President

Prof. Julius Berger

Germany

For more than 40 years it is hardly to imagine the music scene without the cellist from Augsburg. Not just because he is a splendid performer that has been titled “the Prophet of cello” (W.-E.v.Lewinsky) by the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung after his second recording of Bachs’ Cello-Suites: Julius Berger enriched the music world in diverse ways, as a performer, a teacher, an explorer and a thinker that doesn’t like beaten paths.

Bergers’ formative teachers were Fritz Kiskalt (Munich, Germany), Antonio Janigro (Salzburg, Austria), of whom he was the assistant for many years, and Zara Nelsova (Cincinnati, USA) . He had close contact with Mstislav Rostropovich, where he took studies initially and with whom he had numerous concert afterwards.

Important impulses for Berger’s artistic life came from collaborations with Leonard Bernstein, Olivier Messiaen, Sofia Gubaidulina and Gidon Kremer, who invited him numerous times to the Kammermusikfestival at Lockenhaus (Austria).

Julius Berger is requested as a solist and an instrumentalist wordwide, recorded various CDs and educates young talents. A lot of his former students are already acting as professors or solo-cellists in well-known orchestras, e.g. the Leipziger Gewandhausorchester.

That Julius Berger does not make a difference between the historical and the contemporary, but rather, in the sense of his teacher and friend Mstislav Rostropovich seeks the contact to living composers and promotes the emergence of new works by assignments and premieres certainly belongs to his great merits. Recent examples include works by Sofia Gubaidulina, Franghiz Ali-Zhadeh, Adriana Hölszky, Manuela Kerer, Krzysztof Meyer, Wilhelm Killmayer, Johannes X. Schachtner, Markus Schmitt, Giovanni Bonato, Hong Jun Seo, and others. In 2014 Julius Berger, together with his wife Hyun-Jung, they have premiered “Two Paths” by Sofia Gubaidulina for two violoncellos and orchestras at the “Seoul International Festival”. The work was performed as a European premiere at the Beethovenfest Bonn 2015.

Julius Berger also made an important contribution to the literature of his instrument by rediscovering and recording the works of Luigi Boccherini and Leonardo Leo as well as the oldest literature for violincello solo by Gabrielli and degli Antonii. He is at the same time editor of most of the works in exemplary Urtext editions.

Recently Julius Berger devoted himself mainly to researching the intellectual background of large standard works by Bach, Beethoven, Brahms and others. In his series “From the Idea to the Work” at the University of Augsburg, which he initiated, he develops language, sound, and historical references.

For many years, Julius Berger has been the artistic director of the festivals in Eckelshausen (Germany) and Asiago (Italy) and President of the International Instrumental Competition Markneukirchen (Germany).

In 2009, he was appointed a full member of the Academy of Sciences and Literature in Mainz.

Julius Berger is looking for relaxation in the mountains. He is a passionate photographer and author of poems.

Jury violin 2025

Prof. Paul Roczek - head of jury violin

Austria

Nowadays, Paul Roczek enjoys a high reputation worldwide as a top-class musician and highly successful teacher. Having built up an outstanding reputation as a quartet violinist, as a long-standing professor, vice-rector and director of the International Summer Academy at the Mozarteum and as a sought-after jury chairman and director of masterclasses at many leading institutions, he now devotes himself above all to highly talented young musicians such as the Menuhin Prize winners Ziyu He, Clara Shen and others.

Paul Roczek is the founder of the renowned International Youth Violin Competition ‘Zhuhai Mozart’ in South China and has been chairman of the National Youth Music Competition in Austria since 1999.

Prof. Jakub Jakowicz

Poland

Prof. Min Kim

South Korea

Prof. Stephan Picard

Germany

Born in Barcelona  into a German-French family, Stephan Picard grew up in Spain and in Germany, where he studied violin from age 10, inter alia Saschko Gawriloff, Stefan Gheorghiu and Roman Nodel. Winner of  the International Maria Canals Competition, Barcelona,  and the German National Music Competition,  he launched a career as a soloist with major symphony orchestras and as chamber musician.  Concerts and masterclasses have taken him throughout  Europe, Asia,  USA, Canada, South America and New Zealand. Since 1995 Stephan Picard has served as professor at the highly acclaimed Academy of Music „Hanns Eisler“ in Berlin. His students have attained  positions in major symphony orchestras as the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra  and top prices in such competitions as the Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition and the Geneva International Music Competition. 

Prof. Eduard Schmieder

USA

Born and educated in Soviet Union, Eduard Schmieder has been characterized as an “extraordinary musician of the late 20th century” (Henry Roth, 1997). As artist and teacher, Schmieder seeks to preserve and enhance the great traditions of American and European art. He maintains a concert schedule as conductor and violinist and teaches an internationally selected class of students.

