The Voyager Quartet was founded in 2014. Its members can all look back on successful careers in famous string quartets such as the Cherubini Quartet and Modern String Quartet, and in world-class orchestras such as the Symphony Orchestra of Bavarian Radio. The members of the Voyager Quartet thus combine a wealth of experience in numerous concerts worldwide at renowned music festivals and in famous concert venues, which they have successfully fed into all manner of high-quality concert programmes over recent years.

https://www.voyagerquartet.de/

“When I passed the entrance examination to the Musikhochschule in Munich, I was suddenly told that I should also sing a folk song. I was not prepared for that, and in my confusion not a single one occurred to me. I stood helpless before the jury until the solution came to me. I sang the “Leiermann” from the Winterreise, which was very familiar to me at that time and I often sang it to myself.

Many years later I became part of the Voyager Quartet, which conceives programs that create a close connection between the music played and the term “journey”. This is very broadly understood, so there was a journey into space, with the Voyager probe, but also a journey to the inside or into afterlife.

And then came the Winterreise. I selected twelve of the songs and rewrote them for quartet. The music is so expressive and develops such an associative power that it can do without the text. It resonates unspoken. This creates freedom for one’s own spaces and paths.

In order to give the work a compactness, I wrote modern intermezzi between the songs, which interrupt the flow and prepare the mind for a new journey in the next song.”

Andreas Höricht

Camerata Vocale Freiburg
The Camerata Vocale Freiburg, founded in 1977, began its concert activity first in South Germany and soon after that in all of Germany, and abroad. Since 1988 the choir is conducted by Winfried Toll. Its repertoire ranges from Renaissance and Baroque, Classic and Romantic to contemporary music (often first performances).The Camerata Vocale Freiburg is often invited to important festivals. The 25-35 semiprofessional singers have been on tour in France, Italy, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Portugal, Mallorca, Sardinia and Brazil and recently very successfully in Canada. The Ensemble has collaborated with the “Kammerorchester Basel”, with the „Freiburger Barockorchester“, with the Freiburg Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Donald C. Runnicles and Kwamé Ryan, and with the SWR Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Hans Zender and Sylvain Cambreling.The Camerata Vocale Freiburg has won several prizes at national and international prestigious competitions: first prize at the regional choral competition followed by the first prize at the national competition in Stuttgart and the first prize at the international choral competition in Cork (Ireland). Since 1986 the Camerata Vocale Freiburg has been collaborating with the regional section of the national broadcasting corporation (Südwestrundfunk): This collaboration was responsible for the release of two CDs: „Dixit Dominus“ by Georg F. Handel and the „Magnificat“ by Antonio Vivaldi, and the „Requiem“ by Gabriel Fauré and the „Missa Sacra“ by Robert Schumann, both for the label “Ars Musici”. This label also recorded several a-cappella CD’s of Frank Martin, Francis Poulenc, Herbert Howells, Ildebrando Pizzetti, Johannes Brahms and a Christmas CD.
The „Badische Zeitung“ wrote: „The quality of this exceptional choir in Freiburg is well known: the instinctive phrasing, the perfect balance, it’s musicality and the intensity of it’s interpretation. The conductor ,Winfried Toll not only conducts—he shows his extraordinary abilities through a musical expression which is very sensitive and seems to flood the music with colour”.

