Philippe Bernold

Philippe Bernold began his musical studies in Colmar, France, studying the flute and later composition and conducting under René Matter, himself a student of Charles and Fritz Münch.

He then attended the Paris Conservatoire, where he earned the First prize in flute and the next year, at the age of 23, was appointed first flute of the National Opera Orchestra of Lyon.  In 1987 he won First Prize in the Jean-Pierre Rampal International Competition in Paris

This award allowed him to start a career as a soloist, performing with world famous artists and orchestras such as: M. Rostropovitch, J. P. Rampal, M. Nordmann, with Paris Orchestra, F. Liszt Orchestra of Budapest, Hallé Orchestra (Manchester), National Orchestra of Lyon, Tokyo and Kyoto Symphony Orchestras…, he has been directed by S. Bychkov, J. E. Gardiner, L. Maazel, K. Nagano, Sir Y. Menuhin, M. Inoué, T. Koopman, in concert halls such as the Royal Festival Hall in London, Pleyel Hall and Chatelet Theater in Paris, Cologne Philharmonie, Warsaw Philharmonic, Bunka Kaikan in Tokyo, Seoul Art Center, Tchaïkovsky Conservatory in Moscow, as well as at the Festivals of Aix-en-Provence, Cannes, Evian, Strasbourg, Radio France…

Philippe Bernold returned to conducting in 1994, founding “Les Virtuoses de l’Opéra de Lyon” with the encouragement of conductors John Eliot Gardiner and Kent Nagano.  The ensemble quickly gained a reputation for its high level of artistry.

Since then, he has been invited to conduct concerts with such ensembles as Sinfonia Varsovia touring in Lisbon, Bilbao, Valence, Nantes and Warsaw, the National Opera Orchestra of Lyon, Baden Baden Philharmonie, Orchestre de chambre de Paris, Philharmonic Orchestra of Marseille, Orchestra of the Opera house of Toulon, Kanazawa Ensemble (Japan), “Bucheon Philharmonic” (Seoul), Geneva Chamber Orchestra, Janacek Philharmonic Orchestra, Prague Philharmonia, Wiener Kammerorchester, Cappella Istropolitana, with whom he is first gest conductor.  In Caracas, (Venezuela) Philippe conducts the famous “Simon Bolivar orchestra” (Musical director: Gustavo Dudamel).

He has collaborated with such artists as M. Portal, V. Gens, L. Korcia, R. & G. Capuçon, F. Say, M. Nordmann, S. Nakariakov, G. Opitz…

For the TV, Philippe Bernold conducts in 2008 a complete Mozart program with the Sinfonia Varsovia and Alexei Ogrintchouk as a soloist. (Mezzo). He has done three recordings with the Chamber Orchestra of Paris and with the same ensemble, he recorded Mozart flute concertos  (Aparté)

His first recording won the “Grand Prix de l’Académie Charles Cros” in 1989.  Since then Philippe Bernold has made more than twenty recordings for Harmonia Mundi, EMI…  He has also made many recordings with pianist Alexandre Tharaud, which has received rave reviews. (“Choc” from Le Monde de la musique and “Diapason d’or” from Diapason).

Philippe Bernold is Professor of Chamber Music and flute at the National Paris Conservatoire.

Jean-Jacques Kantorow

The French violinist and conductor Jean-Jacques Kantorow began the violin at the age of 6 at the Nice Conservatoire. He was only 13 years old when he won a place at the prestigious Paris Conservatoire to study in René Benedetti’s class, and graduated one year later with a 1st prize.

From 1962 -68 Jean-Jacques won prizes in at least 10 international violin competitions, including 1st prizes in the Carl Flesh competition in London, and the Paganini competition in Genoa, and he was 1st winner in the Geneva and Tibor Varga competitions. In 1970 Jean-Jacques won a grant from the Sacha Schneider foundation.

As a concert violinist, Jean-Jacques has played all round the world giving over 100 concerts a year and receiving rave reviews; « Jean-Jacques Kantorow is a great violinist, a spectacular talent, the most prodigiously original violinist I have heard in this generation » ( Glenn Gould)

Jean-Jacques likes to play chamber music as an antidote to the sometimes lonely career of a soloist. With pianist Jacques Rouvier and cellist Philippe Muller he formed a trio which won 1st prize in the Colmar international chamber music competition in 1970. He was also a member of the Ludwig and Mozart string trios.

Since 1970 Jean- Jacques has held chairs teaching the violin in several Conservatoires, including Paris, Basel and Rotterdam, and given master classes all over the world. In 2019 he starts teaching regularly at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki for annual series of master classes.

To deepen his understanding of music, Jean- Jacques was naturally drawn to conducting. From 1983 he became Musical Director of several orchestras, including the Tapiola Sinfonietta, the Helsinki Chamber Orchestra, the Granada Orchestra, the Auvergne Chamber Orchestra which he conducted for 10 years and the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris.

Jean- Jacques has made over 170 recordings as a soloist, chamber musician and conductor, with numerous important record labels such as Denon, EMI, Erato, CBS, BIS etc. with many recordings receiving international awards.

Gordan Nikolitch

Gordan Nikolić was born in Brus, Serbia in 1968 and began playing violin at the age of seven. He entered the Young Talent Institute at the age of 9.
He graduated with the highest acclaims at the Musikhochschule Basel in the class of Jean-Jacques Kantorow in 1990. He also studied with  Walter Levin, Hans Werner Henze, Witold Lutoslawsky and György Kurtág, developing an interest in both baroque and contemporary music. He is the winner of several international awards, which include the Tibor Varga, Niccolò Paganini, Cità di Brescia, and Vaclaw Huml prizes.

After being leader of the Orchestre d’Auvergne, the Lausanne Chamber Orchestra, and later with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and the London Symphony Orchestra, he often conducted the Chamber Orchestra of the London Symphony Orchestra, the Orchestre National d’Île-de-France, Manchester Camerata, the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre de Lille and Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse.

In 2000, he was appointed “Prince Consort Professor” for string ensembles at the Royal College of Music. In September 2003, he became a professor at the Guilhall School of Music in London and the Royal College in Rotterdam. In 2017, he started teaching at the Hoschule für Musik in Sarrebruck.

In 2004, he became Artistic Director of the Nederlands Kamerorkest in Amsterdam. He was principal guest conductor at the Manchester Camerata, musical director of the Saint George Strings Chamber Orchestra in Belgrade and created the independent orchestra BandArt in Spain.

He has performed as a soloist with prestigious orchestras and under conductors such as Sir Colin Davis, Jean-Jacques Kantorow, Arie van Beek, André Previn, Daniel Harding, Myung Wung Chung, Bernard Haitink, Laurence Foster, Marc Albrecht, Jakob Kreizberg.

Gordan Nikolic has made many recordings for various labels (Alpha, Pentatone, LSO Live, Olympia, BNL, Warner Classics, Onyx Classics) For the label Tacet, he recorded Gound’s symphonies as well as Mozart’s violin concerti and last symphonies.

Gordan Nikolic plays a Paul Belin made in 2016 and a Venetian Petrus Guarnerius kindly lent by an anonymous sponsor.

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