His work spans ambient, folk, and club music, as well as field recordings, radio documentaries, and sound installations.

As a sound designer, he has collaborated with a wide range of artists on audiovisual projects including dance theatre, live cinema, installations, radio programmes, and projection mapping. As an educator, he has led numerous workshops on recording for various artistic institutions. He currently works as a sound designer at Czech Radio, and since 2020 he has also been engaged in music therapy practice.

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On the operatic stage, he has appeared as Sarastro in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte, Caronte in Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo(Slovenian National Opera Ljubljana), Anton in the chamber opera In the Name of Love (SNG Ljubljana), and Testo in Johannes Helston’s Sanctuary of the Gods at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. More recently, he has performed the role of Neptune in Mozart’s Idomeneo (Helsinki, Amsterdam, Herne), Pilate in Bach’s St John Passion (Zagreb), and Il Dio in Falvetti’s oratorio Il diluvio universale.

As a concert soloist, he regularly appears in major vocal-instrumental works, including Dvořák’s Stabat Mater and Mass in D major, Bruckner’s Te Deum, Schubert’s Mass in A-flat major, Mozart’s Requiem, Handel’s Messiah, and Frank Martin’s Le vin herbé. His repertoire further includes works such as Rossini’s Petite Messe solennelle, Beethoven’s Mass in C major, Haydn’s Paukenmesse, Charpentier’s Te Deum, Bach’s Magnificat, and Puccini’s Messa di Gloria. He has collaborated with renowned ensembles such as the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra and the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, and with conductors including Kristian Bezuidenhout, Trevor Pinnock, Hossein Pishkar, and Aapo Häkkinen.

Bizjan has performed at leading European venues such as the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Muziekgebouw, Cologne Philharmonie, and Tonhalle Zürich. His interpretations are distinguished by stylistic sensitivity and expressive depth, establishing him as a compelling interpreter of the bass repertoire of his generation.

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He began his operatic career at the Zurich Opera Studio and subsequently became an ensemble member at Stadttheater Klagenfurt and Staatstheater Nürnberg. His roles include in particular Tamino (Die Zauberflöte), Idomeneo, Ferrando (Così fan tutte), Don Ottavio (Don Giovanni) and Rodolfo (La bohème), and more recently also Max (Der Freischütz) and Erik (Der fliegende Holländer). Guest engagements have taken him, among others, to Teatro Real Madrid, the Munich Opera Festival, the Salzburg Festival, Volksoper Vienna and Oper Graz.

Among the stage directors with whom he has worked are, among others, Peter Konwitschny, Claus Guth, Mariame Clément, Christoph Marthaler, Sven-Eric Bechtolf, Kasper Holten, Barbora Horáková, David Bösch, Immo Karaman, Tobias Kratzer, Richard Brunel and Dennis Krauß.

He made his US operatic debut as Nadir in Bizet’s Les pêcheurs de perles at Santa Fe Opera. In 2022 he appeared as Ariel and Pater Ecstaticus in Schumann’s Szenen aus Goethes Faust at Opera Ballet Vlaanderen. He also celebrated major success as Tamino at the Canadian Opera Company Toronto, at the International Edinburgh Festival 2023 and in Tokyo (Bunkamura) in 2024 with Bach Collegium Japan.

On the concert platform, Ilker Arcayürek regularly collaborates with renowned orchestras such as the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Tonkünstler Orchestra, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra Vienna, WDR Symphony Orchestra, Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre des Champs-Élysées, Orchestre National de Lyon, Danish Chamber Orchestra, Sinfonieorchester Basel and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

He has performed under conductors such as Mariss Jansons, Ivor Bolton, Philippe Jordan, Ádám Fischer, Maxim Emelyanychev, Marin Alsop, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, Philippe Herreweghe, Riccardo Minasi, Laurence Equilbey, Marie Jacquot, Mikhail Pletnev, Lars Vogt, Masato Suzuki, Oksana Lyniv, Jordi Savall, Alexander Soddy, Stephan Zilias and Dennis Russell Davies.

