Gilles Ledure studied musicology at the universities of Leuven and Paris. Since 2011 he is the general manager of the Brussels cultural house Flagey. He started his career in the music world in Belgium at La Monnaie/De Munt and with the Belgian National Orchestra. In 2006 he headed abroad, first to Luxemburg to lead the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg and shortly afterwards to France, where he was artistic director of the Orchestre National de Lille and the Lille Piano Festival until 2011. In 2003 he founded Tactus (Young Composers’ Forum), the non-profit organization that supports young composers in the creation and performance of orchestral works in collaboration with various cultural institutions. Particularly attentive to the training of young talents, Gilles Ledure is on the Board of Directors of the Queen Elisabeth Competition and the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel. In 2014 he received the title of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres in France, for his contribution to cultural and artistic relations between Belgium and France.

Natalie Clein rose to prominence at the age of sixteen, winning both the Eurovision Young Musicians in Warsaw and the title of BBC Young Musician of the Year. She received the ‘Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Award’ from the Royal College of Music in London, then completed her studies under Heinrich Schiff in Vienna. Having recorded for Hyperion and EMI, her recordings have won a Diapason d’Or and a Classical Brit award. In 2021, she was named Officer of the Order of the British Empire for her services to music. Natalie Clein has performed with major orchestras worldwide, including the Philharmonia, Hallé, City of Birmingham Symphony, Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, Orchestre National de Lyon and New Zealand Symphony. She has collaborated with artists such as Marianna Shirinyan, Anthony Marwood, Cedric Pescia, Martha Argerich, Ian Bostridge, Simon Keenlyside, Imogen Cooper, Lars Vogt and Isabelle Faust. A fervent advocate for contemporary music, she has premiered works by Sir John Tavener, Charlotte Bray, Brian Elias and Thomas Larcher. She is professor at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Rostock and visiting professor at the Royal College of Music.

Roel Dieltiens is a Belgian cellist who has gained international recognition for his expressive artistry and stylistic versatility. Over a career spanning more than 45 years, he has distinguished himself both as a soloist and as a chamber musician. He has developed a highly distinctive musical voice on both the baroque and modern cello, which has been widely recorded and praised for its intensity, refined phrasing, and strong rhetorical presence. His repertoire ranges from early Baroque to Romantic and contemporary music. Roel Dieltiens is the founder of the acclaimed Ensemble Explorations and taught at the Hochschule der Künste in Zürich as professor of cello for two decades. He regularly gives masterclasses and is a sought-after jury member at major international cello competitions.

Valentin Erben studied in Munich, Vienna, Paris (under André Navarra and Josef Calvet) and Cincinnati (under the LaSalle Quartet). In 1970 he took part in the founding of the Alban Berg Quartet, with which he performed the world over until 2008. Since then, Valentin Erben has developed his training activities. He teaches at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna, Hochschule für Musik und Tanz in Cologne, Summer School in Hamburg, Accademia Musicale Chigiana in Sienna and, since 1995, in the ProQuartet-CEMC programme in Paris. He is also invited to perform as a soloist and with other quartets: the Belcea, with whom he has recorded the Schubert Quintet for EMI, as well as the Arditti, Ysaÿe and Apollon Musagète quartets. He collaborates closely with many composers, singers and dancers. Recently he recorded all Beethoven sonatas with Shani Diluka as well as the six solo suites by Bach in combination with organ chorals played by his son Sebastian Erben, recorded on the famous Bruckner organ at the St. Florian monastery in Austria.

Named ‘Instrumental Soloist Revelation’ at the Victoires de la Musique Classique in 2003, Ophélie Gaillard has since given recitals across Asia and Europe, and has performed with orchestras such as the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre national de Metz, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Czech National Symphony Orchestra and New Japan Philharmonic. She regularly performs contemporary works and has developed a strong commissioning policy. She records for Aparté, producing several complete collections as well as thematic albums. In 2025 she released her latest album, Cello Tango. Ophélie Gaillard regularly collaborates with artists from diverse disciplines, including actors, dancers, choreographers and singers. In 2005 she founded the Pulcinella Orchestra, which she directs from the cello, exploring 17th- and 18th-century repertoires on period instruments. She has taught at the Haute École de Musique de Genève since 2014, gives international masterclasses, and has been invited to serve on the juries of such competitions as the ARD Competition in Munich, Bach Competition in Leipzig, Geneva Competition, and Isang Yun Competition in Korea.

Anne Gastinel began her studies at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Lyon at the age of eleven and perfected her craft with Yo-Yo Ma, János Starker and Paul Tortelier. She won numerous prizes at international competitions and came to public attention at the 1990 Eurovision Young Musicians Competition. In 1997, she was chosen to play Pablo Casals’ legendary ‘Goffriller’ cello for a year. In 2006, Anne Gastinel received the Victoire de la Musique award for ‘Soloist of the Year’. She has performed in venues such as the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, the Philharmonie de Paris, the Vienna Musikverein, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Victoria Hall in Geneva, Wigmore Hall in London, and the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, alongside masters such as Yehudi Menuhin, Mstislav Rostropovich, and Kurt Sanderling. As a chamber musician, she performs with Claire Désert, the Quatuor Hermès, Andreas Ottensamer, David Grimal and Philippe Cassard, Xavier Philipps and the French cellos. Her recordings have received several distinctions, including Classica’s ‘Choc’ and a ‘Diapason d’Or’. She has been a professor at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Lyon since 2003 and at the Académie Jaroussky since 2022.

