Sebastean Breit was born in Vienna and began his musical studies at the age of 6 and playing the oboe at age 8. He studied at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna and has accumulated vast experience in orchestra and chamber music in many orchestras including the Radio Symphony Orchestra Vienna and ensembles with members of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, the Vienna Symphonic Orchestra and Ensemble Modern. He joined the Vienna State Opera Orchestra in 2019 and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in 2022. He also has a great interest not only in contemporary music but also jazz and pop music. Concerts have brought him to Germany, Denmark, Slovakia, Montenegro and the USA.
Albena Danailova was born in Sofia, Bulgaria and is the daughter of a violinist and a pianist. She began her musical education at the age of five and after graduation from high school, she studied violin performance at the College of Music and Theater in Rostock and in Hamburg. After as second violinist in the Bavarian State Orchestra, advancing in 2003 to section leader of the first violins and in 2006 to first concertmaster. In this same capacity, she also served in the London Philharmonic Orchestra in the 2003/04 season. In September 2008, she became the concertmaster of the Vienna State Opera Orchestra and in 2011 joined the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition to her work as an orchestral musician, she has established an equally successful career as soloist and chamber musician and appears regularly in Bulgaria, Deutschland, Israel, and the USA, among others. She is also a professor of violin at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna.
Sophie Dervaux grew up in France and began her musical education with the guitar and clarinet before taking up the bassoon in 2003. She studied in France and in Germany and in 2012 won the contrabassoon position with the Berlin Philharmonic. She won the ARD Competition in Munich in 2013 and has been the laureate of more than 10 other international competitions. She has played the bassoon in the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra since 2018. In addition to her work in the Orchestra and as a soloist, she has given master classes at renowned conservatories around the world. As an ambassador for her instrument, she is also committed to expanding the bassoon repertoire by rediscovering works or commissioning new works. She has been a “Püchner Artist” since 2014 and is passionate about making her instrument even better known.
Dieter Flury was born and brought up in Zurich, Switzerland and studied with Hans Meyer (Principal Flute of the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich), André Jaunet (at the Zurich Music Academy) and Aurèle Nicolet. In addition to his flute studies he graduated in mathematics at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich. At age 25 he was appointed a member of the Vienna State Opera Orchestra and in 1981 he was named Principal Flute of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. 2005-14 he was also the Artistic director and General Manager of Vienna Philharmonic.
In demand as a teacher Mr.Flury is a professor at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz, Austria where he has been teaching since 1996. His numerous recordings have featured a wide range of composers from Baroque to contemporary.
Dieter Flury has performed as soloist with the Vienna Philharmonic, the Vienna Symphonic, the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, the New Japan Philharmonic, Beijing Symphony, Tokyo Symphony and others in collaboration with conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez, Valery Gergiev, Zubin Mehta, Roger Norrington and Edmond de Stoutz. He worked with composers including Pierre Boulez, Beat Furrer, György Ligeti, René Staar, Salvatore Sciarrino, Herbert Willi and Hans Zender. Mr.Flury is playing a handmade 14k golden flute by Yamaha.
Stefan Haimel was born in Klagenfurt and received his first trumpet lessons at elementary school from his father Franz Haimel, a trumpeter in the Carinthian Symphony Orchestra. He continued his studies at the State Music School in Klagenfurt and the Carinthian State Conservatory before moving to Vienna, gaining professional experience in the Vienna Volksoper, the Lower Austrian Tonkünstler, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the stage orchestra of the Vienna State Opera and the Vienna Philharmonic. In May 2004 he won an audition for the Vienna State Opera Orchestra and has been a member of the Vienna Philharmonic since 2007.
Grego Hinterreiter was born in Linz, Austria and began his clarinet training at the age of ten. He studied at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna and was a three-time winner of the national competition Prima la Musica, where he also received several special prizes. He has performed as a solo and chamber musician in Austria and elsewhere, including at the Vienna Musikverein, the Vienna Konzerthaus and the Brucknerhaus in Linz. In 2016 he joined the Vienna State Opera Orchestra and has held the position of principal clarinet since 2017. In 2019 Gregor Hinterreiter he became a member of the Vienna Philharmonic.
Rainer Honeck, VPO concertmaster, began learning violin at the age of seven. He joined the Vienna State Opera and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra as a first violinist in 1981 at age 20, advancing to the position of concertmaster in the Opera at the age of 23 and to that of concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in 1992 at 31.
While his work with the orchestra remains central to his musical life, Rainer Honeck is a renowned soloist, with concert appearances in Austria, Europe, Japan and America. Personal highlights were solo performances with the Vienna Philharmonic, the London Symphony, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Symphony Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre. He has well documented radio, television and CD credits as a chamber musician. He plays the “Chaconne” Stradivarius violin (1725); on loan from the Austrian National Bank.
