Ryoko Morooka, Stepan Simonian, Ralph Evans, Efim Boico, Gil Sharon, Niklas Schmidt, Fine Arts Quartet
Biography Ryoko Morooka, Stepan Simonian, Ralph Evans, Efim Boico, Gil Sharon, Niklas Schmidt, Fine Arts Quartet
Ryoko Morooka
comes from Fukuoka (Japan) and initially studied Chinese history at Kyoto University before moving to Germany. Here she studied organ with Ulrich Bremsteller and church music at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hanover, supplemented by international courses with Harald Vogel, Ton Koopman, Daniel Roth, Luigi-Ferdinando Tagliavini and Joris Verdin.
In addition to her work as organist at the Nazarethkirche (Südstadtgemeinde) and as a lecturer at the Hanover University of Music, she has given concerts in Germany, France, Italy, Scotland, Portugal and Japan (Poulenc organ concert at the Takaoka Music Festival).
She has been a member of the Baroque Brass of London since 1995 and has toured abroad several times. At the Hanover State Opera she worked as a musical assistant in Purcell productions under Konrad Junghänel.
As a specialist in harmonium playing, she has appeared in various radio and record productions, including with the Ensemble Musique Nouvelle de Liege, the Konzertvereinigung Berlin-Bodensee, the Jewish Chamber Orchestra Munich, the Arte Ensemble, the Linos-Ensemble, the Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Halle, the Radiophilharmonie Hannover des Norddeutschen Rundfunks, the Polish Chamber Choir, Chorus Köln, the Chorwerk Ruhr, as well as the Rias-Kammerchor Berlin (participation in the CD production of the "Petite Messe Solennelle" by G. Rossini ). RBB recently broadcast the portrait "Little Sister of the Organ - Ryoko Morooka and the Harmonium".
Shepan Simonian
Critically acclaimed as ‘...one of the greatest Interpreter of J.S. Bach´s work of his generation’, Pianist Stepan Simonian was born in 1981, studied at Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory under Pavel Nersessian and pursued his studies with the famous Pianist, Evgeni Koroliov, at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg. It was through this linage of well cultured tradition of piano school, that shaped Simonian’s musical taste and passion for the works from Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Beethoven, Bach and Mozart.
He was the recipient of the Silver Medal at one of the oldest and most prestigious competitions in the world – the International Johann-Sebastian-Bach Competition in Leipzig 2010, Germany. He also won the 1st and the 3rd prize at Virginia Waring and Jose Iturbi International Piano Competitions both in USA and was awarded the prestigious Berenberg Cultural Prize 2009 in Hamburg in recognition of his achievements in chamber music. In 2014 he won the 3rd prize at Aram Khachaturian International Piano Competition in Armenia.
Stepan Simonian performs as a guest artist at some of the most important festivals and concert venues throughout Europe, including Bachfest Leipzig, International Piano Festivals „La Roque d'Antheron“and "Piano aux Jacobins" in France, Mosel Music Festival, ProArte concert series Hamburg, Pro Musica Hannover, Alte Oper Frankfurt/Main, Grosse Sendesaal Hannover, Laieszhalle and Rolf-Liebermann-Studio in Hamburg, Prinzregententheater Munich amongst many others.
He has appeared as a soloist with the Bach Kollegium Stuttgart under Helmuth Rilling, the Kirov Ballet Orchestra, Hamburg Symphony Orchestra under David Porcelijn, Sinfonia Varsovia with Arie van Beek, I Pomeriggi Musicali Milan, the Moscow State Chamber Orchestra and Mendelssohn Chamber Orchestra Leipzig.
Stepan's performances have been broadcasted on major classical stations including ARD, MDR, NDR, SWR, Hessian and Bavarian Broadcasting, Deutschlandradio Kultur, Radio France etc.
The Fine Arts Quartet
“one of the gold-plated names in chamber music” (Washington Post), ranks among the most distinguished ensembles in chamber music today, with an illustrious history of performing success and an extensive legacy of over 200 recorded works. Founded in Chicago in 1946, the Quartet is one of the elite few to have recorded and toured internationally for three quarters of a century.
The Quartet’s renowned violinists, Ralph Evans (prizewinner in the International Tchaikovsky Competition) and Efim Boico (former concertmaster of the Orchestre de Paris under Barenboim) have performed together for nearly 40 years. They are joined by two eminent musicians: violist Gil Sharon (founder of the Amati Ensemble), and cellist Niklas Schmidt (co-founder of the Trio Fontenay).
Many of the Quartet’s recent releases have been selected for inclusion on GRAMMY Awards entry lists in the categories Best Classical Album and/or Best Chamber Music Performance, and have received multiple awards and distinctions, among them: Gramophone Award Winner and Recording of Legendary Status (The Gramophone Classical Music Guide), Key Recording/Top Recommendation (Penguin Guide to Recorded Classical Music), Editor’s Choice (Gramophone magazine), Critic’s Choice (American Record Guide), BBC Music Magazine Choice, three times Recording of the Year (MusicWeb International), and a GRAMMY Award for producer Steven Epstein (Fauré Quintets with Cristina Ortiz). The Quartet has also received the CMA/ASCAP Award for Adventurous Programming, given jointly by Chamber Music America and the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers. Recent releases for Naxos include Beethoven: Fugues and Rarities (8.574051) and Dvořák: Spirit of Bohemia (8.574205).
The Quartet members have nurtured many of today’s top young international quartets while teaching at the Sorkin International Institute of Chamber Music in Milwaukee and serving as guest professors at major conservatories in Paris, London, New York, Beijing, and music festivals all over the world.
