ACADEMY
Budapest 2023

 “I take delight in every minute of teaching and put the relationship with the student first. My goal is to communicate advice that enlivens the creativity of the student so we can seek efficient technical solutions and express the most refined interpretations together through the voices of our violins, based on the structure of the piece.”

Praised by audiences and critics alike for her “perfect” (Oberbayerisches Volksblatt), “brilliant” (Salzburger Nachrichten), and “amazing” (playliszt.reblog.hu) technique, as well as for her mature and compelling interpretations, Miranda Liu is among the most exciting young violinists performing today.  “Breathtaking” and “wonderful” (New Jersey Arts Maven), her extensive musical knowledge and emotional intensity can be heard in her performances of master works – from the Baroque, Classical and Romantic eras to the fresh new works of present day composers.  She has performed on numerous concert stages throughout Europe (Austria, Germany, Hungary, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Italy, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, UK), Asia (China, Korea, Taiwan), and the USA.

Her prodigious talent has resulted in her winning numerous first and top prizes at music competitions and playing in hundreds of recitals and concerts around the world.  Since her first solo appearance with orchestra at age eight, she has gone on to solo with orchestras such as the Concerto Budapest Symphony Orchestra, the New World Symphony in Florida, the Rhode Island Philharmonic, the Las Vegas Philharmonic, the Redwood Symphony in California, the National Radio Orchestra of Romania, the Philharmonisches Orchester Budweis, the Lithuanian National Symphony Orchestra, the Danube Symphony Orchestra Budapest, the Philharmonie Salzburg, the Norddeutsche Philharmonie Rostock, the Orquestra de Cámara Galega, the Ensemble de Cuerdas del Encuentro Santander, the Váci Szimfonikus Zenekar, the Neues Sinfonieorchester Berlin, the Liszt Academy Chamber Orchestra, the Baroque Orchestra of New Jersey, the Anima Musicae Chamber Orchestra Budapest, the Festival Chamber Orchestra of Balassagyarmat, the Starling Chamber Orchestra Cincinnati, the Kraków Philharmonic Orchestra and the Old York Road Symphony in Pennsylvania, among others. She has an extensive repertoire of over sixty works for violin and orchestra, and regularly performs at prestigious music festivals worldwide.

Miranda Liu received her musical training at the Mozarteum Salzburg, the Liszt Academy of Music, and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.  In 2016, András Keller appointed her concertmaster of the Concerto Budapest Symphony Orchestra, one of Hungary’s oldest and leading symphony orchestras.  Ms. Liu is also a founder and 1st violinist of the renowned Central European String Quartet (CESQ).

Romanian/Swedish violinist Vlad Stanculeasa leads a rich musical life as soloist, concertmaster, and chamber musician throughout Europe, Asia and South America.
He’s performed chamber music with some of the most celebrated musicians of today including Maxim Vengerov, Janine Jansen, Alberto Lysy, Maximilian Hornung, Jose Gallardo, Viktoria Mullova, Jeremy Menuhin, and Ana Chumachenco. He received top prizes in the George Enescu International Violin Competition, Renata Molinari Competition, Valsesia Musica International Competition, as well as the 2007 Enescu Prize for the best performance of Enescu’s Impressions d’enfance. As a soloist, he’s performed with the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, Basel Chamber Orchestra, Korean Chamber Orchestra, Kammersymphonie Leipzig, George Enescu Philharmonic. He’s collaborated as soloist with many conductors including Kent Nagano, Lahav Shani, Han Na Chang, Konrad von Abel, Joana Carneiro, Min Kim, and Mischa Katz.
Stanculeasa has been Concertmaster of the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra since 2010 until 2019. He previously served as Concertmaster of the Spanish National Orchestra in Madrid and as Concertmaster of the Basel Chamber Orchestra where he often led the ensemble without a conductor. He is currently Concertmaster of the Basel Symphony Orchestra, the Barcelona Symphony Orchestra, and is occupying the same position in the Gstaad Festival Orchestra, orchestra in residence of the Menuhin Festival.

