With a dynamic concert career as a soloist and chamber musician, Ecuadorian pianist Andrés Añazco has performed in renowned venues such as the Musikverein (Vienna), the MuTh (Concert Hall of the Vienna Boys’ Choir), Carnegie Hall (New York), the Menuhin Festival Gstaad (Switzerland) and at the Rheingau Musik Festival (Germany).
Winning first prize at the 1st International Piano Competition “Cuidad de Huesca” (Spain) at the young age of 12 was a turning point in his musical life and launched his performance career as soloist.
Since 2012, he has performed throughout Europe as pianist of the celebrated Acros Trio, winners of the Joseph Windisch Competition (Vienna). In the same year, he received the prize of the City of Lausanne together with violinist Yuuki Wong. As a member of the European Chamber Music Academy, he has received instruction from artists such as Tabea Zimmermann, Hatto Beyerle, Shmuel Ashkenasi, Ferenc Rados and Hariolf Schlichtig.
After completing his studies in his native country, Andrés received a scholarship from the Archbishop of Vienna, Christoph Schönborn, to continue his studies at the mdw – University of Music and performing Arts Vienna with Oleg Maisenberg (piano) and Avedis Kouyoumdjian (chamber music). Since 2006, based in Vienna, his musical career has lead him to explore new musical styles as a member of the Vienna Tango Quintet.

Born in Almaty (Kazakhstan), Yuliya studied both piano and organ at the conservatory of her hometown, where she won numerous prizes and awards. Yuliya completed her master’s degree first in piano chamber music with Prof. Anthony Spiri and in piano solo with Paolo Alvares at the Cologne Musikhochschule and later in duo with pianists with Prof. Evgeny Sinaiski at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen.
Yuliya performs regularly in various formations and at festivals such as in Italy (InterHarmony Music Festival), in Germany (Bavarian Music Academy) and in Austria (ClariArte).
Yuliya has distinguished herself not only on the concert podium but also as a radio personality: she produced her own series of programs on classical music for Radio Classic in Kazakhstan in 2007-13.
In February 2019, a new CD “Spectrum” with Christoph Schneider and Yuliya Balabicheva has been released by Genuin.
At the moment Yuliya is a Senior Lecturer in Correpetition at mdw – University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna.

Born in 1985 in Timisoara (Romania), Andrei Banciu began studying the piano in his home town with Maria Bodo, later continuing in Berlin at the UdK (University of the Arts) under Prof. Klaus Hellwig and at the ”Hanns Eisler” School of Music under Prof. Fabio Bidini. He also studied Lied accompaniment with Prof. Wolfram Rieger and has taken masterclasses with Paul Badura-Skoda, Pascal Devoyon, Rainer Becker, Karl-Heinz Kämmerling, Jacques Rouvier, Rudolf Buchbinder and Mennahem Pressler.
From an early age he was a prize-winner at numerous national and international competitions, such as Rovere d’Oro, San Bartolomeo al Mare, Italy (1995), Jeunesses Musicales Bucharest, Romania (1998 and 2002), Kissinger Klavier Olymp (”Kissinger Piano Olympics”) Bad Kissingen, Germany (2004), Béla Bartók Szeged, Hungary (2006) and the Artur Schnabel Piano Competition Berlin (2010). In 2015 he was a finalist in the Deutscher Musikwettbewerb (German Music Competition) in Lübeck and was awarded a scholarship, being subsequently selected to take part in the 60th selected young artists´ concert season (”60. Bundesauswahl Konzerte Junger Künstler”). In September 2015, in duo with violinist Ioana Cristina Goicea he was awarded second prize at the Premio Trio di Trieste chamber music competition in Italy and has since performed throughout Europe in venues such as the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, St Martin-in-the-Fields, London, the Romanian Atheneum, Bucharest and the Teatro Ristori and Teatro filarmonico, Verona.
In 2005 he had his first recital tour in the USA. He has participated in important music festivals in Germany, such as the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, ”Kissinger Sommer” in Bad Kissingen and the European Weeks, Passau, and has performed as a soloist with orchestras throughout Romania, as well as with the Brussels Chamber Orchestra and the Cairo Symphony Orchestra.
As an active chamber musician, he has given performances with the Jacques Thibaud String Trio in Germany and the USA since 2003. He is also the pianist and a founder member of the Jacques Thibaud Ensemble. He has had numerous concert appearances in Germany, The Netherlands, Italy, Poland, Hungary, Belgium, France and the UK, including such venues as the Maison de la Radio France in Paris and the Royal Festival Hall, London. As a duo with violinist Ioana Cristina Goicea, he has appeared in numerous concerts in Germany, Italy and Romania. From 2010 to 2013 he was a faculty member of the Musica Mundi Chamber Music Course and Festival in Belgium, where he also appeared as a soloist with the Festival Orchestra conducted by Maxim Vengerov in 2012, and with the Brussels Chamber Orchestra in the concert for the Festival’s 15th Anniversary in 2013.
He has been teaching at the Leipzig ”Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy” University of Music and Theatre since 2012 and at the UdK Berlin since 2014. Between 2016 and 2018 he held a teaching post at the University of Music “Franz Liszt” in Weimar and starting in October 2018 he will be on the faculty of the ”Hanns Eisler” School of Music in Berlin.
His concert performances have been broadcast on Bayerischer Rundfunk, Deutschlandfunk, Radio France, Radio 4 Netherlands, RAI 3 Italy.