Alongside his opera and concert activities, art song holds a special place in his artistic work. He regularly collaborates with pianists such as Simon Lepper, Malcolm Martineau, Ammiel Bushakevitz, Daniel Heide, Hartmut Höll and Wolfram Rieger. Recitals have taken him, among others, to the International Edinburgh Festival, Oper Frankfurt, Schubertiade Schwarzenberg/Hohenems, Wigmore Hall London, Schubertiada Vilabertran, Antwerp (deSingel), Amsterdam (Concertgebouw), Barcelona (Life Victoria), Innsbruck, Stuttgart (Hugo Wolf Academy), as well as to his US debut in New York (Park Avenue Armory) and to San Francisco.

His CD recordings have received numerous awards and have twice been nominated for the Opus Klassik.

Recent engagements in 2025 brought Ilker Arcayürek back to Opera Vlaanderen, where he successfully debuted as Max in Weber’s Der Freischütz. He also made his Italian debut in Milan with Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano in Handel’s Messiah and toured Europe under Philippe Herreweghe and with the Orchestre des Champs-Élysées performing Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, with appearances including Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, Bozar Brussels and Elbphilharmonie Hamburg.

Future engagements in the 2025/2026 season include, among others, his role debut as Erik in Wagner’s Der fliegende Holländer at Theater Osnabrück, several concerts under Jordi Savall at Philharmonie Paris including Mendelssohn’s Die erste Walpurgisnacht and Beethoven’s Christus am Ölberge, further concerts at Wigmore Hall London, song recitals with Malcolm Martineau at Teatro Arriaga Bilbao, Elijah with the Danish National Philharmonic in Sønderborg, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 with the Borusan Istanbul Philharmonic in Istanbul.

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He demonstrated his talent and artistry by becoming a laureate of the Prague Spring International Music Competition. His playing is characterized by a refined tone culture, technical brilliance and a compelling musical expression.

He currently performs as a soloist and concert master of the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava. During his numerous international engagements, Jiří Hanousek has performed with Czech and foreign orchestras in France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Poland, the United States, Canada, South Korea, Japan and Taiwan. In 1994 and early 1995 he undertook successful concert tours in the United States, and he also appeared as a soloist for audiences in Australia during a tour with the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava.

With the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava, he recorded Antonín Dvořák’s Cello Concerto in B minor as well as the premiere recording of the Cello Concerto by the American composer Ch. R. Berry.

For the American label Centaur, together with pianist Pavel Kašpar, he recorded Bohuslav Martinů’s Sonatas for Cello and Piano. For the Swiss label Tudor he recorded the sonatas of Josef Bohuslav Foerster, and in co-production with Bavarian Radio for the Italian label Real Sound he recorded sonatas for cello and piano by French composers of the 20th century – Claude Debussy, Francis Poulenc and Charles Koechlin. He also participated in a recording of chamber music by Jaromír Podešva.

Among the Czech premieres he performed are the Cello Concerto by Samuel Barber, Gardens of Exile by Gérard Schurmann, and Three Pieces for Cello by György Kurtág. In addition to his successful career as a soloist and orchestral musician, he teaches at the Janáček Conservatory in Ostrava and serves as Associate Professor at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Ostrava.

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He has collaborated with well-known orchestras and conductors in important festivals and in major concert venues such as the Berliner Philharmonie, Musikverein Wien, and Bridewater Hall and festivals in Bergen, Elverum and Stavanger, at the Berliner Festwochen, at the Ruhr Festival, Festival de Musique Divonne, Schubertiade Feldkirch, Moravian Spring and Piano 2000 Festival.

His recordings for various companies include releases of works by Beethoven, Prokofiev, Debussy, Lutoslawski, Strauss, Webern and Valen. For the Antonin Dvorak anniversary 2004 he recorded the complete piano works for NAXOS, for which he was awarded the Classical Internet Award 2004.

