmonic Orchestra was invited to take part at the Festival of World Symphony Orchestras, devoted to the state holiday «The Day of Russia». 
 
In the unique action held for the first time and organized by the Association of symphony and chamber orchestras of Russia at the Column Hall of the Dom Sojuzov, the Novosibirsk Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of A. Kats performed among the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (conductor Z. Meta), the Toskanini Philharmonic Orchestra (conductor L. Maazel), the Philharmonic orchestra of Radio France (conductor M.V. Chung). The President of Russia Vladimir Putin was present at the concert.
 
The Orchestra has played more than five thousand concerts, music ranging from Bach and pre-Bach period to our days: Vienna classics, German romantics, Tchaikovsky, Rakhmaninov, Rimsky-Korsakov, Skryabin, Shostakovitch, Prokofiev, Schnitke, Sviridov, Gubaidulina, Denisov, Ravel, Debussi, Stravinsky, Schubert, R.Strauss, Bruckner, Mahler, Eives, Varez — the list could be continued.

The orchestra has been conducted by many world-renown conductors, some of them are: (listed in alphabetic order) V.Gergiev, D.Kitaenko, K.Kondrashin, G.Rozhdestvensky,  M.Yansons; soloists: D.Bashkirov, Yury Bashmet, B. Davidovich, Julia.Fisher, E.Gilels, M.Maisky, M.Pletnev, M.Rostropovich,  Grigory.Sokolov, V.Repin, N.Lugansky and many other outstanding musicians played with the orchestra.

18 of Denmark's best singers make up this internationally-renowned choir. The Danish National Vocal Ensemble's sound is transparent, bright and pure - precision combined with a powerful dynamic range. It is a world of sonority that demonstrates the essence of the much-admired Nordic choral style.

The Danish National Vocal Ensemble's wide repertoire covers all aspects of choral singing, all the way from very recently written works to 500-year-old Renaissance music.The choir has also received invitations from renowned ensembles every season, including the Baroque orchestra Concerto Copenhagen and foreign orchestras like the Radio Symphony Orchestra from Hamburg, the Malmö Symphony Orchestra and the Bergen Philharmonic. The choir is also always one of the first choices for national concerts. Besides collaborating with top-notch symphonic orchestras, the choir is also famous as one of the best cappella concert performers given that all members have their own unique and impeccable precision and dynamics. In 2012, the choir became recipient of ECHO KLASSIK with the work Nightingales in cooperation with Michala Petri.

Vladimir Malakhov (born 1968 in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine) was the artistic director of the Staatsballett Berlin (Berlin State Ballet) from its founding in 2004 until 2014. He is a former principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre.

He began his dance training at the age of four at a small ballet school and remained there until continuing his training at the school of the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow. From age ten on, he was under the tutelage of Peter Pestov and upon graduation in 1986 joined the Moscow Classical Ballet as that company's youngest principal dancer.

In 1992, Malakhov joined the Vienna State Opera Ballet as a principal artist and the National Ballet of Canada in 1994. In the spring of 1995 he had his debut with the American Ballet Theatre at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York City. Since that time, he has remained a principal dancer with ABT and has continued to dance principal roles in Vienna as well as the renowned Stuttgart Ballet. Malakhov also appeared quite often as a guest in Berlin where he has recently become artistic director. His repertory encompasses a wide range of styles from classical ballets to the works of today's contemporary choreographers.

Along with performing at the world’s major dance venues, Malakhov has staged La Bayadere for Vienna State Ballet in 1999, Cinderella in 2004 and Sleeping Beauty in 2005 for Staatsballett Berlin. In 2010 he choreographed La Perifor Staatsballett Berlin.

Critically acclaimed globally for his artistic lyricism, he has won prestigious awards in his field from competitions in Varna, Moscow and Paris. Japan's Dance Magazine named him the "best male dancer in the world" from 1992 to 1994.