Winfried Toll
After graduating from the Collegium Augustinianum Gaesdonck, Winfried Toll studied theology and philosophy in Münster and Freiburg (Breisgau) before he went on to study composition and music education with Klaus Huber and Brian Ferneyhough at the Freiburg Conservatory of Music. Following his examinations he studied voice with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Aldo Baldin as well as conducting with Hellmuth Rilling. At this time he taught music and voice at the Freiburg Conservatory of Music and began an active career as a concert and opera singer.
In 1988 Winfried Toll became the conductor of the Camerata Vocale Freiburg and from 1994 until 2002 he was the choral director of the Kölner Bachverein. In the Fall of 1997 Toll was called as Professor of choral conducting to the Conservatory of Music and Performing Arts in Frankfurt/Main. He was also elected as artistic director of the Frankfurter Kantorei. Since 2007 Winfried Toll ist the principal artistic director of the Daejeon Philharmonic Choir in South Korea. He received numerous invitations from outstanding orchestras and ensembles as guest conductor. (Concerto Köln, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie, Gürzenich Orchestra Köln, Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, Balthasar‐ Neumann‐ Choir, SWR Vokalensemble
Stuttgart, RIAS Kammerchor). Since 1994 he has been a regular guest professor at the Musashino Academia Musicae in Tokyo, as well as in South Korea, in the Czech Republic and in South Africa.
While still at university, Winfried Toll wrote his first successful compositions: the Organ work „Wegkreuze“ received the prestigious „Altenburger Dom“ prize. In 1981 a prize for his „Psalm 13“ for choir, solos and orchestra followed. In 1985 Winfried Toll received an award from the international Bachakademie in Stuttgart for his composition „Wenn Ich Dein je vergesse“ for 16 solo voices and mixed choir. His composition „… und hat über uns Gewalt“ was premiered by the Camerata Vocale Freiburg in November 1996 as part of the 71st Bachfest of the Neue Bachgesellschaft in Freiburg. In Juli 2001 Winfried Toll was commissioned by the festival „Stimmen“ in Lörrach to compose a work for the Raschèr‐Saxophon‐Quartett and vocalensemble. This work „Reverie“ was sung in a world premiere by the Camerata Vocale Freiburg.

Discography

Precise vocal control, clear diction, intelligent musicality and an ability to get to the heart of everything he sings all ensure Christoph Prégardien’s place among the world’s foremost lyric tenors. Especially revered as a Lieder singer, he kicks off the 2019/2020 season with concerts at the Schubertiade Hohenems and the Oxford Lieder Festival. He then performs in the US on tour with pianist Julius Drake, before the pair give joint recitals at London’s Wigmore Hall and in Madrid. In the spring he will tour with Le Concert Lorrain, followed by recitals in Hong Kong with Roger Vignoles and in Zurich with Hartmut Höll and Udo Samel, among others, with additional appearances at the Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele and at the Konserthuset in Stockholm.
Christoph Prégardien regularly appears with renowned orchestras the world over. He has worked with the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonics, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, as well as the Boston and San Francisco Symphonies, along with conductors such as Barenboim, Metzmacher and Thielemann. His wide orchestral repertoire includes the great baroque, classical and Romantic oratorios and passions, as well as works from the 17th and 20th centuries. In opera, his roles have included, among others, Tamino, Almaviva, Fenton (Falstaff), Don Ottavio, Titus, Ulisse and Idomeneo.
His extensive experience singing the Evangelist roles, together with his close working relationship with conductors such as Nagano, Chailly, Herreweghe, Harnoncourt, Luisi and Gardiner have provided him with the perfect basis for his increasing work conducting the works of Bach. Following the success of his conducting debut in 2012, leading Le Concert Lorrain and the Nederlands Kammerkoor in Bach’s St. John’s Passion, he has also become in-demand as a conductor of this repertoire. In 2015 he led Le Concert Lorrain and the Balthasar-Neumann Choir, this time in the St. Matthew’s Passion, and in the following years returned to lead Le Concert Lorrain and the Dresdner Kammerchor on tour with Bach’s Christmas Oratorio. In 2019 he made his debut leading a symphony orchestra, conducting the Duisburg Philharmonic in works including Mozart’s Requiem, and also led the Collegium Vocale Gent at a celebration concert for Philippe Herreweghe’s 70th birthday; together with the ensemble he will take part in a major European tour of Bach’s Christmas Oratorio in December.
The singer has recorded much of his repertoire on a discography of over 150 records, which have received awards such as the Orphée d’Or of the Académie du Disque Lyrique, the Edison Award, the Cannes Classical Award and the Diapason d’Or. For the label Challenge Classics he has recorded Schubert’s Schwanengesang with Andreas Staier and Die schöne Müllerin with Michael Gees – selected as Editor’s Choice by Gramophone magazine and awarded the MIDEM Record of the Year – followed by Hugo Wolf’s Italienisches Liederbuch with Julia Kleiter, Between Life and Death, Wanderer and the Grammy-nominated Winterreise disc – all with Michael Gees – as well as Father and Son with his son Julian Prégardien. His Schubert CD Poetisches Tagebuch (with Julius Drake) was awarded the German Critics’ Award 2016. His most recent CD releases include A Matter of Heart – songs for voice, horn and piano with Olivier Darbellay and Michael Gees – as well as a recording of passion cantatas by Telemann and Bach with the Vox Orchester for Sony (where he appears as a baritone for the first time), along with Auf den Flügeln des Gesanges with Cyprien Katsaris for Challenge, featuring Romantic songs and their piano transcriptions. In autumn 2019, also for Challenge, a new recording of Schumann’s Dichterliebe and Wagner’s Wesendonck Liedern (with Michael Gees) will be released.
Teaching remains an important part of Christoph Prégardien’s musical life. Following many years at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Zurich, he gives masterclasses for young singers the world over and since 2004 has been a professor at the Academy of Music in Cologne.