Following his conducting studies, Stefan Veselka has been working as a conductor with appearances in opera houses and concerts in several countries and cities like Amsterdam, Berlin, Bremerhaven, Brno, Flensburg, Karlsruhe, Manchester, Münster, Osnabrück, Ulm and Stuttgart. He has already conducted a large number of operas such as “Don Giovanni“, “Werther“, “Manon“, “Aida“, “Alcina“, “Tosca” and “Lohengrin“. As a part of the Culture capital of Europe he conducted the Shell –Gala in Stavanger 2008. In 2007 he conducted a highly successful production of “Rusalka” for Opera Zuid in Maastricht. After this he has become a regular guest conductor there conducting “La Fille du Regiment” 2008, “Hänsel and Gretel” 2010, “L’elisir d’amore” 2011 and “Tosca” in 2013.

Highlights were his debut in the Concertgebouw Amsterdam with the Brabant Philharmonic Orchestra in 2011 and the production of “Katja Kabanova” with stage director Harry Kupfer which was invited to the Leos Janacek Festival 2012 in Brno.

Stefan Veselka was principal conductor of the Münster Symphony Orchestra from 2014 to 2021. In the last seasons he did very successful new productions of “Benvenuto Cellini“, “Barbiere di Siviglia“, “Tosca“, “The Bartered Bride“, “Les Contes d`Hoffmann“, “Hänsel and Gretel“, “Faust” and “Der Freischütz“. He was also invited to the Orlando Festival and to the Bebersee Festival. In January 2015 he did his Debut in France with a production of “Katja Kabanova” at the Opera Dijon. In 2018 he conducted “Jenufa” also in Dijon and 2019 “Jenufa” in Caen. He made his debut at the Norwegian national opera in Oslo in the 2022/23 season and will make his debut at the Czech National Opera in Prague in 2025. Stefan Veselka was a professor in orchestral conducting at the University of the Arts in Bremen from 2021-2023.

Stefan Veselka is the GMD (chief conductor) of the Theater Regensburg and the Philharmonic Orchestra Regensburg from the 2023/24 season.

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Les Huguenots at Deutsche Oper Berlin, Ramfis Aida at the Opéra national de Paris and Deutsche Oper Berlin.

Other recent engagements include Verdi’s Requiem at Theater Vorpommern and Romanian National Opera, Colline La Boheme, Sparafucile Rigoletto and Banco Macbeth at the National Opera and Ballet Theatre in Moldova, among others.

A graduate of International Opera Studio of Opernhaus Zürich and the Academy of Music, Theater and Fine Arts in Chișinău, Moldova. Alexei Botnarciuc is the 3rd Prize winner of the International Stanislaw Moniuszko Vocal Competition among other international vocal competitions.

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After completing his studies, the Prešeren Award laureate embarked on a freelance career throughout Europe, where his solo activity has increasingly focused on concert and oratorio repertoire. The music of Johann Sebastian Bach holds a particularly significant place in his work, currently forming a substantial and steadily growing part of his artistic life.

Martin Logar has collaborated with some of the leading European ensembles and conductors, appearing as a soloist at major concert venues including the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, the Kölner Philharmonie, the Philharmonie Essen, and the Philharmonie de Paris, among others. In the coming seasons, he will tour as a soloist in Bach’s St Matthew Passion with the Orchestra of the 18th Century, the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra and make his debut at Dutch National Opera.

His vivid yet sincere expressivity, combined with an intuitive musical adaptability, is united with a voice of warm, soft-grained timbre and full-bodied presence, a sound documented in several acclaimed recordings (Cappella Amsterdam, Cappella della Torre, etc). His artistic path has also led him to unusual performance settings, including the suspended stage of the Julier Pass tower at 2284 meters above sea level.

Whether performing, recording, or hanging mid-air, Martin Logar seeks to serve and elevate the art of vocal music. At the same time, he remains grounded: a devoted admirer of nature, science, tradition, and common sense, he continues to explore with curiosity what brings the universe into resonance.

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Ksenia Chubunova is a Russian contralto based in Italy. For a few seasons she was a member of the ensemble at Teatro Regio Torino, where she has appeared in a wide range of operatic and concert repertoire. Recent engagements include Lyubasha (The Tsar’s Bride), Suzuki (Madama Butterfly), Ma Moss (The Tender Land), Wowkle (La fanciulla del West), Suzy (La Rondine), and the Governess in Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades, working with conductors such as Pinkhas Steinberg, Dmitri Jurowski, Sesto Quatrini, and Valentin Uryupin.

