Conductors

Daniel Raiskin studied in St. Petersburg, Amsterdam and Freiburg, first focusing on Viola and later conducting with Maestri such as Mariss Jansons, Neeme Järvi, Milan Horvat, Woldemar Nelson und Jorma Panula. 

From the 2018/19 season Daniel Raiskin serves as Music Director of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and has been appointed Chief Conductor of the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra starting the season 2020-2021. Since 2016/17 he is also Principal Guest Conductor of the Belgrade Philharmonic Orchestra. Recent and near future engagements also include returns to Warsaw and Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestras, Hong Kong Sinfonietta, Orquesta Sinfónica de Tenerife, Russian National Orchestra, Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra, Residentie Orchestra (Hague Philharmonic, NL), Naples Philharmonic Orchestra, Munich Symphony Orchestra and Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra.

Acclaimed as a cultural leader in his native Armenia and increasingly in demand on the international stage, Sergey Smbatyan is founder, Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the Armenian State Symphony Orchestra. In September 2019 he became Principal Conductor of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra following highly successful tours of Germany, Austria and the United States, including performances at the Berlin Philharmonie, Vienna’s Musikverein and Carnegie Hall.

Armed with the experience of building a symphony orchestra from scratch, Sergey Smbatyan has created four other orchestras in recent years. In 2015 he founded the 24/04 Orchestra to commemorate the centenary of the Armenian Genocide and the “Generation of Independence”.

All-Armenian Choir and Orchestra to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Armenia’s independence.

Gergely Madaras is Music Director of the Orchestre Philharmonique Royal de Liège since 2019. He has previously held positions as Chief Conductor of the Savaria Symphony Orchestra and Music Director of the Orchestre Dijon Bourgogne.

Having forged strong professional relationships throughout Europe, Gergely regularly appears as a guest conductor with orchestras including the BBC Symphony, Hallé, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Tonhalle Orchestra Zürich, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Filarmonica della Scala, Maggio Muiscale Fiorentino, the Netherlands, Oslo and Copenhagen Philharmonic Orchestras as well as the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Academy of Ancient Music. Further afield, he has appeared with the Melbourne and Houston Symphony orchestras.

Gergely maintains a close relationship with new music and has collaborated with composers George Benjamin, Péter Eötvös, György Kurtág, Tristan Murail, Luca Francesconi, Philippe Boesmans and Pierre Boulez, for whom he served as assistant conductor at the Lucerne Festival Academy between 2011-2013.

Saleem Ashkar made his Carnegie Hall debut at the age of 22 and has since gone on to establish an international career. Recent and future concerto highlights include the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Konzerthausorchester Berlin and the St Louis, Vancouver and Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestras.

He has also performed with the Wiener Philharmoniker, Royal Concertgebouw, London Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Orchestre National de Lyon and on a three week tour to Australia. Saleem has a close relationship with many leading conductors including David Afkham, Daniel Barenboim, Riccardo Chailly, Jakub Hrůša, Pietari Inkinen, Fabio Luisi, Zubin Mehta, Riccardo Muti, Kazushi Ono and Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider.

A dedicated recitalist and chamber musician, Saleem has a particularly strong reputation as a Beethoven specialist and has recently performed a complete Sonata cycle in Prague, Duisburg and at the Konzerthaus Berlin. This season he will performing a series of recitals in Copenhagen and Milan exploring the early, middle and late sonatas of Beethoven alongside other composers that were influenced by him. Other recent and future recital appearances include the Wigmore and Queen Elizabeth Halls in London, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg and Musikverein Vienna.

Sevak Avanesyan is described as "a musician of extraordinary virtuosity and a remarkable range of sound capacities" (Bernard Greenhouse) and "undoubtedly, one of the most gifted musicians of his generation” (Janos Starker).

Born in Armenia in 1989, he moved to Belgium at the age of 13 where he became the youngest graduate of the Royal Conservatory of Brussels. At the age of 19 he graduated with the highest distinction in the class of Viviane Spanoghe.

In 2009 he was accepted in the class of the renowned cellist Claudio Bohorquez at the Hans Eissler Musikhochschule in Berlin. Besides his regular studies, Sevak Avanesyan has received precious advice from world famous artists such as Janos Starker, Bernard Greenhouse, Steven Isserlis, Mischa Maisky, Maria Kliegel, Liuis Claret, Peter Bruns, Garry Hofman, Wolfgang Boettcher, Igor Oistrakh, Artemis Quartet, Gerhard Schulz and many others.