A native of North Carolina, pianist Allison Freeman is equally established as a soloist and collaborator. She earned her Master’s degree at the Peabody Institute of Johns Hopkins University as a student of Boris Slutsky, where she held a graduate assistantship in accompanying. Allison completed her undergraduate studies with Alvin Chow at Oberlin Conservatory, and received her high school diploma with a concentration in Piano Performance from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where she studied with Eric Larsen. Allison has performed at the Southeastern Piano Festival, Meadowmount School Of Music, Bowdoin International Music Festival, the Banff Centre, and Beijing International Music Festival, and has appeared as soloist with the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra and the Oberlin Orchestra. While at Oberlin, Allison was a recipient of the Rudolf Serkin Prize, the Faustina Hurlbutt Prize, and the Pi Kappa Lambda Prize. Allison has served as a collaborative pianist for the Castleman Quartet Program, the Elmar Oliveira International Violin Competition, and currently works as a collaborative pianist at the Peabody Conservatory and the Heifetz International Music Institute.

Matthias Gerstner was born in Franconian Erlangen and received his musical education with Michael Keller at the Detmold University of Music, passing the artistic maturity examination with distinction in 1993. He accompanies singers, instrumentalists of all kinds as well as silent movies and does not shy away from contemporary music. Since 1995, he holds a teaching contract at mdw – University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, accompanying double bass, tuba and trombone players in performance classes. Throughout his career, he has had musical encounters with artists such as Jiří Hudec, Franco Petracchi, Joel Quarrington, Herbert Mayr, Ernst Weissensteiner and the Ensemble Wien. Matthias Gerstner devotes particular attention to the double bass duo with Josef Niederhammer, which celebrated its 25^th anniversary in 2013 at the Vienna Musikverein.

Elina Gotsouliak was born in Riga (Latvia) in 1979. She started playing the piano at the age of 5. Later on she attended the Music High School and then the Jāzeps Vītols Music Academy in Riga, where she majored in piano and harpsichord. During this time, she won 1st prize at various international piano competitions, including the “Concours Musical de France Ginette Gaubert” and the “Concours International de Piano Maryse Cheilan” in France.
From 2002 she studied with Rudolf Buchbinder in Basel, where she graduated with a concert diploma with distinction. During this time, she immersed herself especially in the interpretation of the works of the “Viennese Classicism” as well as the German Romanticism, thus broadening her horizons, starting from the Russian piano tradition. Already during her studies in her home country and increasingly after the beginning of her studies in Basel, Elina Gotsouliak has been intensively engaged in chamber music and song accompaniment. Since 2010 she has been a lecturer at the Academy of Music in Basel.
She performs increasingly as a concert pianist and chamber musician and also as a soloist with various orchestras and as a chamber music partner of artists such as Felix Renggli, Sergio Azzolini, Gustavo Nunes, Emanuel Abbühl, François Benda in Switzerland, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal, Austria, Slovenia, Cyprus, Latvia and Brazil. She is a regular guest at various International Music Festivals and Concert Series, including Swiss Chamber Concerts (Switzerland), Musica Viva, Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Crescendo Festival in Berlin ( Germany), “J. S. Bach International Chamber Music Festival” (Latvia), International Summer Academy in Payerbach and Music Forum Viktring (Austria), Beregneria Festival (Cyprus), Ljubljana Festival (Slovenia), Allegro Festival Guimarães (Portugal).
Her solo CD with the late works of Frédéric Chopin, which was received with the highest praise by the specialist press, as well as a chamber music CD with works by Robert and Clara Schumann were released on the Genuin/Artist Consort label in 2010 to mark the 200th anniversary year of the two composers.