Roberto Bolle (born March 26, 1975 in Casale Monferrato) is an Italian danseur. He is currently a principal dancer with the American Ballet Theatre and a principal dancer étoile at La Scala Theatre Ballet. Bolle also dances regularly as a guest artist with the world’s leading companies, including The Royal Ballet, the Mariinsky Ballet, the Bolshoi Ballet and the Paris Opera Ballet.

Roberto Bolle discovered his passion for dance when he was very young. He began studying in Piedmont, his region of origin, until the age of 12 when he entered the Ballet School of La Scala Theatre in Milan.

The last time that Nureyev appeared at La Scala Theatre to stage his production of Nutcracker, he who was considered at the time to be a legend, noticed Roberto in the studio. He asked the deeply moved fifteen-year-old boy to do some exercises at the bar. After some days Nureyev chose him to perform Tadzio in Death in Venice. This meeting was to influence Roberto’s destiny forever.

Only twenties Roberto debuts in the starring role of Romeo. In this role, in July of the following year in 1996, he will be promoted Principal Dancer by Elizabeth Terabust, beginning an outstanding international career.

Roberto performed Sigfried for the first time with the international star Altinai Asylmuratova at the most impressive English concert hall in a huge new production by Derek Deane, which included 70 swans, acrobats and jugglers. For the first time the young Italian artist, just twenty-two, met some members of the Royal Family such as Princess Margaret and the beautiful and unforgettable Lady Diana.

In June 2007, Roberto Bolle was the first Italian dancer to be invited to the Metropolitan Opera House in New York. His performances in Manon and Romeo and Juliet were highly praised. His partner, Alessandra Ferri, was at the top of her career and performed her farewell performance at the MET. The 30 minutes of applause, a standing ovation and enthusiastic newspaper reviews declared the next chapter in Roberto’s international success.

In 2008, after 8 years of enormous successes gathered all over Italy and abroad, the by-then famous “Bolle and Friends” Gala began looking for locations that would normally be considered highly unusual for the typical ballet requirements.  Locations, at this point, had become as important and peculiar to the “Bolle and Friends” appointment as the repertoire performed on stage. Just to mention a few places where the gala took place: the Coliseum in Rome, Duomo Square in Milan, Plebiscito Square in Naples and San Marco square in Venice. Well beyond Italian borders, the gala reached audiences in Athens, (Greece), Instanbul (Turkey), Beijing (China), Tokyo (Japan) and finally New York City, (United States).

They come from the most prestigious Berliner Philharmoniker;
They amazed Karajan in their first concert;
They play the Beatles as well as they play Bach;
They are the most dreamed-of among cello ensembles;
They are the most welcomed chamber orchestra;
They are “The 12 Cellists of Berlin Philharmonic”.

The 12 Cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic have long been a prominent institution in international musical life. It was in 1972 that a radio production of Julius Klengel’s Hymnus for twelve cellos with Philharmonic members became the impetus for founding a solo ensemble of this formation. Its exceptional tonal and virtuosic qualities soon took worldwide concert audiences by storm, and now the 12 Cellists enjoy a remarkable international following. Whether they’re playing the classics, jazz, tango or avant-garde, listeners are invariably fascinated by the wide range of unique and intoxicating timbres that these twelve cellos can produce, and their mixture of seriousness and humour, of depth and lightness, appeals to audiences of all ages. Among the contemporary composers who have written works specially for the “12” are Boris Blacher, Jean Françaix, Iannis Xenakis, Wolfgang Rihm, Brett Dean, Wilhelm Kaiser-Lindemann, Frangis Ali-Sade, Christian Jost, Kaija Saariaho and Tan Dun. They have accompanied the German president as ambassadors of Berlin and appeared on several occasions at the Japanese Imperial Palace. Their CDs regularly make the charts and in 2001 and 2005 were awarded the "Echo Klassik" prize.

The National Philharmonic of Russia (NPR) was founded in January 2003 by the Ministry of Culture as commissioned by President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin. The Orchestra united top orchestra musicians and gifted youth. The Orchestra was headed by Vladimir Spivakov, a world-known violinist and conductor. During the five years of its activities, the NPR has succeeded in becoming one of the best symphonic orchestras of Russia and in gaining admiration from the audience and recognition from the professionals.

