ARTIST

SETTING THE SPOTLIGHT ON THE

Conductors

MICHAEL SANDERLING / CONDUCTOR (Italy)

Michael Sanderling has served as Chief Conductor of the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra since 2021. Under his leadership, the orchestra has toured Asia, South America and Europe, released acclaimed recordings—including a 2023 Brahms cycle for Warner Classics—and premiered innovative projects such as Shostakovich’s 10th Symphony with William Kentridge’s film "Oh to Believe in Another World". As a guest conductor, Michael Sanderling leads renowned orchestras worldwide, including the Berlin Philharmonic, the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Orchestre de Paris, the NHK Symphony Orchestra, the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philharmonia Orchestra London, the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, and the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. From 2011 to 2019, he was Chief Conductor of the Dresden Philharmonic, elevating the orchestra’s profile through performances in Dresden and international tours. During this period, he recorded the complete symphonies of Beethoven and Shostakovich for Sony Classical. Prior to this, he served as Chief Conductor of the Kammerakademie Potsdam from 2006 to 2011. He was named “Conductor of the Year” by Opernwelt in 2011 and is committed to teaching and mentoring, holding a professorship at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts.

JOSÉ LUIS GUTIÉRREZ /
CONDUCTOR (selected territories)

Mexican-born conductor José Luis Gutiérrez has served as General Music Director (GMD) at the Mittelsächsisches Theater Freiberg since the 2025/26 season. His repertoire spans from classical opera to modern symphonic works. Recent and upcoming highlights include his debut with the Gürzenich Orchestra at the Cologne Opera conducting Mozart’s "Die Zauberflöte", his debut with NDR Radio Philharmonic Hannover, the Slovenian Philharmonic, as well as returns to the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz and to the Lakes Area Music Festival in Minnesota. In Mexico, he will conduct the Orquesta Sinfónica Sinaloa de las Artes as well as the Mexican National Orchestra. In 2027, he will serve as assistant conductor for the production of "Tosca" at the San Francisco Opera. He previously drew significant attention in November 2024 with his debut at the Stuttgart State Opera, conducting Barrieosky’s legendary production of "The Magic Flute" at the invitation of GMD Cornelius Meister.

SEBASTIAN ZINCA /
CONDUCTOR

Sebastian Zinca enjoys a flourishing career, recently making his debuts with the Orchestre national du Capitole de Toulouse, the Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto Casa da Música, the Orquesta Sinfónica de Navarra, the Polish Baltic Philharmonic and the “Banatul” Philharmonic Orchestra of Timișoara, as well as returning to the Real Filharmonía de Galicia and the Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra at the Lucerne Festival. Previously Assistant Conductor of the the Real Filharmonía de Galicia in 2024 and 2025, Sebastian Zinca has worked extensively with the orchestra, conducting them in several concerts in addition to his responsibilities of assisting chief conductor Baldur Brönnimann. His work as assistant conductor has also included collaborations with Mark Wigglesworth at Teatro Real Madrid for Shostakovich’s The Nose and with Nicholas Collon and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra in Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde. Prize winner at the International Antal Doráti Conducting Competition in Budapest and winner the Joan W. Harris Fellowship at the Aspen Music Festival, Sebastian Zinca is a committed advocate for contemporary music, programming works by living composers in nearly every concert over the last seasons. This artistic focus has been recognised by the Lucerne Festival, which - following his 2023 Festival Academy participation - invited him back to lead workshops and to conduct the Lucerne Festival Contemporary Orchestra in both 2024 and 2025.

Instrumentalists

8 Sào Soulez Larivière © Clara Evens.jpg

BRYAN CHENG / CELLO (selected territories)

Bryan Cheng is a Canadian cellist of international acclaim, currently based in Berlin. A laureate of prestigious competitions such as the Queen Elisabeth, Concours de Genève, and Paulo Cello Competition, he has rapidly gained recognition for his expressive depth and dynamic stage presence. Recent and forthcoming highlights include debuts with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe (with Sir András Schiff), Iceland Symphony Orchestra (with Bar Avni), hr-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt (with Erina Yashima), NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover and Musikkollegium Winterthur (both with Michael Sanderling), a return to DSO Berlin (with Catherine Larsen-Maguire) as well as his debut at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw with the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava and Daniel Raiskin. An advocate of new and contemporary music, Bryan gave the world premiere of Samy Moussa's Ring, (a piece written for him and co-commissioned by the Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra), with the National Arts Centre Orchestra under Teddy Abrams, and performs Mason Bates' Cello Concerto with orchestras across the United States. Equally passionate about chamber music, Bryan recently returned to Carnegie Hall with Kirill Gerstein and colleagues from the Kronberg Academy, collaborated with Karen Gomyo at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art in Copenhagen, and appears regularly at leading festivals including Verbier, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Schleswig-Holstein, Heidelberger Frühling and Beethovenfest Bonn.

ELLI CHOI / VIOLIN

At just 24 years old, award-winning violinist Elli Choi is already a standout figure in the world of classical music. Hailed as a musical prodigy and as one of the world´s top young violinists, she has captivated audiences around the globe, gracing some of the world’s most prestigious stages, including Lincoln Center's David Geffen Hall and David H. Koch Theater, the Berliner Philharmonie, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Kimmel Center's Verizon Hall, Tonhalle Zürich, Rudolfinum Dvořák Hall in Prague, BOZAR Brussels, the Maison Symphonique de Montréal, the Abu Dhabi Palace and Beijing’s National Center for the Performing Arts. Elli Choi appears with major orchestras such as the Orchestre Philarmonique de Monte-Carlo, the Belgian National Orchestra, the Ulster Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège, and The Juilliard Orchestra. Recent highlights include her Concertgebouw Amsterdam debut performing Bruch's Violin Concerto alongside the Ulster Orchestra, debuts with the Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto Casa da Música performing Brahms' Violin Concerto and with the Orquesta Reino de Aragón performing "The Four Seasons" by Vivaldi. The 2026/27 season is marked by a European tour with the Romanian Symphony Orchestra highlighted by her Musikverein Vienna debut as well as her return to the Concertgebouw Amsterdam. Winner of the Dubai Classic Violin Competition, the Monaco World Music Masters and the Qingdao International Violin Competition, her exceptional talent has also been recognised with top prizes from some of the most renowned competitions, the most recent being the Queen Elisabeth Violin Competition.

SÀO SOULEZ LARIVIÈRE / VIOLA

Sào Soulez Larivière is a rising Franco-Dutch violist, widely recognized for his exceptional talent and dedication to expanding the role of the viola in contemporary and classical music. A laureate of numerous international competitions — including the Prague Spring, Tokyo, Max Rostal, Cecil Aronowitz, and Johannes Brahms competitions — he was named 2023 Young Artist of the Year by the International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) and selected as an ECHO Rising Star for the 2024/25 season. A forward-thinking musician, who balances a thriving performance career with a growing role as an educator and advocate for contemporary viola music, Sào enjoys arranging works for his instrument as well as collaborating with renowned composers such as Fazil Say, Olli Mustonen and Julia Wolfe - partnerships that gave him the unprecedented opportunity to delve deeper into the creative side of music. Sào regularly performs with his sister, violinist Cosima Soulez Larivière, and is a member of the acclaimed Frielinghaus Ensemble. He studied with Tabea Zimmermann in Berlin and earned a Master’s degree from the Kronberg Academy, where he continues as a Professional Studies student. In 2023, he was appointed professor of viola at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg.

NEWS

SÀO SOULEZ LARIVIÈRE

Sào Soulez Larivière at the Verbier Festival

On 20 July, three alumni of the Verbier Festival Academy—Timothy Chooi (violin), Cosima Soulez Larivière (violin), and Sào Soulez Larivière (viola)—will reunite for an intimate evening of string duos and trios as part of the Verbier Festival.

Taking place at the Chapelle Protestante in Verbier, the programme explores a rich and varied repertoire featuring works by George Enescu, Béla Bartók, Zoltán Kodály, György Ligeti, Grażyna Bacewicz, and Antonín Dvořák.

BRYAN CHENG

Bryan Cheng debuts at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam

Bryan Cheng will make his debut at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam on the 20th of July, joining the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava under the direction of Daniel Raiskin. Bryan will perform Antonín Dvořák’s celebrated Cello Concerto, while the orchestra will also present Tchaikovsky’s monumental Symphony No. 4.

A few days earlier, on 16 July, Bryan Cheng and the Janáček Philharmonic Ostrava will present the same programme in Opava, Czech Republic.

ELLI CHOI

Elli Choi with the Belgian National Orchestra

In celebration of the Belgian National Day, Elli Choi will join the Belgian National Orchestra for a special concert on 20 July

at the Art Deco Hall of NOVUM in Brussels. Held in the presence of the King and Queen of Belgium, the concert will feature Elli Choi as soloist in Max Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1. The programme also includes Felix Mendelssohn’s The Hebrides (“Fingal’s Cave”), Antonín Dvořák’s The Noon Witch, and the celebrated Waltz from Aram Khachaturian’s Masquerade. The orchestra will be conducted by Hankyeol Yoon.

The concert is organised by the Queen Elisabeth Competition in collaboration with the Belgian National Orchestra. Elli Choi was awarded Third Prize at the 2024 Queen Elisabeth Competition.

EVENTS

MICHAEL SANDERLING

18. & 19. SEPT
MILWAUKEE, USA - Bradley Symphony Center
Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra

08. & 09. OCT
LJUBLJANA, SLOVENIA - Gallus Hall
Slovenian Philharmonic

14. & 15. OCT
LUCERNE, SWITZERLAND - KKL
Lucerne Symphony Orchestra

JOSÉ LUIS GUTIÉRREZ

20. SEP.
FREIBERG, GERMANY - Theater Freiberg
Mittelsächsische Philharmonie

24. SEP.
FREIBERG, GERMANY - Nikolaikirche
Mittelsächsische Philharmonie

25 SEP.
DÖBELN, GERMANY - Theater Döbeln
Mittelsächsische Philharmonie

SEBASTIAN ZINCA

22. - 24. APR
BARAÑÁIN, CORELLA & ALTSASU, SPAIN
Orquesta Sinfónica de Navarra

22. MAY
TIMISOARA, ROMANIA - Capitol Hall
"Banatul" Philharmonic Orchestra