Since his youngest age, he has toured in Europe, USA, Canada and Australia as a member of the "Young Virtuosos" of AMAA. Sevak has won many international competitions, including the First Prize at the “Young Soloists” competition in Luxembourg, First prize at the “Lions Club” European competition, “Golden Lable” prize by the Belgian music press association, first prize winner of “Belgische Stichting Roeping” promotion and many more. Some of his most notable performances were at venues such as the Berlin Philharmonic hall, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Salle Gaveau in Paris, the Ford Hall in Toronto and the Sidney Opera House.

Gevorg Avetisyan was born in 1983 in Yerevan. In 1989 he entered the P.I. Tchaikovsky Music School where he studied flute with S.Gareginyan. In 1999 he entered Yerevan State Komitas Conservatory (class of Prof. G.Muradyan).

Currently Gevorg Аvetisyan is working at the State Youth Orchestra of Armenia and the Orchestra of A. Spendiaryan National Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre.

Mr. Avetisyan participated in several festivals and concerts both in Armenia and abroad. Constantly develops his performing skills attending master classes. Particularly, in 2007 participated in master classes with Anna Katharina Graf and Philippe Racine (Switzerland), and in 2013 with Paolo Taballione (Italy).

In 2016 he took master classes with the musicians of Berliner Philharmonie.

Sona was born in 1989 in Yerevan, Armenia. She began playing the piano since the age of 7 in Tchaikovsky Music School in her home city. Following 10 years of music school, Sona continued her studies at Yerevan State Conservatory, in the class of Prof. Sergey Saradzhyan, where she received her B.A. and M.A. degrees with excellence (2006-2012). Afterwards, Sona had moved to Germany, Cologne, where she continued her education in Cologne Conservatory, in the class of Prof. Nina Tichman. In 2014 Sona received her 2nd M.A degree, and graduated from Cologne Conservatory in 2016 after receiving her P.H.D. Sona has greatly advanced her professional skills due to master classes delivered by famous musicians Norma Fisher, Vladimir Krainev, Phillippe Cassard, Evgeny Kissin, Tamas Ungar, Arkadiy Zenziper, Vadim Monastirskiy and Leonel Morales.

Sona has given her first solo recital when she was 8. The concert has been a great success, followed by a long sequence of other concerts which paved a way for her prosperous career later on.

Sona is prize-winner in a number of international competitions in Armenia, Georgia, Italy, France and Germany.

In 2007, when Sona was 16, she became the second prize winner of the 2nd International Aram Khachaturian competition. This achievement has reinforced the growing number of invitations to various concerts from Europe.

Two years later, in 2009, she was honored by the President of the Republic of Armenia with “Youth Prize for the achievements in performing classical music”. The medal was handed personally by the President.

Italian pianist Vanessa Benelli Mosell is a rising star on the international music scene.
She now has eight albums releases for DECCA CLASSICS. Known for her performances of Stockhausen’s Klavierstücke, she was invited by the composer to study under him: "She has the power to let people appreciate my music”.Since becoming a key figure in the music of Stockhausen, she has had collaborations with many leading contemporary composers including George Benjamin, Hugues Dufourt, Stefano Gervasoni, Martin Matalon and Marco Stroppa.

Vanessa Benelli Mosell began her comprehensive musical studies at the age of three. At seven years old she was admitted at the International Piano Academy in Imola.In 2007 she entered the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory before pursuing her studies at the Royal College of Music in London. As a conductor, she led prestigious orchestras like the Divertimento Ensemble, the Leipziger Symphonieorchester, the United Europe Symphony Orchestra, the Lithuanian State Symphony Orchestra, the Witold Lutoslawsky Chamber Philharmonic,the Wiener Kammer Orchester and many others.

In 2019 she obtained second place in the European Competition of Female Conductor Mawoma - Maestra in Vienna.

Belgian violinist of Russian heritage, Mr. Bouchkov is a sophisticated musician of impeccable aplomb and has carved an international career performing with leading orchestras and conductors across Europe.  He is one of the most multifaceted and unique artists of the new generation. His orchestral appearances include performances with the Mariinsky Theater Symphony Orchestra and Valery Gergiev, the HR-Sinfonieorchester and Christoph Eschenbach, the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and Mariss Jansons, the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra and Philippe Jordan. He has also appeared with the NDR-Sinfonieorchester Hamburg, Hessische Rundfunk Orchestra, Tonhalle Orchester Zürich, the Orchestre National de Belgique, the Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale RAI in Turin, the Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra of Liège, the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Verbier Festival Chamber Orchestra among others, collaborating with conductors such as Stanislav Kochanovsky, Michael Sanderling, Andrey Boreyko, Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, Dmitry Liss, Christian Arming, Lionel Bringuier, Maxim Vengerov, James Judd, to name but a few.