Schmieder has performed in major concert halls worldwide including Cite de la Musique in Paris, Carnegie Hall in New York, Crown Hall in Jerusalem, Grand Philharmonic Hall in St. Petersburg, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, and has collaborated with such musicians as Yehudi Menuhin, Ida Haendel, Martha Argerich, Brooks Smith, Lynn Harrell, Jon Kimura-Parker, Erick Friedman, Julius Berger, Steven Isserlis, and many others. In 1996, Eduard Schmieder performed a recital in Genoa on Paganini’s famous Guarneri del Gesu “Il Cannone” violin which is only given for the performances to exceptional virtuoso violinists.

One of the most highly regarded violin pedagogues of his generation, Eduard Schmieder is the L. H. Carnell Professor and Artistic Director for Strings at Temple University in Philadelphia and the recipient of the Great Teacher Award (2020). Prior to his appointment at Temple University, he held the Distinguished Algur H. Meadows Chair of Violin and Chamber Music in the Meadows School of the Arts in Dallas (1990-2006), and a tenured Professor of the Violin at the University of Southern California, the position formerly held by Jascha Heifetz. Students of Professor Schmieder are winners of top prizes at the prestigious international competitions, have established careers as soloists, chamber musicians, and hold leading positions in orchestras in Europe, Asia, and the United States.

Together with Wynton Marsalis he received American Cultural Specialist Award from United States Information Agency (1999), and throughout the years, numerous awards for his accomplishments as a Musician and Teacher and recognition for his invaluable contributions to culture.  In 2016 he was awarded Honorary Doctor of Philosophy from Kazakh National University of Arts.

Schmieder has taught master classes in virtually every foremost conservatory in the world, including Mozarteum Summer Academie Salzburg for 15 years, and serves as a jury member at important international violin competitions. He has been performing, teaching, and conducting at international music festivals in Canada, Germany, Japan, The Netherlands, and other countries. In the United States he has worked in music festivals at Aspen, Interlochen, Musicorda, Idyllwild, and Summit in New York.  With the support of Lord Yehudi Menuhin, he founded iPalpiti Artists International with a mission help talented young artists in advancement of their careers; through annual iPalpiti  festival in California and other  programs, to this day, iPalpiti has featured and supported  over 400 musicians from 53 countries. Professor Schmieder also serves as advisory to numerous artistic projects and is also an Artistic Advisor to the Foundation “Remember Enescu” in Romania and Honorary Chairman of the European Academy of the Arts.
He has been written about in books by Henry Roth “Violin Virtuosos: From Paganini to 21st Century” and Margaret Campbell “The Great Violinists,” as well as the three featured articles in THE STRAD magazine.
www.EduardSchmieder.com

Prof. Gerhard Schulz

Austria

GERHARD SCHULZ was born in Linz on the Danube in 1951 as the fourth child of a family of musicians and studied with FRANZ SAMOHYL in Vienna, SANDOR VEGH in Düsseldorf and SHMUEL ASHKENASI in the USA. He was a founding member of the SALZBURGER STREICHTRIOS, the SCHULZ- ENSEMBLE and 1st violinist of the DÜSSELDORFER STREICHQUARTETT. As a member of the world-famous ALBAN BERG QUARTET he played regularly for over 30 years in the world's most important music centers. As an exclusive EMI artist, the quartet recorded a large part of the quartet repertoire and was awarded countless prizes. After the ABQ ended its concert activities in the summer of 2008, GERHARD SCHULZ founded the WALDSTEIN ENSEMBLE (piano quartet). In November 2009 he made his debut as conductor with the COPENHAGEN PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA and still enjoys performing on the podium as well as working with his students. GERHARD SCHULZ taught as professor of violin at the UNIVERSITY OF MUSIC AND PERFORMING ARTS in VIENNA from 1980 to 2019. He was also guest professor of chamber music at the MUSIKHOCHSCHULE KÖLN from 1993 to 2012 and professor of chamber music at the Musikhochschule in STUTTGART from 2012 to 2016.

Prof. Hanna Weinmeister

Switzerland/Austria

The violinist Hanna Weinmeister was born in Salzburg and graduated at the Musisches Gymnasium there. Important teachers were Bruno
Steinschaden in Salzburg, Gerhard Schulz in Vienna and Zakhar Bron in Lübeck.

She won prizes at numerous competitions, including the International Mozart Competition in Salzburg, the Concours International Jaques Thibeaud in Paris and the International Parkhouse Award in London.