Her repertoire spans from Mozart, Rossini, Verdi, Puccini, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Stravinsky. Ksenia has performed at major festivals including the Festival della Valle d’Itria and is a recipient of the Wagner Scholarship of Bayreuth.

She studied in Moscow, Hamburg, and Berlin, graduating from the University of the Arts Berlin, and furthered her training at the Accademia di Belcanto “Rodolfo Celletti.”

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In recitals, Lukáš has performed at Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, the Flagey in Brussels, Leipzig’s Gewandhaus, Wiener Konzerthaus, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and to renowned festivals such as Menuhin Festival Gstaad, Edinburgh International Festival, Chopin and his Europe, Le Piano Symphonique at KKL, PianoEspoo in Finland, Prague Spring Festival and Lille Piano Festival.

Lukáš Vondráček’s 2025/26 distinguished season highlights include collaborations with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra under Elim Chan, Belgian National Orchestra under Antony Hermus, Brussels Philharmonic under Kazushi Ono, National Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra under Marin Alsop, West Australian Symphony Orchestra under Asher Fisch performing the full cycle of Beethoven’s Piano Concertos. Further collaborations with the orchestras this season include collaborations with the Malmo Opera Orchestra, Slovenian RTVE Symphony Orchestra, Romanian National Radio Orchestra, and Janáček Philharmonic. This season, recital appearances among others, include Lukáš returns to Carnegie’s Zankel Hall in New York.

At the age of four Lukáš Vondráček made his first public appearance. As a fifteen-year-old in 2002 he made his debut with Czech Philharmonic Orchestra and Vladimir Ashkenazy which was followed by a major US tour in 2003. His natural and assured musicality and remarkable technique have long marked him out as a gifted and mature musician. He has achieved worldwide recognition by receiving many international awards, foremost first prizes at the Hilton Head and San Marino International Piano Competitions and Unisa International Piano Competition in Pretoria, South Africa, as well as the Raymond E. Buck Jury Discretionary Award at the 2009 International Van Cliburn Piano Competition.

Lukáš Vondráček obtained an Artist Diploma from Boston’s New England Conservatory under the tutelage of Hung-Kuan Chen, graduating with honours in 2012.

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Following his successful tenure as Music & Artistic Director of the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir, Boreyko joins forces with them again this season: they returned to the International Chopin Piano Competition, appearing at the opening concert, final rounds, and Laureates’ concerts of the competition’s 19th edition.

A popular guest of the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Boreyko has conducted critically acclaimed subscription programmes with them in recent years, with repertoire including Shostakovich Symphony No.5, Shostakovich Symphony No.13 ​“Babi Yar”, and Tchaikovsky Symphony No.4. Reviews of their performances have been unanimous in their praise:

“I doubt I’ll hear such an intensely overwhelming performance any time soon. Fearlessly conducted by Andrey Boreyko, the superlative playing from the LPO caught my ear” – The Times *****

Other highlights from recent seasons include Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Antwerp Symphony, Prague Symphony, Aarhus Symphony, Hamburg State Philharmonic Orchestra, Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Symphony, and New Japan Philharmonic. He has also worked with Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Gürzenich Orchester Köln, Montreal Symphony, Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, Sinfonica Nazionale RAI, and Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano with whom he has appeared at Teatro all Scala and the Mahler Festival.

Prior to the conclusion of his successful tenure as Music & Artistic Director of Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra & Choir in 2024, Boreyko was Music Director of Artis — Naples in the US for eight seasons. Other previous appointments include Music Director positions of Hamburger Symphonies, Berner Sinfonieorchester, Düsseldorf Symphoniker, Winnipeg Symphony, and Orchestre National de Belgique.

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Yibai Chen’s international breakthrough came in 2022 with his victory at the prestigious Queen Elisabeth Cello Competition. Since then, he has performed with leading orchestras and conductors across Europe and Asia. In the 2023/24 season, he appeared with the Belgian National Orchestra under Hugh Wolff in Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1, premiered Piet Swerts’ Cello Concerto at Bozar in Brussels conducted by Joshua Weilerstein, and performed Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations under Eivind Aadland.