Discography

The Basel Chamber Orchestra is recognised as one of the leading chamber orchestras in the classical music scene. Invitations to the most important worldwide concert houses and festivals shape their agenda, as well as their own subscription concerts in Basel. Various recordings on classical labels like Sony, Deutsche Harmonia Mundi and Warner classics, many awarded with prestigious prizes, are witnesses to the excellent quality of the musical ensembles joy of playing together.

Under the artistic direction of its concertmasters or under the direction of selected conductors, the Basel Chamber Orchestra presents its broad repertoire from historically informed baroque to contemporary music in about 80 performances per year. 

The association of principal guest conductor, Giovanni Antonini with the ensemble makes for a fruitful collaboration. A highlight being the Beethoven cycle which the orchestra and the outstanding baroque specialist worked on together. The historically informed interpretation were awarded the prize of «Ensemble of the year» by ECHO Klassik in 2008. The Basel Chamber Orchestra alternating with the Italian Ensemble Il Giardino Armonico will perform and record for CD, under the baton of Antonini, all of Haydn’s 107 symphonies up until the year 2032.
In September 2019 the Basel Chamber Orchestra was awarded a Swiss music prize. Further major projects will be concerts and recordings of all Schubert symphonies under the leadership of Heinz Holliger as well as a series of concert performed operas.

Discography

Jörg Ulrich Krah received his unanimous award for his studies in cello and composition at music universities in Munich, Vienna and Graz. Among his most important teachers are Anner Bylsma and Hans Werner Henze. As a soloist and chamber musician, the versatile artist is a regular guest at international festivals such as the Edinburgh Festival, the Styriarte, the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern or Vienna. His cellist repertoire ranges from the earliest original music to historical instruments, from the great works of classical and romantic music to contemporary music and crossover projects. He collaborates with artists of international rank, such as the director Barrie Kosky, the cellist Rudolf Leopold, the authors Julya Rabinowitsch and Susanne Felicitas Wolf or the conductor Martin Haselböck. His compositional oeuvre includes works of almost all genres. A special focus of his work are music theater works that are shown in houses like the Konzerthaus Wien, the Berliner Ensemble or the Sydney Opera House. He has received numerous awards for his work, including the soloist competition Musica Antiqua Brugge and the Theodor Körner Prize 2011. In addition to his artistic work, Jörg Ulrich Krah works as a guest lecturer at various universities such as the HfMDK Frankfurt or the HMT Rostock. Since 2011 he is pedagogical-artistic director of the music and art school ATARAXIA Schwerin, where he also supervises the highly gifted department of the Academy. In addition, he is curator of Tage Alter Musik Schwerin and chairman of the Musikverein Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
www.joergulrichkrah.com