Thomas Jöbstl had his first horn lesson at the age of eight. He studied the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna and made his debut as a soloist in the Great Hall of the Vienna Musikverein in 1995. In 1996 he gave a solo concert at the "Kyoto International Music Students Festival" in Japan. After graduation from the Vienna Music High School, he became first horn player at the Vienna Volksoper. In 2000 he completed his studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. He has played the Viennese horn in the Vienna State Opera Orchestra since 2001 and has been a Member of the Vienna Philharmonic since 2004. Since October 2006 he has been Professor of Horn at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna.
Dietmar Kueblboeck was born on June 8, 1963 in Linz, and began his study of the trombone in 1977 under his father, Horst Kueblboeck, at the Vienna Conservatory. It was a mere four years later when he received his first engagement in the philharmonic orchestra in the city of Graz. After only one season in Graz he was hired as first trombonist with the Vienna Symphony in 1982. In the midst of a successful 17-year career with that orchestra, he submitted himself to a new challenge by auditioning for the vacant position of first trombonist with the Vienna State Opera Orchestra. After winning this audition in a most convincing manner, he took up his new position with the Opera Orchestra and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra on February 1, 1999.
Dietmar Kueblboeck is an active soloist and chamber musician in addition to his orchestral duties. He has appeared as soloist in Vienna, New York, St. Petersburg, Odessa and Taipei, and performs with such prominent ensembles as the Concentus Musicus, Clemencic Consort, Ensemble Kontrapunkte, Ensemble of the 20th Century, Ensemble Modern, and the Vienna Trombone Quartet, playing contemporary chamber music as well as baroque and renaissance music on period instruments. For years Dietmar Kueblboeck has also been active as a trombone instructor, from 1989-1992 in the pedagogy department of the College of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna and from 1997-2002 at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz. In July of 2002, he assumed the position of Professor of Trombone at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna.
Tobias Lea is one of three professional musicians in his family, was born in Adelaide, Australia and began playing the violin at age 12. He studied at the Vienna Hochschule für Musik, changing from violin to viola. He won the position of Principal Viola of the Teatro alla Scala opera house in Milan under Riccardo Muti and played with the Quartetto della Scala. He joined the Vienna State Opera in 1994 and was elected to the Vienna Philharmonic in 1998. He fosters a lively interest in chamber music and has a passion for teaching. He has held masterclasses all over Europe, Japan, China, Southeast Asia, India, the U.S., the U.K. and Australia. His twin brother is a violinist with the Vienna Philharmonic/p>
Thomas Lechner first took percussion lessons at age six and by the following year was playing in the town band in Bischofshofen with his father and grandfather. He studied at the Anton Bruckner Private University in Linz and the Vienna Conservatory. Through his work with the Salonorchester Bischofshofen, the Symphonische Landesblasorchester Salzburg, the European Philharmonic Orchestra and the Jeunesse Orchester in Vienna, he became a regular substitute with the Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra, the Bruckner Orchestra Linz, the Orchestra of the Vienna Volksoper and finally with the Vienna State Opera Orchestra, where after his successful audition, he has been a member of the percussion section since 2007. He was selected for membership in the Vienna Philharmonic in 2010. As a teacher, he has given numerous master classes at home and abroad (including cities such as Tokyo, Shanghai and many others), teaches at the Angelika Prokopp Summer Academy of the Vienna Philharmonic, lectured at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna from 2011-2015 and has been a professor for percussion instruments at the University of Arts in Graz since 2016.
Originally from Belguim, harpist Anneleen Lenaerts is one of the leading soloists of her instrument and has been the Principal Harpist for the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra since December of 2010. She has studied at conservatories in Brussels and Paris and holds a Harp Master’s Degree with highest distinction.
She is the recipient of 23 prestigious prizes including the ‘Grand Prix international Lily Laskine’ and the ARD International Music Competition in Munich where she was both a prizewinner and the winner of the Audience Prize.
As a soloist, Anneleen has performed with the of Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Mozarteum Orchestra, the Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra, the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Collegium Musicum Basel, the Brussels Philharmonic, and the National Orchestra of Belgium amongst others.
She has released CDs featuring the Brussels Philharmonic and Oboist Karel Schoofs as well as several solo recordings. In 2019 she released a compilation of works by Italian composer Nina Rota with Swiss Flutist Emmanuel Pahud and the Brussels Philharmonic conducted by Adrien Perruchon titled Nino Rota (1911-1979), Works for Harp.
Daniel Ottensamer, comes from a musical family "par excellence". His father, Ernst, was a member of the orchestra from 1978 until his sudden death in 2017; his mother, Cecilia, is a distinguished cello instructor; and his brother, Andreas, is a clarinetist with the Berlin Philharmonic. Daniel Ottensamer began taking piano at the age of 6, and took up the cello at 8.
He eventually changed to the clarinet, and after graduating from the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, and in 2009, at the age of 23, became First Clarinetist with the Vienna State Opera and three years later joined the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. Before joining the Vienna State Opera, he had attained considerable success by winning several prizes at various international clarinet competitions.