Hanna Weinmeister has been first concertmaster at Zurich Opera House since 1998 and a member of the La Scintilla orchestra, which cultivates historical performance practice, since 2014.

One focus of her artistic activities is chamber music: she is a member of the Tetzlaff Quartet, the Trio Weinmeister and the ensemble 57.
Chamber music concerts have brought her together with musicians such as Heinz Holliger, Heinrich Schiff, members of the Hagen Quartet and many others. She has been a guest at the Salzburg Festival, the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg, the Ittinger Whitsun Concerts, Spannungen Heimbach, the Weimar Art Festival, the Lucerne Festival and many more.

As a soloist, she has performed under the direction of Heinrich Schiff, Christoph von Dohnanyi, Fabio Luisi, Heinz Heinz Holliger and Franz Welser Möst with the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, the Munich Philharmonic, the Philharmonia Zurich, the Berlin Symphony Orchestra, the Südfunk Stuttgart and the Vienna Chamber Orchestra.

In 2023, Hanna Weinmeister was awarded the Gold Medal of Honor for Services to the Republic of Austria.

Jury viola 2025

Prof. Barbara Westphal - head of jury viola

Germany

Barbara Westphal studied in London and New York and gained her concert maturity with Itzhak Perlman and Michael Tree (Guarneri Quartet). In 1983 she won the only prize for solo viola in the ARD Competition and the Busch Prize in the same year. She performs worldwide as a soloist and chamber musician. From 1978 to 1985 she was violist with the Delos Quartet (USA), first prize winner at the International Competition for String Quartets in Colmar (France, 1981), with whom she performed internationally and made many radio recordings and discs. She is a regular guest at international festivals such as Santa Fe (New Mexico), Sarasota (Florida), Great Lakes Festival (Michigan), Incontri in Terra di Siena and Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival. Of her critically acclaimed recording of the Brahms sonatas with pianist Ursula Oppens (Bridge Records), critic Leslie Gerber of the audio magazine Fanfare said: "...this recording far surpasses any currently available and seems to me worthy of comparison with the legendary Primrose. For lovers of a dark, characterful viola tone, it is absolutely unique." Her recording of the Reger sonatas with piano with pianist Jeffrey Swann (Bridge Records) also received the highest praise from the press. Her recording of the six suites by J. S. Bach was released in 2000. This was followed in 2001 by an album with Jeffrey Swann with works by Rebecca Clarke, Henri Vieuxtemps and Georges Enesco, in 2002 by a trio CD with works by Mozart and Beethoven (Helicon) and further recordings of a wide variety of repertoire, including some dedicated to her. In 1997 she founded the Trio da Salò with violinist Ani Kavafian and cellist Gustav Rivinius, which immediately enjoyed great success at the Schleswig-Holstein Festival. Since 2009, she has also performed with colleagues Anke Dill, Ulf Schneider, Volker Jacobsen and Gustav Rivinius in the Bartholdy Quintet. A sought-after teacher, Barbara Westphal held the viola professorship at the Lübeck University of Music from 1989 to 2019. Prizewinners of international competitions have emerged from her class. Her students are also engaged as soloists with first-class orchestras in Germany and abroad and have been appointed to W3 professorships at German music academies. Barbara Westphal regularly holds masterclasses in Europe and the USA and acts as a juror at important competitions.

Prof. Katarzyna Budnik

Poland

A graduate of the Fryderyk Chopin University of Music in Warsaw in the violin class of Professors Miroslaw Lawrynowicz, Andrzej Gebski and Janusz Wawrowski as well as the viola class of Professor Piotr Reichert. She is professor in the viola class at the University of Music in Warsaw. Since February 2014 she has been Principal Viola of the Sinfonia Varsovia.

September 2013 she was awarded the 3rd prize at the ARD International Music Competition in Munich, one of the most prestigious classical music competitions in the world. She has performed with success at numerous competitions, such as: the 47th Beethoven's Hradec Musical Competition (The Czech Republic, 2008, 1st prize), 15th International Johannes Brahms Competition in Pörtschach (Austria, 2008, 1st prize), 8th National Jan Rakowski Viola Competition (Poznań, 2008, 1st prize), International Max Rostal Competition in Berlin (Germany, 2009, 2nd prize), International Max Reger Chamber Music Competition in Sondershausen (Germany, 2009, 2nd prize and special prize for the best performance of Max Reger Suite for viola solo) as well as the 4th Michał Spisak International Competition in Dąbrowa Górnicza (Poland, 2010, 2nd prize and the Special Prize for the best performance of compulsory piece).

