Ilona Then-Bergh & Michael Schäfer
Biography Ilona Then-Bergh & Michael Schäfer
Ilona Then-Bergh
was named the first concert-mistress of the Bavarian State Orchestra at the young age of 19. She later took the same position with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks. In the meantime she has completely stopped performing in orchestras in order to be able to fully (and far more intensively) devote herself to performing chamber music as well as teaching at the Munich Hochschule für Musik und Theater.
She has been awarded the German Record Critics’ Award (Quarterly Critics’ Choice) several times in praise of her CD productions (including Piano Trios by Saint-Saëns, Schubert, Turina and Shostakovich).
Michael Schäfer
has a propensity for featuring unusual repertoire on his recordings and has been instrumental in surprising the descendants of forgotten composers with unexpected (ASCAP) royalty earnings. In addition, he performs as a soloist, as a member of various chamber music groups, and as an accompanist on concert podiums throughout the world. Master classes in various countries and a professorship at the State Conservatory for Music in Munich allow him to pass his experience on to the next generation of musicians.
