Alice Sara Ott

German-Japanese pianist Alice Sara Ott has established herself as one of the most exciting musical talents of today. As well as high profile engagements with some of the world’s leading orchestras and conductors, Ott is becoming increasingly known for her creative collaborations, with artists such as Francesco Tristano and Olafur Arnalds.

The Guardian commented after her recent performance with the London Symphony Orchestra that she “gave the kind of gawp-inducing bravura performance of which legends are made.”

In 2018 Ott released her new album, Nightfall, on Deutsche Grammophon, marking her tenth year as an exclusive recording artist for the label. The deeply personal album features works by Satie, Debussy and Ravel, and is currently being toured by Ott internationally.

In addition to a busy season of international appearances, Ott boasts a number of original creative collaborations which showcase her skills as a designer and illustrator. She is creative advisor to German luxury brand, JOST, for whom she has designed a line of premium leather bags featuring origami elements, and has also designed a range of stickers for Japanese messaging service LINE, which has already reached millions of users. Ott is currently the global brand ambassador for Technics, the hi-fi audio brand of Panasonic Corporation. She also collaborates with the French luxury jewellery house, Chaumet, as well as German couture brand Marc Cain, for whom she was recently the subject of a short film by Vogue Germany.

www.alicesaraott

Barbara Hannigan

Whether singing, conducting, dancing or acting, the Canadian soprano Barbara Hannigan is an endless source of fascination. Possessing a spellbinding artistry, her remarkable performances have been called ‘astonishing’, ‘phenomenal’ and ‘fearless’. Heralded ‘une femme-caméléon’ by Le Figaro, the outstanding soprano has enriched her palette over the past few years by devoting a large part of her career to conducting.

In September 2017 she released her first album as singer and conductor, on Alpha Classics. Hannigan devised a remarkable programme including Berg’s Lulu Suite, music from Gershwin’s Girl Crazy – in a new arrangement by the multi-award-winning American composer Bill Elliott – and Berio’s spectacular Sequenza III for solo voice. The album – Crazy Girl Crazy – has been a success around the globe and in January 2018 was awarded the GRAMMY for Best Classical Solo Vocal album.

The ground-breaking Hannigan returned to UK audiences for George Benjamin’s new opera at the Royal Opera House in May 2018. ‘Lessons in Love and Violence’ followed on from Benjamin’s previous opera, ‘Written on Skin’, widely regarded as one of the most important new operas of the 21st century, and in which the role of Agnès was written for Hannigan.

The 2018-19 season sees Hannigan: launch EQUILIBRIUM, her ground-breaking mentorship initiative; conduct her first opera; star in the new opera, Bérénice at Paris’s Opéra Garnier; as well as sing-conduct several world class ensembles including London Symphony Orchestra and Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France. She also released to widespread acclaim ‘Vienna, Fin de Siècle’, a sumptuous new recital album alongside the musical legend, Reinbert de Leeuw.

www.barbarahannigan.com

www.equilibrium-youngartists.com

Bryce Dessner

Bryce Dessner is a vital force in new music, at the forefront of creation and collaboration. Art in its most vibrant, open-minded and cutting-edge form.

Dessner is one of the most sought-after composers of his generation, with a rapidly expanding catalogue of works commissioned by the world’s leading ensembles, from the LA Philharmonic and New York Philharmonic, to Ensemble Intercontemporain, the Barbican, London Philharmonic Orchestra and Kronos Quartet.

Known to many as a guitarist with the GRAMMY Award winning band, The National, he is also active as a curator. As well as programming the festivals MusicNOW in Cincinnati, HAVEN in Copenhagen and Sounds from a Safe Harbour in Cork, Dessner was recently artist-in-residence at Hamburg’s Elbphilharomonie, where he curated and performed in a series of diverse concerts over a whole weekend.

He also co-wrote the score to the Oscar-winning film, The Revenant, for which he was Golden Globe and BAFTA nominated.

In April 2018, London Philharmonic Orchestra and Katia & Marielle Labèque with John Storgårds gave the world première of Dessner’s double piano concerto at London’s Southbank Centre. This was followed by further premières across Europe including with Dresdner Philharmonie (16/17 June), Orchestre de Paris (17/18 October), Orquesta Nacional de España (30 Nov, 1/2 Dec), and with Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic Orchestra (20 December). The album featuring the concerto for two pianos, recorded with Orchestre de Paris and the Labèque Sisters, is released on Deutsche Grammophon in April 2019.