Benjamin Glorieux moves between eras and styles with rare ease. His work exudes a deep connection with the past, while he tirelessly searches for a personal, contemporary musical language. Time and again, he finds new ways to combine tradition and innovation in a single gesture. His artistic path is surprisingly versatile. He performs classical recitals, travels on foot from Arnstadt to Lübeck with his cello, conducts passionate amateur string players, explores electronic soundscapes with modular synthesisers and consciously chooses gut strings to rediscover the warmth of the Romantic repertoire. His open-mindedness translates into diverse forms of creation: intimate and adventurous concerts, lectures, exhibitions, singer-songwriter projects and hybrid performances. Benjamin Glorieux is currently composing the music for director Felix van Groeningen’s new film and developing a performance for the upcoming Cello Biënnale Amsterdam while being immersed in his PhD at the Koninklijk Conservatorium Brussel, studying the work of Belgian cellist François Servais.

An experienced soloist and a keen chamber musician and teacher, Marie Hallynck studied under Reine Flachot, Edmond Baert, János Starker, and Natalia Gutman. A laureate of the Eurovision Young Musicians Competition in 1992 and of the Juventus Foundation, and a Rising Star of the ECHO network in 2000, she was selected as Musician of the Year by the Belgian music press in 2002. She has performed with orchestras such as the Rotterdam Philharmonic, the Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra, the St Petersburg Philharmonic, the Brussels Philharmonic, and the Belgian National Orchestra. On concert and on disc, she has been an enthusiastic advocate of the Belgian repertoire and has premiered concertos by Peter Swinnen, Hao-Fu Zhang, Jean-Paul Dessy, and Dirk Brossé, recording the latter’s concerto as soloist with the London Symphony Orchestra. In a duo with the pianist Cédric Tiberghien, she has made several memorable recordings. In 2006, together with the pianist Muhiddin Dürrüoglu and the clarinettist Ronald Van Spaendonck, she founded the Kheops Ensemble, tackling a broad range of chamber music. She has been teaching at the Conservatoire royal de Bruxelles since she was nineteen.

Gregor Horsch has been principal cellist of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra in Amsterdam since 1997. He studied in Freiburg with Christoph Henkel and in Manchester with Ralph Kirshbaum. A prizewinner of the Pierre Fournier Award (1988), the International Cello Competition of Scheveningen (1989), and the Gaspar Cassadó Competition in Florence (1990), Gregor Horsch combines his work in the orchestra with a varied career as a soloist, chamber musician, and teacher. He has performed concertos under the direction of, among others, Evgeny Svetlanov, Leonard Slatkin, Hans Vonk, Alan Gilbert, and Andris Nelsons, and has played chamber music with partners such as Emmanuel Ax, Menahem Pressler, Yefim Bronfman, Vadim Repin, Sarah Chang, Janine Jansen, and Tabea Zimmermann. He has also premiered works by Tristan Keuris, Wolfgang Rihm, and György Kurtág. Gregor Horsch has appeared at festivals including the International Cello Festival Manchester, the Amsterdam Cello Biennale, the BBC Chamber Proms, the Delft Chamber Music Festival, and the Holland Festival. His CD recordings of works by Julius Röntgen and Emanuel Móor have been widely praised in the specialist press. After teaching at the conservatories of The Hague, Amsterdam, and Manchester, he has been Professor of Violoncello at the Robert Schumann Hochschule in Düsseldorf since 2009.

Anssi Karttunen was taught by Erkki Rautio, William Pleeth, Jacqueline du Pré and Tibor de Machula. An enthusiastic advocate of contemporary music, his collaborations with a number of composers have contributed to the development of the instrument’s technique. Many of them, including Salonen, Lindberg, Saariaho, Tan Dun, Wallin, Dusapin and Jolas, have written works for him. He knows no limits, whether in terms of instruments (he enjoys playing the baroque cello, the piccolo and even electric cello) or of repertoire. His varied discography includes countless contemporary works, as well as the Beethoven sonatas on period instruments. He has been solo cellist with the London Sinfonietta and founded the string trio Zebra Trio. From 1994 to 1998, he was artistic director of the Avanti ! Chamber Orchestra. He directed the Helsinki Biennale in 1995 and 1999 and the Musica Nova Helsinki festival in 2015. Since 2008 he has led Creative Dialogue, a workshop for composers and performers. Anssi Karttunen lives in Paris, where he teaches at the École Normale de Musique.