Julia Gurvitch was born in Baku, USSR (today’s Azerbaijan) and learned playing the piano in the Gnessine Academy of Music in Moscow. Her concert career as pianist and accompanist started in 1980 in Moscow.
From 1984 to 1990, she played as accompanist to the famous cellist Valentin Feigin (Second Prize Winner of the Tchaikovsky competition, winner of the Jacques Thibaud competition in Paris), giving over 300 concerts in countries like Russia, France, Japan, Germany, Rumania and Bulgaria.
In 1990, Julia Gurvitch immigrated to Israel, where she is a faculty member of the Buchman-Mehta School of Music, Tel-Aviv University, working as an accompanist in the viola and violin department. She participates as invited pianist in international masterclasses and musical competition in the Czech Republic, Italy, Croatia and Germany and is a permanent member of the international master courses Keshet Eylon in Israel and isa in Austria.
Julia Gurvitch successfully continues her concert activity as a member of the chamber music ensemble “Quattro Plus” under the support of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.
During the past few seasons, she has given numerous concerts in Israel and the US as well as in various European countries including Italy, Austria, France, Croatia and Switzerland.

Thomas Haberlah was born in Waibstadt near Heidelberg and studied at the University of Music in Mannheim with Hans Thurwaechter and in Hannover with David Wilde. Masterclasses with Karl-Heinz Kämmerling and Leonid Brumberg and participation in various international piano competitions rounded off his musical education. In 1992, he was a prizewinner at the Franz Liszt Piano Competition in Utrecht, Netherlands. Alongside his solo activities as pianist and organist, he has been lecturing musical ensemble work at the Hannover University of Music since 1993. He has worked as accompanist at international music festivals and masterclasses. Concert tours as soloist and chamber music partner have taken him as far as Korea and Japan.

Highly praised for her sensitive and expressive playing, New Zealand pianist Betty Lee was awarded ‘The Best Accompanist’ prize at the 16th International Tchaikovsky Competition in St. Petersburg in 2019. Currently based in Munich, Betty has established herself as a prominent collaborative pianist throughout Europe and New Zealand. Distinguished artists she has collaborated with include Veronika Eberle, Dag Jensen, András Adorján and Ulf Rodenhäuser.
Betty graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree with First Class Honours from the
University of Auckland studying under Bryan Sayer. She was the winner of the New Zealand National Concerto Competition and the recipient of a German Academic Exchange (DAAD) Scholarship to further her studies in Germany. Betty worked with renowned pianists Gerhard Oppitz and Helmut Deutsch at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München.
Since her graduation with Meisterklassendiplom in solo and Liedgestaltung, Betty joined the faculty at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München in 2000. She is the official pianist for the prestigious ARD International Music Competition and Aeolus International Competition for Wind Instruments.
In addition to her work as a collaborative pianist, Betty is a certified transformative coach and positive psychology practitioner. She supports musicians and artists who feel “stuck” to see through the fog of their immediate pressures and works on helping them to create a purposeful and meaningful path that feels authentic for them. She helps them gain the clarity and confidence they need to make the desired changes they want.

Born in Stockholm in 1962, pianist Per Lundberg trained at the Swedish Edsberg Radio Music School (now the Royal Academy of Fine Arts) and at the mdw – University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. He is a member of Duo Leonore and the Swedish piano trio Trio Poseidon, whose recording of the Beethoven Triple Concerto with Neemi Järvi and and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra was released by Chandos. He has been teaching at the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm for two decades and at the Norwegian Academy of Music in Oslo since 2013. He is invited as a jury member for the ARD Competition in the fall of 2023 in the piano trio category.

Aki Maeda was born in Japan and graduated from the Kyoto City University of Arts. In 2008, she further pursued her studies at the mdw – University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna with Roland Keller, obtaining her Concert Diploma with distinction in 2015.
She is a prize winner of the Elena Rombro-Stepanow Piano Competition, as well as of the Prof. Dichler-Competition in Vienna and of the International Competition Young Virtuosos Chamber Music in Sofia.
She has performed as a soloist and chamber musician in Japan and in famous Austrian concert halls (Musikverein, Wiener Konzerthaus), and has been a guest at several music festivals. In addition to her solo repertoire, she has played chamber music in Europe and accompaniments at various contests. She has performed as an official accompanist at renowned international master classes and competitions such as the Fritz Kreisler Competition in Vienna, Bled Festival in Slovenia, Orpheus Music Academy in Vienna, isa – International Summer Academy in Austria, European Music Institute Vienna.
Since 2019, she has been working as a piano accompanist at the mdw.

Atsuko Oba was born in Kobe, Japan and started playing the piano at the age of 4. Upon completion of her studies with Emiko Harimoto at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, she continued her education with Jean-Efflam Bavouzet at the Detmold University of Music (concert examination 2007). She is a prize winner at international competitions in Missouri (USA), Japan and Barcelona (Spanien) and has received a Japanese government scholarship. Since 2007, she has been working as accompanist at the Detmold University of Music and since 2014 at the Hannover University of Music, Drama and Media as well. She has given numerous concerts in Japan and in Germany.