As an active recitalist, Mr. Bouchkov has performed in many of the world’s most prestigious concert halls such as Wigmore Hall, Carnegie Hall, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Dresden Frauenkirche, Concert Hall of St. Petersburg, Tonhalle Zürich, Munich’s Prinzregententheater, Paris’ Theatre de la Ville, Maison de Radio France, and the Konzerthaus in Berlin among several other venues. A fine chamber musician, he is a regular guest of the Verbier Festival in Switzerland.

Marc Bouchkov’s first recording by Harmonia Mundi is of special significance since it includes two world première pieces by Eugéne Ysaÿe, and two works composed by himself. The album was awarded a Diapason d’Or and a Diapason Découverte as well as nominated for the ICMA 2018 and received tremendous acclaim on Gramophone reviews. The English magazine featured him as “One to Watch “.

Praised for his “burnished tone, spellbinding technique, and probing musical mind” (Boston Classical Review), cellist Brannon Cho has emerged as an outstanding artist of his generation. He is the First Prize winner of the prestigious 6th International Paulo Cello Competition, and is also a prize winner of the Queen Elisabeth, Naumburg, and Cassadó International Cello Competitions.

Most recently, Brannon Cho is the recipient of the 2020 Janos Starker Foundation Award, the Landgraf von Hessen Prize from Kronberg Academy, the 2019 Ivan Galamian Award previously held by James Ehnes, and is a scholarship holder in the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation. Brannon Cho has appeared as a soloist with many of the top orchestras around the world, including the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, Belgian National Orchestra, and Brussels Philharmonic under world renowned conductors such as Susanna Mälkki, Stéphane Denève, and Hugh Wolff.

As a lover of chamber music, Brannon Cho has shared the stage with artists such as Anne-Sophie Mutter, Christian Tetzlaff, Gidon Kremer, and Joshua Bell. His recent festival appearances include Rheingau, Marlboro, Kronberg Academy, Music@Menlo, and Prussia Cove. Brannon Cho’s recent and upcoming solo performance highlights include debuts in Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall, the Cello Biënnale Amsterdam, Kumho Art Hall in Seoul, Rheingau Musik Festival with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Konzerthaus Berlin, and Seoul Arts Center.

Armine Grigoryan is one of the brightest representatives of Armenian contemporary pianists. She received her entire musical education first in Yerevan Tchaikovsky school of music, then in Yerevan Komitas Conservatoire and postgraduate studies under the supervision of professors Georgy and Sergey Saradjians, obtaining excellent professional qualities. This is evident in her appearances as a soloist and collaborative pianist.

Armine Grigoryan as soloist and chamber musician has toured CIS, Italy, Germany, United Kingdom, Austria, Check Republic, Spain, Belgium, Bulgaria, UAE, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Baltics, China, Japan, Australia, USA, Canada, Mexico and others.

Armine Grigoryan became a Double Laureate of “Roma 2003” International Pianists Competition, where she also was awarded a special prize and medal of the Chamber of Deputies of Rome. In the same year Armine Grigoryan with Sona Barseghyan (piano duo “Sonet”) won prize of International Competition, organized by “Frederic Chopin” Association in Rome, and took also Special prize for the Best Performance of pieces by Sergio Calligaris. 

She is the recipient of special awards as a piano collaborative pianist in several International competitions.

Anahit Dilbaryan was born on September 2, 1990 in Spitak. She studied in Spitak Music school and Yerevan Specialized Music School Named After Alexander Spendiaryan. During 2006 – 2015 she studied Komitas State Conservatory of Yerevan, classes of Prof. S. Kechek and Prof. A. Babakhanyan.

She is a lecturer at Yerevan State Musical-Pedagogical College after A. Babajanyan, artistic director of "HighArt" Cultural Foundation, pianist of "Asonance" contemporary music ensemble. Anahit Dilbaryan is a laureate of many international competitions, laureate of the Award from the RA President. She was awarded the Gold Medal for preserving and propagating the works of the great Armenian composer A. Babajanyan.

Anahit Dilbaryan took master classes with A. Mndoyants, V. Mamikonyan, V. Krainev, Y. Hayrapetyan, T. Dudoshkina, B. Glemzer, B. Brubaker, Al. Toradze, V. Goldberg.