Daniel Müller-Schott is one of the world’s leading cellists, building connections between music, literature and the visual arts. He performs worldwide with orchestras such as the London, Indianapolis, San Francisco, Sydney and Tasmanian symphony orchestras and the Auckland Philharmonia. He has collaborated with many distinguished conductors, including Karina Canellakis, Christoph Eschenbach, Iván Fischer, Alan Gilbert, Fabio Luisi, Andris Nelsons, Kirill Petrenko, Dalia Stasevska and Simone Young. Together with conductor Wilson Hermanto, Daniel Müller-Schott founded the Vevey Spring Classic Festival in Switzerland. His repertoire spans from the baroque to the present day, and he is dedicated to expanding the cello’s voice through new commissions. A passionate chamber musician, he performs with artists such as Anne-Sophie Mutter, Janine Jansen, Julia Fischer and Francesco Piemontesi, as well as the Modigliani and Ebène quartets. In a career spanning 30 years, he has produced an impressive discography of more than 30 albums, which have earned him many prestigious awards, including the ‘Diapason d’Or’ and the International Classical Music Award.

Winner of the Avery Fisher Recital Award, the Piatigorsky Memorial Award, and the Pro Musicis Award, and nominated for the Grammy Awards, Sharon Robinson regularly performs as a soloist, with orchestras, and as a chamber music partner, with ensembles such as the ESPRESSIVO ! piano quartet. With her husband, the violinist and conductor Jaime Laredo, she premiered André Previn’s Double Concerto, together with the Austin, Cincinnati, Detroit, Kansas City, and Toronto orchestras, the Pacific Symphony, the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, and the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie. In 2009, Sharon Robinson and Jaime Laredo became artistic co-directors of the Linton Chamber Music Series in Cincinnati. They are also artistic directors of the Hudson Valley Chamber Music Circle at Bard College and Artistic Advisors at the Brattleboro Music Center in Vermont. Sharon Robinson has made many recordings, both as a soloist and with the Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio. BRIDGE Records released Triple Doubles, an album featuring three new double concertos written for her and her husband by Daron Hagen, Richard Danielpour, and David Ludwig. In 2012, she joined the faculty of the Cleveland Institute of Music.

Jan Vogler has performed with leading orchestras worldwide, including the London Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic, Deutsches Symphonie- Orchester Berlin and Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. He has premiered works by contemporary composers such as Tigran Mansurian, John Harbison, Wolfgang Rihm, Jörg Widmann, Nico Muhly and Zhou Long. In addition to his classical concert activities as a soloist, he is constantly looking for new ways to combine music with other arts. This has led to collaborations with poet Amanda Gorman, performing her contemporary poems with cello suites by Bach, and with actor Bill Murray, creating their joint musical-literary project Bill Murray, Jan Vogler & Friends: New Worlds. Jan Vogler has produced some twenty CDs with the Sony Classical label, including an award-winning recording of Dvořák’s Cello Concerto with the New York Philharmonic. Since 2001 he has been Artistic Director of the Moritzburg Festival and, since 2008, Intendant of the Dresden Music Festival. His awards include the European Award for Culture, the Erich Kästner Award, and the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Jian Wang began learning the cello from his father at the age of four and went on to study at the Shanghai Conservatory. Noticed by Isaac Stern during the filming of the documentary film From Mao to Mozart, he enrolled at Yale School of Music in 1985 and studied under Aldo Parisot. Since then, he has played with many prestigious orchestras, including the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Koninklijk Concertgebouw Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the symphony orchestras of Chicago, Boston and London, the BBC orchestras, the orchestras of Zürich and La Scala, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestra dell’Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, the Orchestre National de France, the Orchestre de Paris, and the NHK Symphony Orchestra. He has made numerous recordings, including Elgar’s Concerto with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, an album of short pieces for cello and guitar entitled Rêverie, the Double Concerto by Brahms with the Berliner Philharmoniker and Gil Shaham, Haydn’s Concertos with the Gulbenkian Orchestra, and Bach’s Cello Suites for Deutsche Grammophon China.

Sonia Wieder-Atherton studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris under Maurice Gendron, then at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory under Natalia Shakhovskaya. She has had works written for her by contemporary composers, such as Pascal Dusapin, Georges Aperghis, Betsy Jolas and Wolfgang Rihm. She has performed as a soloist with the Orchestre de Paris, the Orchestre National de France, the Belgian National Orchestra, the Liège Royal Philharmonic, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, the NDR orchestra in Hanover, and Les Siècles, and performs regularly with musicians such as Imogen Cooper and Raphaël Oleg. In recent years, she has developed original projects in collaboration with Chantal Akerman, Charlotte Rampling and Fanny Ardant, among others. In 2011, she received the Prix Francine et Antoine Bernheim pour les Arts, les Lettres et les Sciences and in 2015, she was named Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. In 2018, she performed as part of the ‘Hommage solennel de la Nation’ tribute to Simone Veil at the Panthéon. Her recordings were released by Alpha Classics.