Forthcoming projects from the prolific Dessner include a new creation with Benjamin Millepied at Paris’s Théâtre des Champs Elysées and a performance of his work Wires at Fondation Louis Vuitton, both in January 2019; Minimalist Dream House with Katia & Marielle Labèque at the Barbican and Philharmonie de Paris in April 2019 featuring a world première by Thom Yorke; plus a new multimedia work inspired by the groundbreaking work of Robert Mapplethorpe, premiering with Los Angeles Philharmonic in March 2019.

www.brycedessner

Nelson Goerner

Master of the Romantic repertoire and one of today’s foremost interpreters of Chopin, Debussy and Schumann, Argentine pianist Nelson Goerner recently brought his “interpretations of sublime inspiration” [Daily Telegraph] to London’s Wigmore Hall as part of a rich season of international appearances.  The celebrated Argentinean pianist and award-winning “poet of the piano” already boasts an impressive discography, recording exclusively for Alpha Classics and the Chopin Institute’s own label. Having released Beethoven’s ‘Hammerklavier’ Sonata, one of the greatest works ever written for the piano, he then went on to record the Fauré and Franck violin sonatas with Tedi Papavrami, released to great acclaim in June 2017.

Goerner’s anticipated recording of the Chopin Nocturnes was released in October 2017 (Alpha). He performed a selection of Nocturnes as well as works by Schubert and Brahms at Paris’s Théâtre des Champs Elysées in December 2017, to great acclaim. Goerner returned to the Théâtre des Champs Elysées in February 2018 and performed with Orchestre de Paris on 28 and 29 March 2018. 2018-19 sees a rich season of performances, with ensembles including Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and the Philharmonia Orchestra, as well as solo recitals at Paris’s Théâtre des Champs Elysées and La Folle Journée de Nantes, among many others.

“His Kreisleriana is among the finest ever recorded.” Pianist Magazine

www.nelsongoerner.com

Víkingur Ólafsson

Possessing a rare combination of passionate musicality, explosive virtuosity and intellectual curiosity, pianist Víkingur Ólafsson has been heralded “Iceland’s Glenn Gould” by the New York Times (Anthony Tommasini, August 2017). Before lighting up the international scene in 2016, Ólafsson won all the major prizes in his native country, including the Order of the Falcon, four Musician of the Year prizes at the Icelandic Music Awards, and the Icelandic Optimism Prize.

In 2016 Ólafsson signed as an exclusive recording artist to Deutsche Grammophon, with his debut album of Philip Glass’s Etudes in January 2017 a global critical and public success: “breathtakingly brilliant pianist” (Gramophone). Prior to this he founded his own record label, Dirrindí, releasing three albums.

In September 2018 Víkingur Ólafsson released his new album on Deutsche Grammophon, Johann Sebastian Bach, featuring an eclectic selection of the composer’s keyboard works. In an ingeniously woven tapestry of diverse original compositions as well as transcriptions from different eras, Ólafsson’s ​“inspired playing makes Bach more human than we’ve heard in a long time” (Süddeutsche Zeitung, 2018). The album has been met by stunning critical acclaim around the world, including several album of the month and album of the year accolades.

A true artist of the 21st century, Ólafsson is lauded for his ability to approach music from a fresh and original angle, whether through interpretation – (“Like Gould, Ólafsson possesses that rare gift of illuminating a familiar work in unexpected ways, revealing hidden depths and drawing out its best qualities”- Gramophone); original programming (“few musicians match Ólafsson for creative flair – BBC Music Magazine) or curating: Ólafsson is also Artistic Director of Vinterfest in Sweden and the award-winning Reykjavík Midsummer Music, of which he is also the founder.

www.vikingurolafsson.com
www.vinterfest.se/english/program-in-english/
www.reykjavikmidsummermusic.com/en

Patricia Kopatchinskaja

Violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja is one of the most thrilling artistic forces on the global classical music scene today. A musician of the highest-level artistry, integrity and originality, she is increasingly in-demand for her vital and dynamic performances.

Her recording of Schubert’s Death and the Maiden – interspersed with other music – won the GRAMMY Award for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble performance in 2018.

2018/19 is another exciting season for Kopatchinskaja as she continues to collaborate with leading conductors and orchestras. The season begins with a debut for Orchestre symphonique de Montréal (Kent Nagano), performances with the Bayerisches Staatsorchester and Berliner Philharmoniker (Kirill Petrenko) and a European tour with Kammerorchester Basel (Heinz Holliger).