These include the Grand Scholarship Competition of the Munich Concert Society in 2005; the Animato Foundation in Zurich in 2006; and the Carl Nielsen International Clarinet Competition in 2009. He is regularly invited to perform with leading orchestras and conductors such as Lorin Maazel, Andris Nelsons, Gustavo Dudamel and Adam Fischer. He is member of ‘Philharmonix’, a group of seven members of Vienna and Berlin Philharmonic Orchestras, playing a mix of Classic, Jazz, Gypsy Folk Music and other genres.
Ödön Rácz was born in Budapest and began learning to play the double bass at the age of nine. He studied at the St. Stephen Music Conservatory until 2001 when he entered the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. He joined the Vienna State Opera in 2004 and has been a member of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra since 2009.
Mr. Rácz has enjoyed playing in chamber music ensembles in Europe, Brazil, China, Korea and Japan. As a soloist, he has performed with the Vienna Philharmonic, the Munich Chamber Orchestra, the Bavarian Symphony Radio Orchestra, the Franz Lizst Chamber Orchestra, the Hungarian Virtuoso Orchestra, the Haydn Philharmonic and the Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra.
At the age of 15 he won the Hungarian Television prize, followed by the Euro Grand Prix in 2000 and the Johan Prunner Competition in 2002. He obtained third prize in the prestigious International ARD Competition in 2003. He has released 4 solo CDs and regularly teaches Master Classes as travels the world, inspiring and teaching young musicians in the United States, Italy, Hungary, Germany, Japan, Taiwan and China.
Hans Peter Schuh majored in the trumpet at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz, Austria. He has played with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the Vienna State Opera since 1978 and he has been the First Trumpeter since 1993. He is committed to developing the next generation of musicians as a Professor at the Music School Graz, Expositur Oberschutzen. He is a passionate chamber musician, playing in the Hofburgkapelle, Ensemble 11, the Vienna Trumpeter Choir and Ensemble Trumpet & Strings Vienna.
Karl-Heinz Schütz was born in Innsbruck and raised in Landeck, Tyrol. He studied at the National Conservatory of Music and Dance in Lyon and with Aurele Nicolet in Switzerland. He won first prizes at the Carl Nielson International Music Competition and the International Flue Competition Krakow . He has played extensively with the Vienna Symphony, the Stuttgart Philharmonic, the Vienna State Opera and since 2015, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.
He has taught at the Vorarlberger Landeskonservatorium and is currently a Professor at the Music and Arts Private University in Vienna and teaches numerous Master Classes as he travels the world.
Karl-Heinz is a passionate chamber musician and a member of various ensembles from baroque to contemporary. He has appeared in international festivals including Salzburg, Bregenz, Graz, Montpellier, Rheingau, Sapporo and Prague among others. He has released several CDs featuring music by Bach, Brahms, Boulez, Schulhoff, Prokofiev and Mozart’s Flute Quartets. He is the artistic Director of Horizonte Landeck music festival in Landek, Tyrol.
Tamás Varga was born in 1969 in Budapest where at the age of seven he began his training, which was concluded with distinction at the Franz Liszt Academy. His teachers included László Mező, Ferenc Rados and György Kurtág. He received additional artistic motivation in master classes held by Miklós Perényi, Menahem Pressler and Uzi Wiesel, with whom he studied on a scholarship to the Rubin Academy of Music in Tel-Aviv. After having won the Hungarian national competition for the second time in 1987, he established himself as one of the most sought after soloists in Hungary. He joined the Vienna State Opera Orchestra in 1998 and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra in 2001.
Tamás Varga is principal cellist with the Vienna Philharmonic and the Vienna State Opera Orchestra. The regular solo appearances he makes with this orchestra are counted among the highlights of his career. Numerous solo and chamber music concerts take him to nearly every country in Europe, as well as to Canada, South Africa and Japan.
As an enthusiastic chamber musician, Tamás Varga is a member of the Wiener Philharmonia Trio and the Vienna Chamber Ensemble, making regular guest appearances with them in the Vienna Konzerthaus, at the Salzburg Festivals and other such important European Festivals. A concert he initiated, "Remembering Piatigorsky", which commemorated the 100th birthday of the famous cellist, Gregor Piatigorsky, received highly favourable media attention.
Likewise, his cycle "Dvořák and the New World" for the Vienna Festival in 2004, along with recitals and chamber music concerts at important festivals such as the Budapest Spring or the Rheingau Music Festival document his high profile on the chamber music scene.
Tamás Varga places great emphasis on passing on his experience to younger musicians. He has given instruction for years at the International Orchestra Institute in Attergau and has held master classes in Pretoria, South Africa; at the Bruckner University in Linz; at the Franz Liszt Academy for Music in Budapest; and in Kusatsu, Japan, as well as part of the Gustav Mahler Academy in Bolzano and Potenza, Italy.
Tamás Vargas has recorded all of the Cello Suites of J.S. Bach and the two sonatas for Cello and Piano of Brahms, as well as other compositions.