As a soloist and chamber musician she has given concerts in  Europe and Asia. In 2010 she participated in the Chamber Music Connects the World project, organized by the Kronberg Academy, where she performed along with such distinguished musicians as Gidon Kremer, Tatjana Grindenko, Yuri Bashmet and Frans Helmerson.Chamber Music Connects the World project, organized by the Kronberg Academy, where she performed along with such distinguished musicians as Gidon Kremer, Tatjana Grindenko, Yuri Bashmet and Frans Helmerson.

In 2019,2021 and 2023 she played several chamber music concerts with an outstanding pianist Krystian Zimerman, violinist Maria Nowak and cellist Yuya Okamoto in Italy, Japan, Monako, Switzerland, Austria, Luksemburg and France.

She has played at many prestigious festivals, including the Music Festival in Lancut, International Chamber Music Festival "Music on the Heights" in Zakopane or Kammermusikfest Lockenhaus (to which she was invited by Gidon Kremer). For her excellence she received scholarships of the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage and the "Young Poland" scholarship programme.

Prof. Lena Eckels

Germany

Lena Eckels discovered the viola through chamber music as a child and has never returned to the violin since. The special timbre of the muted sound and the closeness to the human voice still fascinate her today. Growing up in a musical household, she initially received lessons from Charlotte Hauser in Detmold and studied with Barbara Westphal in Lübeck and Lars Anders Tomter in Oslo after graduating from high school.
She won first prize at the Brahms Competition in Pörtschach and the GWK Förderpreis and was a scholarship holder of the Yehudi Menuhin Foundation "Live music now" together with her duo partner Simone Wolff. She received artistic inspiration from Kim Kashkashian, Nobuko Imai and Yuri Bashmet, among others, and was selected for the Verbier Festival Academy in 2007.

Lena Eckels was a member of the Amaryllis Quartet for 10 years, with whom she won 1st prize and the Grand Prize in Melbourne at the International Chamber Music Competition and the finalist prize at the Premio Paolo Borciani in Italy. She has performed regularly with the quartet at major concert series and festivals, including the Lucerne Festival, Heidelberger Frühling, Chelsea Music Festival/NYC, Schwetzinger Festspiele, Vienna Musikverein, Alte Oper Frankfurt and Melbourne Recital Centre. In 2012, the quartet was awarded Germany's most prestigious chamber music prize, the Chamber Music Prize of the Jürgen Ponto Foundation. The CD "White" with string quartets by Haydn and Webern was honoured with the ECHO Klassik 2012 as the best chamber music recording of the year.
Lena Eckels is a professor of viola at the Lübeck University of Music and a member of the German-Israeli Else Ensemble (www.else-ensemble.com). She plays a viola by Haat-Hedlef Uilderks after Gasparo da Salo.
www.lenaeckels.de

Prof. Françoise Gneri

France

Prof. Pauline Sachse

Germany

With her versatility and expressive playing, Pauline Sachse has been a part of the international music scene for many years. She has performed with ensembles such as the Armida and Modigliani Quartet, as well as with Sabine Meyer, Jörg Widmann, Isabelle Faust, Janine Jansen, Carolin Widmann, Harriet Krijgh, Lauma Skride, and Martin Helmchen. As a sought-after chamber musician, she is a regular guest at festivals such as the Salzburg Festival, the Rheingau Music Festival, the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg, the Moritzburg Festival, the Schwetzingen SWR Festival and the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival. Concerts have led her to music centers such as Wigmore Hall London, Vienna Concert House, Rudolfinum Prague, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, and the Berlin Philharmonic.

In her exploration of stylistic diversity, Pauline Sachse chooses performance practice means such as gut strings, various tunings, and corresponding bows that enable a lively articulation and sound language corresponding to the spirit of the epoch. She works with composers such as Jörg Widmann, Peteris Vasks, Christian Jost, and Kit Armstrong and has participated in various premieres. She explores her very personal sound language in her own compositions.

Pauline Sachse's broad repertoire is also reflected in her discography. In addition to works by Schumann, Brahms, Shostakovich, and Hindemith, she has also made various first recordings, such as the "Hamlet Echoes" by Christian Jost or various early classical sonatas by Franz Benda and Giorgio Antoniotto.

In October 2023, the Hamburg-born artist took over the professorship for viola at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy” in Leipzig. She has already held the same position from 2013 to 2019 at the Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber” in Dresden and from 2019-2023 at the Musikhochschule Lübeck, as well as a guest professorship at the Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin.

Before her career as professor, Pauline Sachse was the solo violist of the Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester Berlin for several years and worked as a guest in orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic, the Bavarian Radio, and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra.