Bernhard Parz received his education at the Vienna University of Music (today University of Music) and performing arts as well as at the Vienna Conservatory. After various competition successes (including a 1st Prize in the International Johannes Brahms Competition, the International Music Festival Austria and the Swedish Duo Competition) and a concert and teaching career, which took him throughout Europe, as well as to the Far East and South America, he was in 2009 at the Music and Arts Private University of Vienna appointed as the youngest professor of piano since the University. He is considered a master of the Viennese sound and performs as a soloist and chamber musician in many parts of the world, in halls such as the Tonhalle Zurich or the JT-Arts Hall Tokyo and at festivals such as the Shanghai International Arts Festival, the “Julita Festival” Sweden, the “Pera Piano Festival” Istanbul or the “Festival Internacional de Piano” of the University of Santander in Colombia. Bernhard Parz is bearer of the title “Bösendorfer-Artist” and thus ambassador of the Viennese sound culture with a corresponding program focus. With his personal, lively and direct game he can inspire his concert audience again and again. He is not only internationally in demand as a teacher, but is also committed to giving his enthusiasm for the music to a broad audience with alternative concert formats and projects for music education. In his home town of Zurich, he is the founder and host of the series “Garage Concert”, which merges musical enjoyment and culinary delights into a harmonious unit in the intimate ambience of a private room.
www.bernhardparz.com

The Kesselberg Ensemble was founded in 2004 by Latvian musicians, all graduates of the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. The ensemble chose the name “Kesselberg”, Latvian Katlakalns, to celebrate the district of Riga where Johann Gottfried Müthel (born 1728 in Mölln, died 1788 in Riga) spent his later years. J.S. Bach’s last pupil, Müthel was Latvia’s greatest composer of the 18th century.

The NOVANTIQUA Bern vocal ensemble was founded in 1987 by Bernhard Pfammatter to prepare sophisticated choral literature for concert performance by a small ensemble. The name NOVANTIQUA expresses the ensemble’s commitment to the interpretation of early works alongside the performance of music from the 20th and 21st centuries.

Russian-born pianist Anna Kavalerova has established herself as a refined, intelligent musician who is well-versed in a multitude of styles. In her interpretation she acquires instrumental brilliance, emotional maturity, and a varied tonal palette.

As a soloist and chamber musician she regularly appears with performances in Israel, European countries, Russia, China, and Japan. She has also been participating in music festivals, such as the Aurora Chamber Music Festival (Sweden), the Grieg-Tchaikovsky Festival (Russia), the Suolahti Summer Music Festival (Finland), and the Kol HaMusica in Kfar Blum and Keshet Eilon Music Festivals (Israel). Anna has performed with several orchestras in Russia and Ukraine, the Kaunas Symphony Orchestra (Lithuania), the Symphony Orchestra of Murcia Region (Spain), as well as the Rishon LeTzion Symphony Orchestra, the Jerusalem Camerata, and the Haifa Symphony Orchestra (Israel). Several of her concerts have been recorded by Israel Radio.

After graduating the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory in 2012, Anna moved to Israel, where in 2015 she completed her master’s degree with Professor Emanuel Krasovsky at the Buchman-Mehta School of Music, Tel Aviv University. Among other teachers, Anna worked with Professor Alexei Nasedkin, Professor Nina Kogan, Professor Massimiliano Ferrati, and Professor Yaron Rosental. She participated in the masterclasses of well-known musicians, such as Lazar Berman, Vladimir Krainev, Steven Kovachevich, Murray Perahia, and Robert Levin.

During her studies, Anna won several international competitions in Russia and Europe. She was the recipient of grants from Vladimir Kraynev, as well as from the Vladimir Spivakov International Foundation, and is a laureate of the Russian Performance Arts Foundation. Anna was acclaimed as an outstanding musician at the Tel-Hai Piano Masterclasses (Israel), and received the Marina Bondarenko Memorial Prize. She won First Prize at the Yasha Bistritsky International Piano Concerto Competition that led to performances with the Israel Symphony Orchestra. In 2013 she was awarded the Dorothy Mackenzie Artist’s Recognition Prize at the International Keyboard Institute and Festival (New York). Anna also won Second Prize at the San Dona di Piave International Piano Competition, the Gran Prix at the International Piano Competition “Lazar Berman” in Italy, First Prize at the Gabala International Piano Competition in 2016 (Azerbaijan), and the 2017 Clamo International Piano Competition in Murcia, Spain.

Being an active participant in the charity project of Vladimir Spivakov “Children against Terror”, Anna was decorated with the Order of Charity of Maecenas of the Century Foundation (Moscow).

Discography