Matthias Lingenfelder
violinist
Matthias Lingenfelder erhielt mit 7 Jahren den ersten Geigenunterricht. Nach der Ausbildung bei Klaus Eichholz, Max Rostal und Gerard Poulet gründete er 1981 das Auryn Quartett.
1982 war das Quartett bei internationalen Wettbewerben in Portsmouth und München erfolgreich. Seitdem zählte das Auryn Quartett zu den führenden Streichquartetten, mit Konzerten in der ganzen Welt. Nach 41 Jahren gemeinsamer Konzerttätigkeit ohne personelle Wechsel, beendete das Auryn Quartett seine Karriere.
Neben seiner Tätigkeit als Quartett-Primarius trat Matthias Lingenfelder auch solistisch auf.
Seit 2003 hat Matthias Lingenfelder eine Professur für Kammermusik an der Hochschule für Musik in Detmold inne. Seit 2011 ist er künstlerischer Leiter der Musiktage Mondsee.
Matthias Lingenfelder spielt eine Stradivari aus dem Jahr 1722 die sich früher im Besitz des Geigers Joseph Joachim befand.
Wen-Sinn Yang
violoncellist
The Taiwanese cellist was born in Bern in 1965 and studied with Claude Starck in Zurich and Wolfgang Boettcher in Berlin. He was the first principal cellist in the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra for 16 years. He often plays with the Orchestra as a soloist.
After having won the first prize at the Geneva International Competition in 1991, he has been invited regularly to important concert halls in Europe and Asia as well as to international festivals. The distinguished conductor Lorin Maazel wrote about Wen-Sinn Yang: «He plays technically at the highest level with a lovely, full sound and impeccable intonation. He phrases sensitively and has the fullest grasp of the philosophical dimensions of the music he plays.» Yang‘s broad repertoire is well documented on more than 30 CDs. A DVD with J. S. Bachs 6 Solo Suites was published in 2006 in collaboration with the Bavarian TV. Since 2005 he teaches at the University for Music in Munich.
Martin Helmchen
pianist
The German pianist Martin Helmchen has been performing on the world’s most prestigious stages for two decades and is one of the most sought-after pianists of our time. It is, in particular, the originality and intensity of his interpretations that set him apart as a musician. In 2020, Martin Helmchen was honoured with the prestigious Gramophone Classical Music Award.
Chamber music holds a special place in his heart – a passion for which Boris Pergamenschikow provided the key inspiration. His close chamber music partners include Marie-Elisabeth Hecker, Frank Peter Zimmermann, Julian Prégardien, Augustin Hadelich and Antje Weithaas.
Born in Berlin in 1982, he initially studied with Galina Iwanzowa at the Hanns Eisler Academy of Music in Berlin, later transferring to Arie Vardi at the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media. Since 2010, Martin Helmchen has been Associate Professor of Chamber Music at the Kronberg Academy. He lives in Germany with his wife, the cellist Marie-Elisabeth Hecker, and their four daughters.
Werner Bärtschi
pianist and composer
has never given up to look after the specific character and aesthetic value of each single piece of music. Therefore his interpretations are regarded as particularly spontaneous and intense. He has played on all continents and at festivals such as Gstaad, Lucerne, Zurich, La Roque d‘Anthéron, Antalya and Salzburg. Broadcast-, tv- and filmappearances as well as numerous CDs give evidence of his succesful activity as a pianist. The focus of his teaching is to develop from the individual personality of each student the aesthetical goals and the ways to achieve them. His approach to music as a composer is helpful. Thus he is able to appreciate the rich complexity of the past‘s masterpieces. Bärtschi‘s talent for communication allows him to transmit his insights effectively.