She performed concerts in the USA, Canada, Italy, Belgium, Luxembourg, Austria, Great Britain, France and other countries. She has performed with chamber and symphonic orchestras.

Noemi Gyori 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.

Noemi 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 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 albums  – Antonio Nava: Flute and Guitar Duos (2011), Glowing Sonorities (2016), Transforming Traditions (2019), Haydn and Mozart Quartets (2020) – received international critical acclaim.

Khachaturian Trio was founded as trio “Arsika” in 1999. The ensemble had tours in over 100 cities in 30 countries, performed in most famous concert halls, such as Musikverein, Wien, Laiezhalle, Hamburg, Gewandhaus, Leipzig, Gasteig-Philharmonie, Munich, Purcell Room, London, Suntory hall, Tokyo, Koerner Hall, Toronto. Participated in a number of prestigious festivals - the Festival de las Artes (Costa Rica), Festival International Cervantino (Mexico), "Russiche Kammermusikfest" in Hamburg, Malta International Music Festival to name a few. Trio’s performances have been frequently broadcasted by TV and Radio. 

Nine CDs, dedicated to Armenian and Russian music, were recorded by musicians, including CD with music of Khachaturian and Maltese composer Alexey Shor, released by Sony, mono-CD of Alexandre Arutyunyan's music, double CD, dedicated to chamber music of Aram Khachaturian, trios by Tchaikovsky, Arensky (d-moll), Babadjanyan, Schostakovich (e-moll), CD, dedicated to the music of Armenian modern composers (Adjemian, Babayan, Chaushian), two CDs with most famous Armenian classical pieces. 

Fabrizio Meloni, since 1984, is the first solo clarinet chair of the Orchestra and the Philharmonic of the Teatro alla Scala in Milan. He has finished his clarinet studies at Milan’s Conservatorio G. Verdi  with summa cum laude and the special mention for his artistic achievement. Winner dozens of national and international prizes (ARD Munchen-1987- Prague –1987-, among all).

In 2009 was released several recordings: the DVD « Duets »(Warner), the Francaix/Nielsen/Copland’s Clarinet Concertos (Amadeus), and « Ol ari Nyiro Diary ». He is author of the book « The Clarinet », published by Zecchini Editore, and prefaced by Riccardo Muti. The tv channel Sky-Classica has devoted a documentary to his artistic life. In Summer 2015, the Meloni-Yoshikawa duo went on tour in Japan and performed at the prestigious Suntory Hall – Tokyo, an event that has produced a documentary published by NHK (Japanese National Television Channel) in the ‘Classic Club’ series and subsequently broadcasted by NHK-FM radio ‘Best of Classic’ program. In 2015, DEUTSCHE GRAMMOPHON released the cd ’VIEF ET RYTHMIQUE’ entirely devoted to the French repertoire for Clarinet and Piano (with T.Yoshikawa).

Nikita Mndoyants, born in 1989, studied at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, in the classes of Nikolay Petrov and Alexander Mndoyants for the piano and of Alexander Tchaikovsky for the composition. He is the winner of the famous Cleveland International Piano Competition 2016 (1st Prize) as well as the 2007 Paderewsky International Piano Competition (1st Prize).

This young pianist has been collaborating for several years with eminent conductors such as Charles Dutoit, Leonard Slatkin, Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Alexander Rudin, and Vassily Sinaisky etc., at the head of prestigious orchestras: Cleveland, Mariinsky, Saint Petersburg, Svetlanov Orchestra, Armenian National and others.  He was acclaimed at Carnegie Hall, the Tchaikovsky Hall and Great Hall of Conservatory in Moscow, the Cortot Hall and the Louvre Auditorium in Paris, the Bozar Center for Fine Arts (Brussels), the Elbphilharmonie (Hamburg), etc.

Nikita Mndoyants has recorded for Classical Records, Melodiya and Praga Digital labels.

He has been in residence in Wissembourg (Alsace) since 2012 for Festival International de Musique.

Nikolay Poghosyan was born in 1984 in Yerevan. From 1996 to 2000 studied bassoon at Al. Hekimyan musical school. From 2000 to 2005 studied at Yerevan State Komitas Conservatory in the class of bassoon (Prof. Garry Mailyan’s class).

In 2009 N.Poghosyan participated in master classes with Gustavo Nunez. He is the winner of Emin Khachaturian Republic Contest of Chamber Ensembles. In 2011 Mr. Poghosyan participated in Young Euro Classic festival (Berlin) within the framework of “South Caucasus” program, where he performed jointly with musicians from Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Germany presenting Septet by Beethoven and Quintet for Piano by Mozart. In 2006, first performed Sonata for Bassoon and Piano by E.Hayrapetyan.