As an educator, Stanculeasa is currently a teacher at the Superior Conservatory of Music in Barcelona (ESMUC), has served as guest professor at Gothenburg University of Music and Drama and led multiple master classes throughout Serbia, Spain, Venezuela, and Sweden.
He is the founder and artistic director of Accademia Isola Classica & Festival in Italy, a prestigious tuition free international masterclass for advanced students. A chance encounter with Sergiu Celibidache’s assistant, Konrad von Abel, led to the establishment of an intense investigation of the phenomenology of music. This led to a further necessity to develop his means of expression and in 2021, he has obtained his masters in orchestra conducting at the Royal Conservatory in Mons, Belgium, under Daniel Gazon.
Stanculeasa plays a Sanctus Seraphino from 1739, which once belonged to George Enescu and his great pupil Yehudi Menuhin lent to him by the Tharice Foundation in Switzerland.

Ms. Villanueva has developed an intense career performing in more than 25 countries that has expanded through Europe, Russia, China, Latinamerica and Middle East. In 2013 she became the first foreign violist to perform concerts in Iran. Solo performances include venues and festivals such as the Great Hall of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Konzerthaus in Berlin, Estonia Concert Hall, Société de Musique La Chaux-de-Fonds, Rottweil Musikfestival, Bath Music Festival, Slovenian Philharmonic Hall, Royal Court Theatre in Copenhagen, Santander Festival, Wigmore Hall in London.

A passionate chamber musician, she has performed with well-known artists such as Prazak Quartet, François Dumont, Alexander Sitkovetsky, Tedi Papavrami, Olivier Charlier, Victor Julien-Laferrière, Leonard Elschenbroich, Astrig Siranossian, Daniel Schnyder, Rafael Aguirre, Iddo Bar-Shaï.

Isabel’s innovative spirit to bring classical music to new audiences has led her to create transversal projects with other artists such as choreographer Antonio Ruz (SIGNOS for viola solo choreographied, was premiered with great success at Teatro Central in Seville 2021 and touring in venues including Teatros Canal in Madrid or Festival Baila España in Bremen), jazz pianist Moisés Sánchez (RAÍCES 2020) and cantaora Rocío Márquez, among others. She is also the creator in 2018 of the VIOLA POWER project, with the aim of connecting viola lovers from all over the world through different activities. She has been guest with solo performances in prestigious global events such as Art Biennale di Venezia, Gala Prix Lumières in Paris, Royal Palace in Madrid, Festival Flamenco On Fire.

Isabel Villanueva is Viola Professor at the Royal College of Music in London, and regularly gives masterclasses in prestigious institutions worldwide including Conservatoire de Genève, El Sistema de Venezuela, Universidad Panamericana de México, Arts University in Tehran, Bogotá Interviolas Festival, Conservatoire Supérieure de Musique du Liban, Academia Stauffer in Cremona, Spanish Youth National Orchestra.

In 2015 she received the prestigious ‘El Ojo Crítico’ Award by the Spanish National Broadcasting Corporation (RNE) and in 2019 was awarded the Culture Award of the Community of Madrid; the first time that either of these prizes were awarded to a violist.

 “I am excited about coming back to Budapest for the New Millennium International Chamber Music Festival. I am particularly happy and looking forward to meet young cellists with whom we will work during the master classes. It is sure that the atmosphere of one of the most beautiful cities in Europe gives to all of us a lot of joy and inspiration”

The winner of the 3rd Witold Lutoslawski International Cello Competition in 2001 in Warsaw (Poland), 2nd prize winner of the International Cello Competition in Tongyeong (Korea) in 2006 (“Isang Yun in memoriam”), winner of the 2nd prize at the Mikola Lysenko Competition in Kiev in 2007, winner of the International Contemporary Chamber Music Competition in Krakow, and a laureate and winner of a special prize at the Prague Spring Music Festival in 2006,  Bartosz Koziak also received prizes at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 2002 and the ARD competition in Munich in 2005.  In 2003, he received a special prize of the Polish Cultural Foundation awarded by Ewa Podles.

Bartosz performs regularly at venues such as:  Konzerthaus in Berlin, Rudolfinum in Prague, Cite de la Musique in Paris, Khachaturyan Hall in Yerevan, Teatro Politeama in Palermo, and the Warsaw Philharmonic Hall, among others.