Prominent conductors are collaborating and regularly performing with the NPR. Along with Vladimir Spivakov, the National Philharmonic of Russia prepares new programmes and gives concerts with world-known maestros James Conlon, Alexander Lazarev, as well as Krzysztof Penderecki, Gennady Rozhdestvensky, Jukka-Pekka Saraste, John Nelson, Hans Graf, George Cleve, Okko Kamu, Michel Plasson, Eri Klas, Saulus Sondeckis.
 

The most important pursuit of the NPR is the continuation of the legacy and traditions of the three great Russian conductors: Evgeny Mravinsky, Kirill Kondrashin ans Evgeny Svetlanov. The Orchestra aspires to preserve the most valuable of their heritage, while forming its own style which combines great traditions and new technologies.
 

Another important objective of the Orchestra is supporting young gifted musicians and providing appropriate conditions for their professional and artistic growth. During the 2004/2005 season the Orchestra formed a group of apprentices-conductors. The brightest of them have been given the opportunity to make a debut in the NPR’s concerts at the Moscow Performing Arts Centre and the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall.
 

During past five years the NPR has performed with many outstanding artists, such as opera stars Jessye Norman, Kiri Te Kanawa, Renee Fleming, Angela Gheorghiu, Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras, Kiri Te Kanawa, Dmitry Hvorostovski, Maria Ghuleghina, Juan Diego Florez, Ferruccio Furlanetto, Marcelo Alvarez, Ramon Vargas, violinists Gidon Kremer, Gil Shaham, Hilary Hahn, Laurent Korcia, Mayuko Kamio, cellists Natalia Gutman, Xavier Phillios, Tatiana Vasilieva, pianists Arkady Volodos, Barry Douglas, Valery Afanasiev, Mikhail Rudy. Pianists John Lill, Denis Matsuev, Alexander Ghindin and Olga Kern play with the NPR on a regular basis.
 

The NPR’s repertoire covers the period from early classical symphonies to the newest works of current composers. In the course of five years the Orchestra have presented many exceptional projects, such as the semi-stage performances of Honegger’s Oratorio “Jeanne d’Arc au bûcher” with Fanny Ardant and Stravinsky’s “Persephone” with Sati Spivakova, both directed by Kirill Serebrenikov, Weill’s Songs and “Seven Deadly Sins” with Ute Lemper, and the ballet evening “Symphonic Dances of the 20th Century. A Selection” with ballet stars Uliana Lopatkina, Igor Zelensky, Nikolay Tziskaridze, Svetlana Lunkina and Andrian Fadeev.
 

The NPR took part in the Moscow and Tokyo premieres of H.Shore’s “Lord of the Rings” Symphony, and presented A.Rybnikov’s Fifth Symphony and V.Martynov’s “Newspaper Overture. A News Release in the Mozart Year” to the Moscow audience. Within the framework of the “Edison Denissov’ Space” Festival the NPR gave the programme of works by Boulez, Xenakis, Dutilleux and Denissov. The Orchestra was the first to perform in Moscow “Mass of Life” by Frederick Delius, Symphony No.2 by Kurt Weill, “Ameriques” by Edgar Varese, Symphony No.4 by Franz Schmidt, Suite of “La Tragedie de Salome” by Florent Schmitt, Symphony by Ernest Chausson, Concerto for Harp by Boris Tishchenko, symphonic pieces by contemporary Dutch composers Martijn Padding and Rabin de Raaff, the symphonic version of Wagner’s Tetralogy “Der Ring ohne Worte” compiled by Lorin Maazeland Schnittke’s “Per Gunt”.

The NPR’s Subscription Series have presented a wide scope of works by Mahler, Richard Strauss, Liszt, Saint-Saens, Beethoven, Brahms, Schubert, Scandinavian composers. 
The “Great Cantatas and Oratorios” Series added to the NPR’s repertoire such works as Mozart’s Requiem, Coronation Mass and Great Mass, Rossini’s Stabat Mater, Brahms’s “Ein deutches Requiem”, Faure’s Requiem, Poulenc’s Stabat Mater and Gloria, Britten’s “War Requiem”. The “Russian Seasons by Sergei Diaghilev” Series presented several symphonic suites from the music composed for Diaghilev’s famous ballet productions. 