Ikuko Odai was born in Itami, Japan and studied at the Toho Gakuen School of Music. She completed an artistic postgraduate course in piano, piano duo and song accompaniment at the State University for Music and Performing Arts Stuttgart. She regularly performs as a piano accompanist at international competitions and has also won several prizes in the piano duo category. She appears frequently as a chamber music partner. Since 1992, Ikuko Odai has been an instrumental accompanist at the Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin.

Recognised for her “technically accomplished playing” (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung), pianist Sophie Patey performs as a soloist and in various chamber music settings. In January 2023, she performed Ligeti’s Piano Concerto under the direction of Manuel Nawri with the WDR Symphony Orchestra. Her chamber music partners include soloists from the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Mahler Chamber Orchestras, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Hessische-Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester and Ensemble Modern. As a chamber and orchestral musician, Sophie Patey has performed at the Berlin Philharmonie, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Konzerthaus Berlin, Alte Oper Frankfurt and Oper Frankfurt. Her concerts have been recorded and broadcasted by European radio stations. She studied with Prof. Dr. Florence Millet at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln, at the State University of New York, Stony Brook, with Gilbert Kalish and Emerson String Quartet, and at the International Ensemble Modern Academy in Frankfurt am Main. She is the official accompanist at the ARD International Competition in Munich and the International Carl Nielsen Competition in Denmark. From September 2023 she will teach piano at the Conservatoire Régional in Orléans.

Zita Tschirk, born in Györ, Hungary, studied with Rita Wagner and Ferenc Rados at the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Budapest, where she earned her concert diploma in piano with the highest honours. Following master classes with György Cziffra and Zoltán Kocsis, she studied Lied accompaniment at the mdw – University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, where she then began teaching in 2001. During her studies at the mdw, she worked with Rotraud Hansmann, Gabriele Lechner, Marjana Lipovšek, Robert Holl, and Charles Spencer as well as played in workshops with Thomas Hampson. She is currently accompanying the classes of Karlheinz Hanser and Hermine Haselböck.
Zita is a six-time winner of the Competition for Young Musicians in Györ, and she has also won prizes as a soloist at the Hungarian State Competition, the Franz Liszt Competition in Budapest, Concertino Praga in Prague, and the Hummel Competition in Bratislava. As an accompanist, she been involved in 1st-prize-winning competition performances by Genia Kühmeier (Mozart Competition, 2002) Martin Achrainer (Gradus ad Parnassum, 2005), Dániel Foki (Brahms Competition, 2016; Dostal Competition, 2016), Alexander Grassauer (Brahms Competition, 2017), Philipp Schöllhorn (Musica Juventutis, 2020), and Korbinian Schlag (Musica Juventutis, 2022). The programme of her recital with Genia Kühmeier in Salzburg is available on CD.

Tokyo-born pianist Madoka Ueno studied piano at the academies of music in Munich and Würzburg with Karl-Hermann Mrongovius, Begoña Uriarte, and Erich Appel. She then specialised at Mozarteum University Salzburg, pursuing studies in chamber music and Lied performance under Brigitte Engelhard und Jean Pierre Faber from which she graduated with honours. She has received important musical impulses from figures including Menahem Pressler, Susan Tomes, Bart van de Roer, and Wolfgang Redik. In the 2009/10 season, Madoka Ueno was a member of the International Opera Studio of Staatstheater Nürnberg. She has taught at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich since 2011. As a duo partner, she has performed in Madrid (Fundación Juan March), New York (Carnegie Hall), Japan, and Hamburg. She is also an official piano accompanist at various flute competitions (ARD, Aeolus, Böhm, et al.) as well as a frequent and welcome guest at the festivals of the German Flute Association.

Sawoko Yamada-Blankenship was born in Mie, Japan. She studied piano and graduated with a master’s degree from the Osaka University of Education. She continued her studies in lieder accompaniment at the mdw – University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna with Norman Shetler.
She won a special prize for lieder accompaniment at the International Robert Schumann Competition (Zwickau) and the International Brahms Competition (Hamburg).
Since 1994 she is an accompanist at the mdw – University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna and also in several masterclasses of opera and lied of Francisco Araiza, Kurt Equiluz, Sona Ghazarian, Julia Havarie, Patricia Wise, Margit Klaushofer and Ramón Vargas. She participated at the Schubertiade in Feldkirch and performed at numerous concerts as soloist and accompanist at recitals in Europe and Japan.