He has collaborated with orchestras including the Brussels Philharmonic, Warsaw Philharmonic, Basel Symphony Orchestra, Janáček Philharmonic, Czech Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra, and the St. Petersburg Philharmonic. His artistic partnerships include conductors such as Stéphane Denève, Daniel Raiskin, Christian Ehwald, Nikolay Alexeev, and Vassily Sinaisky.

Chen maintains strong artistic ties with Asia. Invited by Maestro Long Yu, he performed Philip Glass’s Cello Concerto No. 1 with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra and gave the Chinese premiere of Korngold’s Cello Concerto in Beijing. He has also appeared with the National Centre for the Performing Arts Orchestra (Beijing), Shanghai Philharmonic, and Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra. Following a highly acclaimed recital at Victoria Concert Hall in Singapore, he gave a sold-out solo recital at Shanghai Concert Hall in December 2024.

An active chamber musician, Yibai toured Asia in 2023 with pianist Boyang Shi, performing the complete Beethoven works for cello and piano in 17 concerts. The duo also appeared at London’s Wigmore Hall in April 2025. He regularly performs at major festivals including Chopin and His Europe, the George Enescu Festival, the Gstaad Menuhin Festival, and the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival.

A laureate of the Lutosławski, George Enescu, and Tchaikovsky competitions, where he was the youngest competitor across all categories, Chen studied with Professor Danjulo Ishizaka at the Music Academy Basel and completed his Konzertexamen at the University of the Arts Berlin. He currently serves as assistant to Prof. Ishizaka in Basel and is Artist-in-Residence at the Shanghai Conservatory of Music.

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Lucie Karafiátová sang for nearly sixteen years with Kantiléna, the children’s and youth choir of the Brno Philharmonic. Since 2011, she has performed as a soloist on concert stages, focusing primarily on the interpretation of early music. Her long-term vocal mentor is Andreas Scholl. She has participated in masterclasses with prominent figures of early music, including Robin Tyson, Marta Infante, Jakub Burzyński, and Jean-François Lombard.

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The ensemble was founded in 1999 by musicians from the Concentus Musicus Wien and the Vienna Academy. At that time, the idea was born to realise their shared experience of historical performance practice in their own ensemble. It primarily plays Renaissance and Baroque wind music on historical instruments (cornett, Baroque trumpet, Renaissance trombone, organ and harpsichord). These instruments are original copies of historical originals. The ideal sound of these instruments is a soft sound similar to the human voice, which succeeds in expressing the various human emotions.

Following the example of a traditional town piper ensemble, Ensemble Tonus specialised in brass music from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Increasingly, works composed especially for the ensemble have also been included in its repertoire. The ensemble works very closely with the singer Belinda Loukota, the Arnold Schönberg Choir, the Chorus sine nomine, the Bach Consort Wien, the Concentus Musicus Wien and La Grande Chapelle Madrid. The ensemble has performed at the Vienna Musiverein, the Konzerthaus Vienna and at festivals such as the Salzburg Festival, the Bregenz Festival, the styriarte Graz and in many other European countries.

Ensemble Tonus:
Belinda Loukota – soprano
Heinrich Bruckner – cornetto, baroque trumpet
Otmar Gaiswinkler – baroque trombone, baroque trumpet
Jakub Zívalík – baroque trombone, baroque trumpet
Dominik Schnaitt – baroque trombone, baroque trumpet
Johannes Maria Bogner – harpsichord, organ positive

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In 2024, the quartet released their highly praised second album Our Stories. As leading music journalist Milan Bátor wrote: “This album meets the highest standards of a truly contemporary, globally active approach to jazz.” Their music blends everything they love: influences of lyrical Scandinavian music and modern jazz, enriched with touches of R’n’B, hip hop, pop, and rock. Enhanced by live electronics, this fusion creates the band’s distinctive sound, emphasizing sonic diversity and strong, memorable melodies.

Alf Carlsson has composed music for the Nobel Peace Prize, while Jiří Kotača is a recipient of the Anděl Award as well as the Czech Jazz Harvest prize. The band is completed by two of the most sought-after young Slovak jazz musicians: Peter Korman on double bass and electric bass, and Kristián Kuruc on drums.