She received her education at the Hanns Eisler School of Music and the Hochschule für Musik Frankfurt a.M. with Tabea Zimmermann, whose assistant she became in 2007. She continued her studies at the UdK Berlin (with Wilfried Strehle), the Yale University USA (with Jesse Levine), as well as with the Alban Berg Quartet at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Cologne.

Pauline Sachse plays a viola by Paolo Maggini (Brescia) from 1610 and a new build by Patrick Robin (2017 Angers).  

Prof. German Tcakulov

Russia

Born in Vladikavkaz, Russia, German Tcakulov began his musical education in his home town with violin, viola and piano. At the age of 15, he continued his viola studies with Prof. Vladimir Stopichev at the special music school of the St. Petersburg Conservatory, before transferring to the St. Petersburg Conservatory four years later. At the age of 21, he moved to Germany, where he completed his bachelor's and master's degrees in viola at the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music in Berlin with Tabea Zimmermann.
In 2013, he received a scholarship from the Lucia Loeser Foundation and won numerous prizes at international competitions, including Charles Hennen in Holland, Jyväskylä in Finland, Mravinsky in Russia and the "start-up! music" prize from the Friends of the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music. From 2018 to 2022 he was a member of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (BR). As an orchestral musician, he has worked with conductors such as Mariss Jansons, Simon Rattle, Daniel Barenboim, Bernard Haitink, Herbert Blomstedt, Ivan Fischer, Daniel Harding, John Eliot Gardiner, Daniele Gatti and Valery Gergiev.

His chamber music partners include Stephan Forck, Ulf Wallin, Tabea Zimmermann, Claudio Bohórquez, Stephan Picard, Frank van de Laar, Ingolf Turban and Wen-Sinn Yang. Invitations to festivals have taken him to Murten Classics, the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival and the Otzberg Summer Concerts, among others. From 2017 to 2022, he worked as a lecturer at the Hanns Eisler School of Music in Berlin and was assistant to Tabea Zimmermann. From 2021 to 2023, he taught his own viola class at the Munich University of Music and Theatre. In summer 2022, he was appointed Professor of Viola at the Karlsruhe University of Music. He also imparts his knowledge and expertise at the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole/Florence and gives masterclasses worldwide. He will take up his professorship at the Mozarteum University in autumn 2024.
He plays a modern French viola by Patrick Robin.

Prof. Simone von Rahden

Germany

Born in Karlsruhe, Simone von Rahden enjoys a varied career as a chamber musician, soloist, orchestral musician and teacher.
From an early age, she received piano, singing and violin lessons at the Mannheim Municipal Music School; at the age of nine, she switched from the violin to the viola and gained her first string quartet and orchestral experience. She completed her viola studies with Prof Wolfram Christ at the Freiburg University of Music and with Prof Tabea Zimmermann at the Hanns Eisler School of Music in Berlin, where she graduated with honours in 2011.

She has received further prizes and scholarships, including as a member of the Viktor Ullmann Quartet at national and international competitions, from the Baden-Württemberg Cultural Foundation, the German Foundation for Musical Life and the Jütting Foundation in Stendal. In 2004, she received support from Claudio Abbado, who passed on the prize awarded to him by the Düsseldorf Kythera Foundation to outstanding young musicians.
Her first engagements took her to the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra while she was still a student. In addition to her membership of the Chamber Orchestra of Europe since 2009 and the Spira mirabilis project since 2007, Simone von Rahden has been active in the Lucerne Festival Orchestra and the Orchestra Mozart Bologna since Claudio Abbado founded the orchestras, and was also principal violist in the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment from 2016 to 2021.

Simone von Rahden has performed as a soloist with orchestras as diverse as the Philharmonie Baden-Baden, the Philharmonie Südwestfalen, the English Haydn Orchestra, the Hamburg Camerata, the Swedish Chamber Orchestra and the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne; Her intensive involvement with music from the Renaissance to the present day is also reflected in her work as a chamber musician, and she regularly appears at chamber music festivals throughout Europe, in recent years increasingly with ensembles on period instruments such as the Quartetto Bernardini and her string quintet "Spunicunifait".
From 2014-2024, Simone von Rahden was a lecturer for viola at the Hanns Eisler School of Music in Berlin, where she worked closely with her former professor Tabea Zimmermann. She also taught viola, orchestral studies, literature studies and chamber music at the Rostock University of Music and Theatre from October 2020 until she took over the professorship for string chamber music at the same institute in October 2023.
She lives with her family in Sanitz near Rostock, where she runs a weekly singing group for pre-school children on a voluntary basis.
www.simonejandl.com

Official pianists violin

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Official pianists viola

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