As a soloist, Bartosz Koziak has collaborated with the Polish National Philharmonic Orchestra, the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra Katowice, Sinfonia Varsovia, Sinfonietta Cracovia, Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo, Concerto Budapest Symphony Orchestra, Armenian State Orchestra, Prague Philharmonic Orchestra, and Radio Orchestras in Warsaw and Budapest, collaborating with conductors Krzysztof Penderecki, Jerzy Maksymiuk, Jan Krenz, Antoni Wit, Gabriel Chmura, Jacek Kaspszyk, András Keller, Tan Dun, Massimiliano Caldi, and Sergey Smbatyan.  In recent years, Bartosz Koziak was invited and participated in numerous concert projects with Krzysztof Penderecki, such as in the first recording of “Concerto Grosso” conducted by Krzysztof Penderecki himself, and several recordings for Polish Radio were also made.

Bartosz Koziak graduated in the class of Prof. Kazimierz Michalik and Andrzej Bauer at the Fryderyk Chopin University in Warsaw, receiving a “Magna cum Laude” distinction.  He completed his studies at the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique de Paris in the class of Philippe Muller. 

Professor Koziak has been teaching cello at the Feliks Nowowiejski Music Academy in Bydgoszcz for many years.

Péter Somodari began playing the cello at the age of three. Between 1997 and 2006 he studied at the music academies of Budapest and Saarbrücken, receiving important impulses from Làszlo Mezö, Miklos Perényi, Gustav Rivinius and György Kurtàg. He holds numerous awards, among which the first prize at the 2005 International Music Competition in Marktneukirchen.

He has appeared in performance with such renowned musicians as Christian Tetzlaff, Leonidas Kavakos, Patricia Kopatschinskaja, Tabea Zimmermann, Boris Pergamenschikov, Truls Mork, Miklos Perenyi, Alexej Lubimov, György Kurtàg, Jonatan Gilad and Marta Gulyas. From 1997 to 2001 Péter Somodari collaborated with the Budapest Strings, both as their section’s cellist as well as appearing as a soloist. In the period to follow he was member of the Keller Quartet and member of the Hungarian State Opera.

Since 2004 he holds the position as solo cellist of the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra. From 1th of September 2012 Peter Somodari is Solocellist at the Vienna Stateopera House and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.

 “Teaching is a very special collaboration. It brings with it a chance to establish a joint laboratory and a safe environment for experimentation. My goal throughout working with students is to develop an in-depth understanding of the technical aspects of flute playing and of the identification process of complex musical coherences, in order to create the most musical, refined and fluent performances!”

 Noémi Győri graduated with honours from the Liszt Academy of Music and completed postgraduate studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna and at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München, studying with Henrik Prőhle, Barbara Gisler-Haase and András Adorján. She is the first flautist to hold a PhD in Flute Performance from the Royal Academy of Music in London.

Noémi has performed as a soloist and chamber musician in 28 countries, and is a recipient of the European Culture Prize for Young Artists (2011), the Career Prize of the Salon de Virtuosi Foundation New York (2012) and the Performers’ Prize of the Artisjus Music Foundation Hungary (2006, 2009). She is the principal flutist of the Jewish Chamber Orchestra Munich and has played as a guest member in the BBC Philharmonic and the Vienna Philharmonic (Vienna State Opera).

Noémi is an Associate Tutor in flute at The Royal Northern College of Music, Tutor at the Junior RNCM and at The University of Manchester. She has given masterclasses in three continents and has recorded for broadcast with the ORF, Deutschlandfunk, BRF, BBC, WQXR New York, Hungarian Radio, Arte and Mezzo TV. Her recordings – Antonio Nava: Flute and Guitar Duos (2011), Glowing Sonorities (2016), Transforming Traditions (2019), Haydn and Mozart Quartets (2020) – received international critical acclaim.

Noémi is a Miyazawa Flutes Artist, performing on a LaFin headjoint and a 14K gold Boston flute, sponsored by the Solti and Philip Loubser Foundations.

“My primary goal as an educator is to help my students to be creative musicians and critical thinkers. Therefore one of the fundamental part of my pedagogical work is to make them think beyond the clarinet and be inspired by the musical approaches of voice and other music instruments. To reach these capabilities we need to establish the technical skills of the performers by doing customized exercises and mental training. Moreover it is very important to me to support talent by sharing practical knowledge about classical music profession and to introduce them to the requirements and realities of classical music industry.” 