In the US, Kopatchinskaja will make her debut with The Cleveland Orchestra for concerts of Eötvös’ Seven, and under the baton of Teodor Currentzis she will revive Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto with Musica Aeterna for a Japanese Tour.

www.patriciakopatchinskaja

Michael Barenboim

Violinist Michael Barenboim is one of the most talented artists of his generation and has performed with some of the world’s most prestigious orchestras and conductors, including the Wiener Philharmoniker, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Mahler Chamber Orchestra under Pierre Boulez and Münchner Philharmoniker conducted by the late Lorin Maazel. A former student of Pierre Boulez, Barenboim is recognised for his versatile approach to repertoire with a particular focus on 20th Century works.

In January 2017 Barenboim released his debut solo recital album, of works by Bach, Bartók and Boulez, to positive reviews across the board. The Strad commented:

“This unusual programme demands the kind of disciplined virtuosity that Michael Barenboim has in spades. His performances, flawlessly reproduced, are utterly persuasive and compelling…….strikingly authoritative accounts…….Barenboim is surely destined for the top”

Barenboim’s next album, of virtuosic works for solo violin from the likes of Berio, Paganini and Sciarrino, picked up superb acclaim upon release in 2018, including BBC Music Magazine Instrumental CHOICE of the month: “This is visionary programming, breathtakingly realised.”

Born in Paris, Barenboim grew up in Berlin in a multicultural environment, and has been Concertmaster of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra since 2003.

www.michaelbarenboim.com

Colin Currie

The world’s leading classical percussionist has been the driving force behind new percussion music for 20 years. An artist at the peak of his powers, Colin Currie has irreversibly transformed the landscape for percussion soloists, challenging today’s foremost composers to write new works.

In September 2014 Colin took centre stage at London’s Southbank Centre – where he is Artist-in-Residence – for the spectacular and unprecedented four-month percussion festival: Metal, Wood, Skin: The Colin Currie Percussion Festival. At the heart of the festival were major new works commissioned for Currie by Steve Reich, Louis Andriessen and James MacMillan. The result was a landmark event in the percussion world.

Colin continues to give world premiere performances across the globe, both as a soloist and as a member of the Colin Currie Group, which he founded to perform the works of Steve Reich.

In 2018 he launched his own record label, Colin Currie Records, beginning with a recording of Steve Reich’s Drumming and followed in November 2018 by Scene of the Crime, with Håkan Hardenberger. Distributed by LSO Live and its partners worldwide, Colin Currie Records is a platform for the soloist’s diverse projects, celebrating the extraordinary developments for percussion music over the past century.

www.colincurrie.com
www.colincurriegroup.com
www.southbankcentre.co.uk/colincurrie

Johannes Pramsohler

The entrepreneurial Baroque violinist Johannes Pramsohler founded his own chamber ensemble, Ensemble Diderot, in 2008. Over the years the ensemble has become increasingly recognised for its faithful interpretations and world-premiere recordings of little-known Baroque masterpieces. It dedicates itself to the exploration and performance of the Baroque trio sonata repertoire of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and performs on original instruments.

After several album releases on the label founded by Pramsohler, Audax Records, Ensemble Diderot recently released the world premiere recording of Meister’s Il Giardino del Piacere. The album of Meister’s spectacular trio sonatas completes a project originally started by Reinhard Goebel’s Musica Antiqua Köln. Ensemble Diderot worked closely with the early music legend, Goebel, on the album release.

Widespread critical acclaim for the project already includes Chamber ‘Choice’ of the month in BBC Music Magazine.

Pramsohler’s latest release is an album of French Sonatas, with harpsichordist Philippe Grisvard (“The dream team” – Early Music Review), featuring several world premieres.

In April 2019 Pramsohler and Ensemble Diderot release The London and Paris albums – two recordings that shine a light on the Baroque trio sonata in each capital city. Both albums feature several world premiere recordings of Baroque music.

www.johannespramsohler
www.ensemblediderot
www.audax-records

Festival de Pâques, Aix en Provence

From 13-28 April 2019, Aix-en-Provence will once again become the centre of classical music, welcoming the greatest orchestras, conductors and soloists of today. Co-directed by Renaud Capuçon and Dominique Bluzet, the young festival has become a remarkable success story in only six years, attracting the cream of today’s legendary artists as well as providing a platform for future stars. With almost 24,000 spectators in 2018, it is one of Europe’s most successful cultural events and the only festival in France wholly supported by private funding.

Highlights of the 2019 festival include some of today’s greatest musicians (Teodor Currentzis, Nelson Freire, Arcadi Volodos), top orchestras (Vienna Symphony, MusicAeterna, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France), and the cream of today’s younger generation (Andreas Ottensamer, Lahav Shani). The festival also provides a platform for upcoming stars (George Li, Daniel Lozakovich), to encourage a rich fusion of excellence across generations.

www.festivalpaques