In accordance with its status and name, the National Philharmonic of Russia gives concerts not only in Moscow, but in various regions of Russia as well. The NPR’s each season ends up with a tour over Russia.
 

Every year the NPR takes part in the Colmar Music Festival, France. The Orchestra has toured over the CIS countries and the Baltic countries, in Europe, the USA, and Japan. 
Season 2006-2007 included a two-month tour in the USA, which comprised 36 concerts at most important venues, whereas in the Autumn of 2007 the NPR had a large-scale tour in Switzerland, Germany and Spain.
 

The orchestra has made several recordings of works by Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov for Sony Music. In May 2005 the Capriccio Recording Company released CD and DVD of Isaak Schwartz’s Concert for Orchestra, titled “Yellow Stars”, recorded by the NPR under Vladimir Spivakov to whom the composer dedicated the work. In September 2010 Sonu Music released CD with Nikolay Tokarev as soloist (Tchaikovsky's Piano COncerto N1 and Rachmaninov's Piano COncerto N3).

The Danish National Symphony Orchestra was founded in 1925 as part of the Danish Broadcasting Corporation under the motto: “The best – only the best.” Today, it is one of the leading symphony orchestras in Europe performing with the world’s leading conductors and soloists. The strong and straightforward personality of the Symphony Orchestra is rooted in its close relationship with Danish and Nordic music, and it is the world’s foremost Carl Nielsen-orchestra, bar none.

From 2012, the Principal Conductor of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra was Spanish maestro Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, but his death in June 2014 led to the search for a new leader; and in September that year, The Symphony Orchestra happily announced its new Principal Conductor, Italian Fabio Luisi.

Throughout the years, The Danish National Symphony Orchestra has been conducted by a.o. Lorin Maazel, Essa-Pekka Salonen, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Sergiu Celibidache, Kurt Sanderling, Sir Thomas Beecham, Nicolai Malko and Fritz Busch. Former Principal Conductors and Principal Guest Conductors are a.o. Herbert Blomstedt (conductor laureate), Thomas Dausgaard (conductor laureate), Gerd Albrecht, Leif Segerstam, Dmitri Kitajenko and Yuri Temirkanov.
 
The orchestra has performed with a.o. Anne Sophie Mutter, Leonidas Kavakos, Renée Fleming, Yo-Yo Ma, Leif Ove Andsnes, Lang Lang, Anna Netrebko, Nigel Kennedy, Daniel Barenboim, Elisabeth Leonskaja, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Yehudi Menuhin, Itzhak Pearlman, Serge Prokofiev and Igor Stravinsky.
 
The Symphony Orchestra has toured extensively in the USA, in South America, in Asia and in most countries in Europe, and performed at some of the most prestigious venues including Carnegie Hall, Royal Albert Hall, Berlin Philharmonic, Cologne Philharmonic, Concertgebouw, Konzertverein and Alhambra (Granada).
 
The home of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra is DR Koncerthuset in Copenhagen, built in 2009, which was designed by the famous French architect Jean Nouvel. In 2012, DR Koncerthuset entered the big league when the renowned British music magazine Gramophone rated the concert hall among the ten best in the world.

Born in Genoa in 1959, Luisi began piano studies at the age of four and received his diploma from the Conservatorio Nicolò Paganini in 1978. He later attended conducting studies with Milan Horvat at the Conservatory in Graz.

Grammy and ECHO Klassik Award-winner Fabio Luisi serves as General Music Director of the Zurich Opera and Principal Conductor of the Danish National Symphony Orchestra (DNSO). After concluding a six-year tenure as Principal Conductor of the Metropolitan Opera last season, he launches a new appointment as Music Director of Florence’s Opera di Firenze this coming spring.

Luisi opened his 2017-18 season conducting the Danish National SO in Mahler’s Eighth Symphony, followed by performances of Nielsen’s Fifth, Henze’s Second Violin Concerto featuring Julia Fischer, Franz Schmidt’s oratorio Das Buch mit sieben Siegeln, and Beethoven’s Fifth and Seventh Symphonies later in the season. He also acts as Jury Chairman for the DNSO’s Malko Competition for Young Conductors. 

Luisi is also an accomplished composer whose Saint Bonaventure Mass receives its world premiere this fall at New York’s St. Bonaventure University, followed two days later by its New York City premiere in the MetLiveArts series, with the Buffalo Philharmonic and Chorus. At Zurich Opera, Luisi leads new productions of Kurt Weill’s Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny and Verdi’s La forza del destino. Returning to the U.S. in the spring, he conducts two Beethoven piano concertos with soloists Yefim Bronfman and Lise de la Salle, respectively, with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Dallas Symphony. Luisi’s season is rounded out with Falstaff at Opera de Paris; a new production of Zandonai’s Francesca da Rimini at La Scala; guest appearances with Beijing’s China NCPA Orchestra and the Czech Philharmonic; and performances with Philharmonia Zurich featuring cellist Jan Vogler and pianist Hélène Grimaud.

As former Chief Conductor of the Vienna Symphony, Luisi was honored with the orchestra’s Golden Bruckner Medal and Ring. Other previous appointments include General Music Director of Dresden’s Staatskapelle and Sächsische Staatsoper, Artistic Director of Leipzig Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk, Music Director of the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Chief Conductor of the Tonkünstler-Orchester in Vienna, and Artistic Director of the Graz Symphony.

Luisi received a Grammy Award for his leadership of the last two operas of Der Ring des Nibelungen, when Deutsche Grammophon’s DVD release of the cycle, recorded live at the Met, was named Best Opera Recording of 2012. His extensive discography also features operas by Verdi, Salieri, and Bellini; symphonies by Honegger, Respighi, and Liszt; works by Franz Schmidt and Richard Strauss; and an award-winning account of Bruckner’s Ninth Symphony. In 2015, Philharmonia Zurich inaugurated its Philharmonia Records label with Luisi recordings of Berlioz, Wagner, and Rigoletto, followed by Rachmaninov Piano Concertos with Lise de la Salle and Luisi’s rare account of the original version of Bruckner’s Eighth Symphony.

A native of Genoa, Luisi was awarded the Grifo d’Oro for his contributions to the city’s cultural legacy. Off the podium, he is a passionate perfume maker; sales from his one-person operation, flparfums.com, benefit the Luisi Academy for Music and Visual Arts.

Born in 1974, Paganini and Liszt Prize awardee violinist József Lendvay studied at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music as a student of Miklós Szenthelyi, but frequented mastercouses of Yehudi Menuhin, Ida Haendel, Igor Oistrach, Jaap van Zweeden and Sándor Végh as well. This young, outstanding artist has performed with huge success in several countries outside Hungary, including Switzerland, Japan, the Nethlerlands and the United States. He has been invited to play with the Rotterdam Philharmonics, the Netherland Radio Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Orchestra and the Suisse Romande. He has been soloist of the Budapest Festival Orchestra on several occasions and has recorded with them Liszt's Hungarian Rhapsodies and Brahms's Hungarian Dances. The artist plays a violin made by Antonio Stradivari in 1693.

Born in 1978, he studied in London and Paris, at the Guildhall School of Music with Paul Edmund Davies, and with Sophie Cherrier and Vincent Lucas at the Conservatoire National Supe´rieur de Musique de Paris where he won the "Premier Prix de flu^te".

While he was still a student in Paris, Ivan Fischer appointed him principal flute of the "Orchestre de l'Ope'ra National de Lyon", where he became at 22 the youngest musician of this orchestra.
He played in Europe, North America, Middle and Far East, as a soloist, or with orchestras like the "Opera de Paris", "Orchestre de Paris", "Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg", the "Halle' Orchestra", the "Bournemouth Symphony", the "BBC National Orchestra of Wales", with conductors such as Sir Colin Davis, Sir Andrew Davies, E. Krivine, C. Eschenbach, W. Christie, P. Berglund, L. Langre'e, M. Minkovski, Y. Temirkanov, M. Elder, S. Mintz, E. Pido...

He also played Bach with the famous french choreographer Re'gine Chopinot, creating "Colonne" in Japan and in other countries. In 2004, he is laureate with his pianist Laetitia Bougnol of the Barcelona International Competition for chamber music. He is also teaching at the Nice Academy with Philippe Bernold, and the French-Korean Academy in Fontenay le Comte. He recorded the world premiere flute solos of the french version of "Lucia Di Lammermoor" with the famous french soprano N. Dessay.

Gábor Boldoczki was born in 1976 and grew up in Kiskörös, Hungary. With his brilliant play he is the exceptional trumpeter of his generation. Thus, it is not surprising that the renowned German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung named Gábor Boldoczki "the worthy successor" of the all time trumpet king Maurice André. The international press also calls him a magnificent trumpet virtuoso.

At the age of 14 this young exceptional trumpeter won the first prize at the National Trumpet Competition in Zalaegerszeg, Hungary. Following his studies at the L.-Weiner-Conservatory, the young musician continued at the Franz Liszt Conservatory in Budapest and as a master class student under Professor Reinhold Friedrich before starting his international solo career. By winning the internationally renowned music competition of the ARD in Munich, Boldoczki celebrated his final breakthrough at the young age of 21. He then received the "Grand Prix de la Ville de Paris" at the most distinguished trumpet competition of all - the Third International Maurice André Competition in Paris. In August 1999, Gábor Boldoczki received the coveted Prix Davidoff of the Reemtsma-Foundation for his "technical perfection and fully-developed artistic virtuosity", followed by the highly esteemed Prix Young Artist of the Year in 2002. After previously being awarded the Echo Klassik as Best Newcomer in October 2003，Gábor Boldoczki was again honoured by the German Phono Academy in 2008 as Instrumentalist of the Year.

During his European tour he performs with well known orchestras (e.g. Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Beijing Symphony Orchestra, Sinfonia Varsovia, Berlin Symphony Orchestra, Gulbenkian Symphony Orchestra, Festival Orchestra Budapest, Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra, Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra, Cannes Symphony Orchestra, Prague Symphony Orchestra, Czech Philharmonic Orchestra) and chamber orchestras (e.g. Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra, Camerata Salzburg, Zurich Chamber Orchestra, Munich Bach Collegium, Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra, Munich Chamber Orchestra, Prague Chamber Orchestra, Haydn Philharmonie, Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra, Moscow Soloists, Vilnius Festival Orchestra, Dresdner Kapellsolisten, Bach Orchestra of the Gewandhaus Leipzig, Wuerttemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn) and, furthermore, he gives gala concerts with Edita Gruberova.

Boldoczki was the first trumpet soloist worldwide to be invited to perform the trumpet concerts of Michael Haydn at the Salzburg festival.  He gives regularly guest performances at the renowned concert halls such as Musikverein Vienna, Philharmonie Berlin, KKL Lucerne, Palace of Arts in Budapest, among others. Furthermore, he follows concert invitations to South America and China. For considerable time he has been in demand for contemporary music and their world premiere performances.
Boldoczki's "extremely fine and characterful" Shostakovich recording for piano, trumpet and orchestra partnered by the Gulbenkian Orchestra led by Lawrence Foster and the pianist Lise de la Salle was selected by the Grammophone Magazine as "Disc of the Month" in April 2008.

Awarded the Soloist Prize, Gábor Boldoczki will follow an invitation as Artist in Residence at the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern 2010. Gábor Boldoczki will debut at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam with the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Yakov Kreizberg in December 2010.
His versatile repertoire ranges from Bach to Penderecki, from Vivaldi to Shostakovich to Hindemith, Takemitsu and Arvo Pärt. Gábor Boldoczki performs on B&S instruments.
For more details, please refer to his official website:
http://www.gabor-in-concert.com/de/index.php

The Hungarian Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra, founded in 1963 from the former students of the Franz Liszt Music Academy, is one of the most famous ensembles of the Central European region and they are well known in the international music sphere for decades. They played in prestigious concert venues such as the Carnegie Hall in New York, the Suntory Hall in Tokyo, the Opera in Sydney, the Théâtre de la Ville in Paris and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.
The first artistic director of the ensemble was Frigyes Sándor , who was also professor of the Franz Liszt Music Academy- he played a huge role in the work of the orchestra. After his death in 1979, János Rolla continued his work as the concert maestro of the ensemble.
Its repertory spans almost the entire history of music from Monteverdi, Bach, Vivaldi, and Mozart to the romantics and to the 20th century composers. The orchestra has recorded more than 200 discs for publishers, such as the Sony Classical, the CBS, the Teldec, EMI, Erato, Denon or the Hungarian Hungaroton. The orchestra was awarded the Grand Prix of the French Académie de Disque in Paris on three different occasions and has the "Record of the Year" award in Hungary many times.
The orchestra regularly tours almost in every European countries, in the USA, South America, Far East, Australia and performs at well-known festivals such as Ascona, Besancon, Moritzburg, Edinbourgh, Bath, Flanders, Helsinki, Luzern, Gstaad, Montreaux, Prades and Santander. Their first USA tour was in 1975 that was followed by several concerts in more than 260 cities in the country and in Canada as well.

For more information about Franz Liszt Chamber Orchestra, please refer to its official website:
http://www.lfkz.hu/page.asp

The Bamberg Symphony – Bavarian State Philharmonic has always enjoyed a special position in the musical world. Firmly rooted in its Upper Franconian home, the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Bamberg, it can nevertheless boast the uniquely high number and devoted support of more than 6,000 subscribers – in a city of just 70,000 inhabitants. Today as in the past, the Bamberg Symphony flies the city’s flag on the international concert stage and acts as "Bavaria’s Cultural Ambassador to the World" in the musical capitals of several continents. Standing invitations to important festivals and tours at home and abroad, awards for the Orchestra’s recordings, including recently the MIDEM Classical Award and the International "Toblach Composing Hut" Record Prize – all these only confirm the high reputation which the Bamberger Symphony enjoys the world over.
This reputation has been earned not least by the Principal and Guest Conductors who over the decades have presided over the Bamberg Symphony and have helped to shape its character. Since January 2000, the Orchestra’s artistic direction has been in the hands of Principal Conductor Jonathan Nott. In March 2006, Herbert Blomstedt took up another important post in Bamberg, that of Honorary Conductor; and from the start of the 2010/2011 season, they are joined by Robin Ticciati as Principal Guest Conductor.

Christoph Eschenbach, a world-renowned conductor, is one of the most popular music maestros in the international musical circle. Born in Breslau, Germany in 1940, Eschenbach was one of the uprising German pianists after World War II and enjoyed high reputation before he became a conductor. Maestro Eschenbach has collaborated with almost every top symphony orchestra in the world. In 1998, he became the chief conductor of the NDR Symphony Orchestra Hamburg; from 1988 to 1999, he was Music Director of the Houston Symphony Orchestra. In 2000, he served as Music Director of the Orchestre de Paris. In 2003, Christoph Eschenbach was named Music Director of the Philadelphia Orchestra. Maestro Eschenbach has collaborated with many world-renowned opera houses. In 1984, He made his debut at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in London with Così fan tutte. As a regular guest conductor of the Houston Grand Opera, Eschenbach also wielded the baton for Le Nozze di Figaro, Don Giovanni, Così fan tutte, Der Rosenkavalier, Lohengrin, Parsifal, Salomé, and Elektra. In November 2001, Eschenbach conducted the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra with Arabella. In 2005, he conducted the Orchestre de Paris to present Wagner’s Lohengrin.