Csaba Pálfi received his diploma with honours at the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music, Budapest in 2011. In the same year Mr. Pálfi has been invited to the Encuentro​ de Música y Academia de Santander Festival ​where he had opportunity to play with remarkable musicians such as 

Wolfram Christ, Hansjörg Schellenberger (members of the Berliner Philharmoniker) and Radovan Vlatkovič. He was member of the Aldeburgh​Winds and Britten-Pears​ Orchestra in 2015 under the guidance of Nicholas Daniel and Oliver Knussen. 

Besides his academic studies Mr. Pálfi expanded his knowledge at numerous masterclasses such as François Benda, Yehuda Gilad, Michael Collins and Laura Ruíz. 

Mr. Pálfi is a founder member of the Weiner​Ensemble with whom they won 3rd prize at the prestigious Orlando International Chamber Music Competition​ ​ in 2016 in the Netherlands. 

Since 2016 he is a member of the Hungarian​ State Opera Orchestra​. Mr. Pálfi received DMA degree with Summa Cum Laude at the Doctorate School of the Ferenc Liszt Academy of Music in 2019. Since 2015 Mr. Pálfi is working as Assistant Professor at the Liszt Academy of Music. 

Georgy Tchaidze possesses “fine sensibility and perfectly honed technique” according to The Telegraph in its review of the young Russian pianist’s Wigmore Hall debut.  Since becoming 1st Prize Laureate of Honens International Piano Competition in 2009, Tchaidze has performed throughout Europe, North America and Asia to great acclaim, including debuts at Berlin’s Konzerthaus, Glenn Gould Studio in Toronto, Het Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, National Centre for the Performing Arts in Beijing, Oriental Arts Centre in Shanghai, Zankel Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York, and BOZAR and Flagey Halls in Brussels. His performance of Rachmaninov’s second piano concerto with Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra and Pinchas Zukerman was met with praise: “commendable clarity … unusually powerful  for a performance of so little ostentation” (Ottawa Citizen). In the summer of 2015, Georgy Tchaidze was awarded 1st Prize at the 4th Top of the World International Piano Competition in Tromso, Norway, and then asked to replace Sir Andras Schiff with his perfromances at the Lofoten International Chamber Music Festival.

Born in 1988 in St. Petersburg, Georgy Tchaidze began studying the piano and violin at the age of seven.  He studied at the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory with  People’s Artist of Russia, Professor Sergey Dorensky for his undergraduate degree, and earned his master’s degree at the Berlin  University of the Arts with Professor Klaus Hellwig.  Since September 2016, he has been artist in residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel in Belgium, under the direction of Louis Lortie. 

Tchaidze’s reputation as a sensitive collaborative pianist is blossoming. He toured  extensively with Canada’s Cecilia String Quartet and performed with the  esteemed Borodin Quartet.  His latest artistic collaborations include appearances with the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra under direction of Bramwell Tovey, Forth Worth Symphony Orchestra with Leonard Slatkin, Brussels Philharmonic Orchestra under Aleksandre Bloch, with renowned Brentano String Quartet and also with such instrumentalists as Piotr Anderszewski, Stephen Kovacevich, Jean-Efflame Bavouzet, Marc-André Hamelin, Nikolai Lugansky and many others. Tchaidze has three recordings on the Honens label:  a live recording with Cecilia  String Quartet, an all-Schubert album and a disc of works by Medtner, Mussorgsky and Prokofiev. 

The V4 String Quartet is a unique collaboration between the finest musicians of the V4 countries. The quartet focuses on projects featuring the remarkable artists and outstanding composers of Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and The Czech Republic. The ensemble authentically brings to life the music of this region, from the rich past to the present, continuously enchanting audiences at major festivals across Europe. The quartet’s mission includes creating greater cultural enrichment, especially in the V4 countries. During the V4 Anniversary Year of 2021, and in 2022, the quartet successfully showcased musicians and composers of the V4 countries to European audiences. While incorporating the cultural traditions of each of their country’s music, the V4 String Quartet has accomplished new ways to use music to create a more diverse and compassionate society.

The ensemble has performed at the Levoca – Indian Summer Festival in Slovakia, the New Millennium International Chamber Music Festival in Hungary and the EUFONIE International Music Festival and Chain Festival of the Lutosławski Society in Poland, among others.

Members:
Miranda Liu – violin
Daniel Rumler – violin
Tomáš Krejbich – viola
Bartosz Koziak – cello