Since 2003 is working at the National Academic Theatre Opera and Ballet named after A.Spendiaryan, as solo bassoonist.

Since 2005 he is working at State Youth Orchestra of Armenia, now renamed as Armenian State Symphonic Orchestra.

2015-2019 studied at Yerevan State Conservatory named after Komitas, in the opera and symphonic conducting class (Professor Yuri Davtyan).

In January 2016 took master classes with the musicians of Berliner Philharmoniker.

On December 31, 2016 and January 02, 2017 in Haikou City, Chine was his debut as conductor, with the Armenian State Symphonic Orchestra.

In 2016 was awarded by the Gold Medal, by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Armenia.

Xuefei Yang is acclaimed as one of the world’s finest classical guitarists.  Hailed as a musical pioneer - her fascinating journey began after the Cultural Revolution, a period where Western musical instruments and music were banned.  Fei was the first-ever guitarist in China to enter a music school, and became the first internationally recognised Chinese guitarist on the world stage.  

Fei is one of the few guitarists whose artistry connects with audiences far beyond the guitar fraternity. Her international success has led her to be invited to play in more than 50 countries at numerous prestigious venues, and is frequently invited to play with the world’s leading orchestras.

Fei has made many acclaimed recordings for major labels. Her first received a gold disc and her second was selected as ‘Editor’s Choice’ in Gramophone magazine. Fei’s recent recordings include “Songs from our Ancestors” which continues her successful collaboration with Ian Bostridge and “Magna Carta”, the complete guitar works of John Brunning with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra (Apple Music).

She has appeared on BBC Radio 4’s Woman's Hour, the BBC Proms, documentaries on BBC and China Central Television.

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Giovanni Andrea Zanon first picked up a violin at the age of two in a bid to emulate his older sister. He was prize winner in more than 30 national and international competitions, including the International Competition for Young Violinists K. Lipinski and H. Wieniawski in Lublin, the Premio Nazionale delle Arti in which he gained the title of Best Violinist of all Italian Conservatories and the VII International Novosibirsk Violin Competition where he also won all special jury prizes.

During his career to date, Giovanni has performed in prestigious venues such as New York’s Carnegie Hall, Graz’s Musikverein, Prague’s Smetana Hall, Munich’s Bayerisches Staatsoper, the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, Muscat’s Royal Opera House, Barcelona’s Gran Teatro del Liceu, Milan’s Teatro alla Scala, Venice’s Teatro La Fenice, Rome’s Auditorium Parco della Musica and the Arena di Verona.

He recently represented Italy by playing at the closing Ceremony of the 2022 Olympics Games in Beijing.

He has worked with esteemed conductors including Fabio Luisi, Theodore Guschlbauer, Andrea Battistoni, Donato Renzetti, Omer Meir Wellber and Jader Bignamini.

He has also collaborated in chamber music’s projects with such artists as Anna Netrebko, Pinchas Zukerman, Mario Brunello and Pablo Ferrandez.

Upon the advice of conductor Zubin Mehta, he graduated from the Manhattan School of Music at the age of 16 with a Master’s Degree from the Pinchas Zukerman Performance Program, where he studied with Pinchas Zukerman and Patinka Kopec.

Giovanni plays a marvelous violin made by Giuseppe Guarneri ‘del Gesù’, Cremona, 1730.

Lauded as one of today's probing musical voices, Nancy Zhou harbors a robust presence that seeks to invigorate appreciation for the art and science of the violin. Her thoughtful musicianship resonates with a global audience in such a way that brings her on stage with leading orchestras around the world. The violinist has collaborated with the Royal Stockholm, Hong Kong Philharmonics; Shanghai, and Kansas City Symphonies, among others. Alongside projects as a soloist, Nancy harbors interest in chamber music and music education. She has visited the Tanglewood, Verbier, Ravinia Festivals. The violinist devotes time to a private online studio as well, teaching students across the globe and presenting masterclasses on fundamental training and cultivating mindful awareness critical to performance.

This season, the violinist explores works outside the traditional oeuvre. Chinese composer Zhao Jiping’s first concerto will be performed with the New Jersey Symphony at the Lincoln Center. She will also appear with the Würzburg Philharmonic and return to Italy for recitals.

American-born, Nancy commenced violin studies with her father, later studying with Miriam Fried at the New England Conservatory while pursuing her interest in literature at Harvard University. She is an Associated Artist at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel as well as a former scholar of the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation.