ARIANE MATHÄUS is one of the most notable violinists of this generation. Giving prominence to works by contemporary composers, Ariane Mathäus is involved in all different kinds of styles and genres in addition to a violinist’s usual wide repertory and she has performed as a soloist violin concertos by Walton, Elgar, Wolf-Ferrari, Marschner and Stephan. Ariane Mathäus is tutor and artistic director of the German Spohr Academy Freiburg as well as soloist and conductor of the German Spohr Academy Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra. She is a regular jury member at international competitions such as the Mrawinsky Competition St. Petersburg, the Spohr Competition Freiburg, Reger Competition, and Plock Competition in Warschau. Ariane Mathäus is an active teacher of masterclasses, for example at the Castle of Sondershausen, Germany, International Master Classes of Music in Lancut, Poland and International Master Classes in Lenzerheide/ Valbella, Switzerland. ANNA LISA BELLINI graduated from the class of Professor Giuliana Brengola Bordoniand Maria Tipo at the Conservatory Santa Cecilia in Rome with honours and was awarded the ‘E. Lacorelli-Marchi’ prize. She has been a prize winner at several international competitions such as ‘Coppa Italia’ (1st Prize), ‘Martha del Vecchio’ (1st Prize) and the ‘Bela Bartok’ Competition for contemporary music. “…la sua musicalità, fresca e spontanea, è affascinante; il suo gusto raffinato, il suo equilibrio, la sua preparazione tecnica di alto livello, fanno di lei una pianista eccelente” (Maria Tipo). Besides her activity as a soloist, Anna Lisa Bellini is in great demand as a chamber musician and has been invited to concerts and festivals in Rome, Florence, Naples, Sienna, Bremen, Freiburg, Basel and Tokyo. In 2005 she has been invited to teach at the Bach-Reger Festival in Bad Langensalza/ Eisenach, Germany. More information: http://www.annalisabellini.it ALFREDO PERSICHILLI is one of the few Italian cellists destined for an international career. He already won several national and international competitions in his youth and went on to perform concertos by Dvorak, Haydn, Saint-Saens and Tschaikowsky as a soloist with prominent Italian and European Orchestras. He is guest solo cellist with the Orchestra Santa Cecilia in Rome and the Scala in Milan and his activities as a soloist have taken him to Russia, Germany, Switzerland, France, Japan and Korea. Last season he was invited to teach a masterclass and Bach seminar at the Rachmaninov Conservatory in Rostov on the Don. He teaches regularly at courses in Florence, at the Castle of Sondershausen and International Master Classes of Music in Lancut, Poland. More information: http://www.persichilli.de WOLFGANG MARSCHNER is one of the greatest German violinists of international standing. His extensive concert career as violinist, conductor and composer has taken him to many countries. As a teacher, representing the German school of violin playing, he has been Professor at the Tokio University of Fine Arts and Music and the Colleges of Music in both Cologne and Freiburg. He is a jury member of many international competitions and founder of the International Violin Competition Louis Spohr. He has held masterclasses amongst other in Peking, London, Weimar, Warsaw and St. Petersburg. ANGELO PERSICHILLI is one of the greatest musical personalities in Italy. For forty years he was Flute soloist of the National Orchestra Santa Cecilia and Professor at the Conservatory in Rome. His concert career took him to the most important focal points of music in the world. He became particularly well-known after discovering the Mercadente Flute Concerto and performing as soloist at the first performance with the Radio Orchestra in Naples. He is artistic director of the renowned concert series ‘Oratio del Gonfalone’ in Rome and a pillar of strength behind the Sutri Beethoven Festival from the very beginning.