The quartet has performed dozens of concerts at jazz festivals and clubs across Egypt, Taiwan, Sweden, Bulgaria, Austria, Italy, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic.

Line-up:

Alf Carlsson – guitar
Jiří Kotača – trumpet / flugelhorn
Peter Korman – double bass / electric bass
Kristián Kuruc – drums

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Gli Incogniti is specialist of baroque instrumental repertoire but it explores also the classical repertoire. The ensemble is regularly invited to perform in major venues, in France and abroad: Philharmonie de Paris, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Auditorium de Radio France (FR), Wigmore Hall (UK), Oji Hall in Tokyo (JP), Philharmonie du Luxembourg (LU), BOZAR Brussels (BE), Philharmonie Essen (DE)… It also performs on the stages of major festivals, among which Boston Festival (US), Printemps des Arts de Monte-Carlo (MC), MA Festival Brugge (BE), International Bergen Festival (NO), Festival de Torroella (ES), festivals of Saintes, Saint-Denis, Montpellier (FR)…

Among its many collaborations, we can mention Giuliano Carmignola, Kristian Bezuidenhout, Andreas Staier, Maria Cristina Kiehr, Alexeï Lubimov, Hans-Jörg Mammel but also Rosas, Anne Teresa de Keersmaeker’s dance company or the group of traditional singers La Manufacture verbale.

Gli incogniti exclusively records with harmonia mundi: Vivaldi, Pachelbel, CPE Bach, Haydn… its albums have been unanimously praised by press and the audience.

Strongly attached to transmission towards the younger generation, Gli Incogniti has held since 2017 a chamber music and bodywork Academy for young baroque ensembles, students or newly professional.

Gli Incogniti receives the support of the DRAC Nouvelle-Aquitaine, of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region and of the département de la Gironde. It is regularly sponsored by Adami, Spedidam and CNM Export for its performance and recording activities and by the Caisse des Dépôts for its Academy.

Gli Incogniti:
Amandine Beyer – baroque violin, artistic director
Manuel Granatiero – transverse flute
Marco Ceccato – baroque cello
Anna Fontana – harpsichord

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Bass-baritone Krešimir Stražanac is one of the most prominent Croatian singers on the international scene today. His career has been marked by consistent artistic growth and collaborations with the world’s leading orchestras, conductors, and opera houses. A major highlight came in 2023 with his debut with the Berlin Philharmonic under Kirill Petrenko, followed by performances in Berlin, Madrid, and Barcelona. The Europakonzert from the Sagrada Familia reached a global audience through international broadcasts. In 2025, he made another significant debut with the Los Angeles Philharmonic under Emmanuelle Haïm.

Stražanac is particularly admired for his affinity for rarely performed operas and stylistically diverse repertoire. In recent years, he sang the title roles in the premieres of Telemann’s Orpheus in Amsterdam and Caccini’s Liberazione di Ruggiero at the Theater an der Wien, where he also appeared as the Devil in Weinberger’s Schwanda, the Bagpiper. His operatic roles further include Ambrosio in Weber’s The Three Pintos (Leipzig), King Froila in Schubert’s Alfonso und Estrella (Helsinki), and appearances in Handel’s Messiah staged by Robert Wilson in Barcelona. In 2026, he will debut as Sir John Falstaff in Salieri’s Falstaff under René Jacobs.

Born in Croatia, Stražanac studied with Dunja Vejzović and later at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Stuttgart, specializing in lied with Cornelis Witthoefft, alongside private studies with Jane Thorner Mengedoht and Hanns-Friedrich Kunz. After graduating, he joined the Zurich Opera as a permanent ensemble member, where over seven seasons he performed a wide range of roles, including Harlequin (Ariadne auf Naxos), Baron Tusenbach (Three Sisters), Ping (Turandot), and Don Fernando (Fidelio), working with renowned conductors such as Bernard Haitink, Franz Welser-Möst, and Nello Santi.