A prolific recording artist over five decades, Christoph Eschenbach has an impressive discography as both a conductor and a pianist on a number of prominent labels. His recordings include works ranging from J.S. Bach to music of our time and reflect his commitment to not just canonical works but the music of the late-20th and early-21st-century as well. Eschenbach's discography includes recordings with the Orchestre de Paris, on the Ondine and Deutsche Gramophone labels and with the London Symphony (Sony/BMG), the Vienna Philharmonic (Decca), the Hamburg NDR Symphony (BMG/Sony & Warner) and the Houston Symphony (Koch) orchestras, among others. Over the past five years, Ondine has released sixteen critically acclaimed recordings featuring Mr. Eschenbach with the Orchestre de Paris and the Philadelphia Orchestra, a number of which have received prestigious honors including BBC Magazine “Disc of the Month,” Gramophone “Editors Choice,” and the German Record Critics’ Award, among others. His recent Ondine recording of the music of Kaija Saariaho with the Orchestre de Paris and soprano Karita Mattila won the 2009 MIDEM Classical Award in Contemporary Music.

Christoph Eschenbach has been granted many honors include the Légion d’Honneur; Commandeur dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres; the Officer's Cross with Star and Ribbon of the German Order of Merit; and the Commander's Cross of the German Order of Merit for outstanding achievements as pianist and conductor. He also received the Leonard Bernstein Award from the Pacific Music Festival, where he was co-artistic director from 1992 to 1998.

In demand as a distinguished guest conductor with the finest orchestras and opera houses throughout the world, Christoph Eschenbach is currently Music Director Designate of the National Symphony Orchestra as well as Music Director Designate of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C. He assumes these posts beginning with the 2010-11 season, and is already playing a key role in planning future seasons, international festivals and special projects for these two prestigious institutions.

Lawrence Foster was responsible for the artistic direction of the ensemble between seasons 2002/2003 and 2012-2013, of which he was also its Principal Conductor. Claudio Scimone, which occupied this position between 1979 and 1986, was nominated in 1987 its Honorary Conductor. Joana Carneiro holds the position of Guest Conductor of the orchestra since the season 2006/2007 and Susanna Mälkki was appointed its Principal Guest Conductor beginning in 2013-2014. Paul McCreesh was appointed Principal Conductor of Orquestra Gulbenkian beginning in 2013/2014.

For their audiences worldwide the Nuremberg Symphony continues to stand for quality and stylistic flexibility, from Bach to Hollywood.

The year 2011 will bring no less than three important milestones for the ensemble: On January 1^st the official term of office of the new Artistic Director of the Saxony Philharmonic Wind Orchestra, Thomas Clamor, began. In addition, since 2010 the academy, which sees itself as a nationwide network of specialized wind ensemble associations, will operate under the new name German Wind Academy (Deutsche Bläserakademie). And finally, as of May its new home will be in Bad Lausick, which was been chosen for its excellent geographical location within Germany, where the grand opening was celebrated on April 2011.

Li Biao Youth Percussion Group (the 2nd team of Li Biao Percussion Group) was founded based on “Li Biao Percussion Group” in 2005 by Prof.Li Biao. The group set up with young percussion artists graduated from Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing. Their skills and passion for music, expressive and lively performance make it become the popular top percussion group in China.  

In past a few years, Li Biao Youth Percussion Group was active in domestic important music activities. In order to let more domestic audience know and enjoy percussion music----the antiquity and young music performance art. Li Biao Youth Percussion Group held a series of universal education of percussion music every year, such as summer camp, master class, lecture concert etc. In particular is the successive percussion camp in every July and August. Students there can get varied curriculum and enjoy relaxed and happy teaching methods. They make local percussion upsurge in everywhere they gone. The most impressive is gave performance in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games at the closing ceremony under Prof. Li Biao's leading.

From 2007, the group cooperates with Mercedes-Benz and other international brands for commercial performance.
Li Biao Youth Percussion Group is warmly welcome with their proficiency and vigor. We hope there will be more people enjoy percussion music under their passion rhythm.