His international operatic career includes debuts at the Bavarian State Opera, Frankfurt Opera, and major symphonic appearances such as Frank in Strauss’s Die Fledermaus and Creon in Stravinsky’s Oedipus rex. As a concert soloist, Stražanac is in demand worldwide, performing key vocal-instrumental works including Bach Passions, Mozart’s Requiem, Beethoven’s Missa solemnis, Brahms’s German Requiem, Dvořák’s Requiem, and Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn and Rückert-Lieder.

He collaborates regularly with leading orchestras such as the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Concertgebouw Orchestra, Staatskapelle Dresden, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, and Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, under conductors including Herbert Blomstedt, Iván Fischer, Philippe Herreweghe, and Jaap van Zweden. Since 2016, his close artistic partnership with Philippe Herreweghe and Collegium Vocale Gent has been especially significant.

Highly regarded as a baroque specialist, Stražanac frequently performs Handel and Bach with ensembles such as Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, Concentus Musicus Wien, Collegium 1704, and Freiburger Barockorchester. He also enjoys a strong reputation as a lied singer, giving recitals across Europe, Japan, and Brazil.

His extensive discography spans major international labels. In 2024, he released his first lied album, featuring the first studio recordings of songs by Croatian composer Blagoje Bersa, which received wide critical acclaim and won the 2025 Porin Award for Best Classical Album.

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Since the beginning of her career over twenty-five years ago, Amandine Beyer has given concerts all over the world. Invited by major baroque ensembles as conductor and soloist (Freiburger Barock Orchester, Akademie Für Alte Musik, European Union Baroque Orchestra, the Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra of Toronto…), she founded her own orchestra Gli Incogniti in 2006, with which she performs the instrumental music of Bach, Vivaldi, Corelli, Pachelbel, Matteis, Couperin, CPE Bach, Haydn, Mozart… With them, she has appeared in the most prestigious festivals and concert halls both in France (Philharmonie de Paris, Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Opéra de Bordeaux, Opéra de Montpellier, Festival de Saintes, Auditorium de Radio-France…) and internationally (Boston Festival, Wigmore Hall, Concertgebouw of Bruges, Flagey and Bozar in Brussels, Philharmonie of Liège, Philharmonie of Luxembourg, Carnegie Hall in New York, Philharmonie of Berlin, Tonhalle of Zürich…).

In 2011, Amandine Beyer recorded the Sonates & Partita of J.S. Bach (Zig-Zag Territoires/Outhere Music) which came in for huge critical and public success. She was then asked by the choreographer Anne-Teresa de Keersmaeker (Compagnie Rosas) to create the show Partita 2. After five performances in the Cour d’Honneur of the Palais des Papes in Avignon, which closed the IN Festival, she undertook an international tour, giving over 80 performances worldwide.

This collaboration continued in 2018 with the participation of her ensemble Gli Incogniti in the project Les Six Concertos Brandebourgeois which could be heard at the Opéra de Paris, La Monnaie in Brussels, Berlin, New York, Liège, Lille, Luxembourg… Then, in 2022, for the creation of Mystery Sonatas / for Rosa which staged the Rosary Sonatas by the Austrian composer Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber and then, in 2024, with Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.

At the same time, Amandine Beyer performs chamber music with such partners as Pierre Hantaï, Kristian Bezuidenhout or Andreas Staier, ranging from the baroque to the romantic repertoires, notably with Schubert and Beethoven. In 2015, she founded the Kitgut Quartet, a string quartet playing period instruments. Their first album, Tis too late to be wise, devoted to Haydn and England (Purcell, Locke) from Harmonia Mundi was hailed by the critics.

Since her recording in 2008 of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, which brought the ensemble to the attention of the general public, the discography of Amandine Beyer and Gli Incogniti has come in for unanimous recognition from the critics and received the most prestigious awards (Diapason d’Or, Choc de l’année, Gramophone Editor’s Choice, 4F from Télérama).

After having studied in Chiara Banchini’s class at the Schola Cantorum in Basel, Amandine Beyer succeeded her and became a teacher there in 2010. Passionate about transmission, in 2017 she founded her own Academy with Gli Incogniti. Meanwhile, she is invited to give masterclasses worldwide (Italy, Germany, Taiwan, USA, Canada…) and regularly conducts the Jeune Orchestre de l’Abbaye, the EUBO, the Ambronay Academy orchestra, and the French Youth Orchestra.

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Přestože původně plánovala studovat cestovní ruch a byla přijata na hotelovou školu v Rakousku, na poslední chvíli zkusila talentové zkoušky na pražskou konzervatoř a uspěla. Pod vedením profesorky Líd y Nopové dostala nabídku zpívat jako vokalistka s Karlem Gottem, s nímž absolvovala roku 1998 německé turné a následně se stala stálou členkou jeho orchestru. Vystupovala v České republice i v zahraničí, včetně Carnegie Hall v New Yorku, a spolupracovala také s Helenou Vondráčkovou.

Patří mezi nejobsazovanější české muzikálové zpěvačky. Již v sedmnácti letech hrála Ofélii v muzikálu Hamlet, následovaly role v Popelce, Galileu či Božské komedii. Získala stipendium na Berklee College of Music v Bostonu, ale studium přerušila kvůli pracovním nabídkám. Účinkovala v muzikálech Golem, Angelika, Mona Lisa, Carmen, Aida, Bonnie & Clyde či Curtains. Za roli Máří Magdaleny v Jesus Christ Superstar získala cenu Thálie 2010.

Pravidelně koncertuje s Pájky Pájk Quintetem i jako sólistka s Moondance Orchestra Martina Kumžáka. Spolupracuje s bigbandy, symfonickými orchestry a od roku 2011 moderuje s Janem Smigmatorem pořad Klub Evergreen na stanici Dvojka. V roce 2017 vydala album „Konečně“, za které získala Zlatou desku Supraphonu.

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Among the ensemble’s most notable projects are tours with Dan Bárta and Illustratosphere, collaborations with Monkey Business, Tatabojs, and Clarinet Factory, as well as concerts and recordings with Michal Pavlíček, Gregory Porter, Lenka Dusilová, Robert Balzar, Dasha, Ondřej Brzobohatý, Tomáš Klus, Jiří Korn, Matěj Ruppert, and in the more classical sphere with Dagmar Pecková, Daniel Hope, Radek Baborák, Ivan Klánský, Adam Plachetka, and others.

In 2020, the compilation album “20 let Epoque Quartet” was awarded Recording of the Year in the crossover category at the prestigious Classic Prague Awards. That same evening, the quartet also received the “Classical Music Event of the Year” award for its anniversary concert at Prague’s Lucerna.

Other successful achievements include the acclaimed album “Epoque Quartet plays Jan Kučera”, summarizing the composer’s long-standing collaboration with the ensemble and nominated for the 2018 Anděl Award. Also the album “Flow”, recorded with Canadian pianist and composer David Braid and christened in New York, with whom EQ undertook a concert tour through Canada, China, and the USA. “Flow” was shortlisted for the prestigious Canadian Juno Award. EQ is also well known to broad audiences thanks to its appearances on the popular television show Stardance.

An interesting project is the album “Komplot”, recorded and released in 2021 during the coronavirus crisis with leading Czech clarinetist Irvin Venyš.

Highly successful is the Ellaboration project, where EQ together with singer Dasha reinterprets famous songs by the legendary jazz icon Ella Fitzgerald. The album “Ellaboration” was released in November 2022 by Supraphon.

Epoque Quartet has performed in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Spain, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway, England, Ireland, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Hungary, Slovakia, Croatia, Slovenia, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Greece, Bulgaria, Israel, the USA, Canada, Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Japan. The ensemble has also passed on its experience with quartet playing in workshops in the Czech Republic, Serbia, Latvia, Brazil, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Israel.

Epoque Quartet:

David Pokorný – violin

Vladimír Klánský – violin

Alexej Aslamas – alto

Vít Petrášek – cello

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David Švec studied piano and conducting at the Conservatory in České Budějovice and at the Janáček Academy of Performing Arts in Brno. In February 2000, he took part in master conducting courses with Sir Colin Davis in Dresden, and in 2002 he completed a study stay at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna. In 2004, he won the Bösendorfer Prize in the Opera Coaching category at the international Belvedere competition in Vienna.

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