Masterclasses with the Vienna Philharmonic

Edison Pashko was born in Korça, Albania. It was there, in his hometown, that he began studying the cello under the guidance of Kostika Tanta at the age of six. From 1992 onwards, he continued his cello studies under the direction of Gëzim Laro at the Academy of Arts in Tirana. A year later, he joined the class of Professor Florian Kitt at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz, where he graduated with honours in 1998.

In 1996, Edison was also a prizewinner at the International Cello Competition in Liezen. From 1999 to 2000, he furthered his education with Valentin Erben at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. In 2009, he joined the stage orchestra of the Vienna State Opera. Following a successful audition, he became a member of the Vienna State Opera Orchestra in 2010, and in 2013, he was appointed a member of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.

As a soloist, Edison has performed with various orchestras across Europe and Asia. He is a passionate and sought-after chamber musician, having served as the principal cellist of the Wiener Kammerphilharmonie and performed with ensembles such as Wiener Collage and Die Reihe. He is also a regular guest with the Küchl Quartet and the Steude Quartet.

source: Edison Pashko / Milan Šetena

Martin Kubik was born in Düsseldorf in 1967. He grew up in Vienna and began receiving private lessons in 1974 from the legendary Professor Alfred Staar, a member of the Vienna State Opera Orchestra, the Vienna Philharmonic, and the Weller Quartet. From 1981 onward, he also studied with Professor Clemens Hellsberg, who was also a member of the Vienna Philharmonic. Martin Kubik attended the Vienna Music Gymnasium and, in addition to the violin, pursued studies in trombone and composition.

In 1985, he won the audition for the position of second violinist in the Vienna State Opera Orchestra, becoming the youngest member of the ensemble and, three years later, also a member of the Vienna Philharmonic. In 1986, he graduated from the Music Gymnasium with honors. In 1992, after a successful audition, he joined the first violin section of the Vienna Philharmonic.

As an enthusiastic chamber musician, Martin Kubik was a member and later the leader of the Philharmonia Schrammeln Wien from 1990 to 2010. He performed with ensembles such as the Otto-Nicolai Quartet, the Straka Ensemble, the Wiener Streichersolisten, the Wiener Geigenquartett, and the Ensemble Kontrapunkte on both national and international stages.

He co-founded the Salzburg-Wien Ensemble with members of the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, which regularly performs at the Burg Golling festival, co-founded by Martin Kubik.

In addition to his roles with the Vienna Philharmonic and in chamber music ensembles, Martin Kubik is a sought-after lecturer specializing in audition preparation and chamber music. He regularly teaches, among other places, at the Summer Academy of the Angelika Prokop Foundation in Salzburg, led by members of the Vienna Philharmonic. In May 2019, Martin Kubik was awarded the title of professor by Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen.

Source: Martin Kubik

Milan Šetena was born in Prague, where he began violin lessons at a very early age.
He studied with Bedřich Čapek from 1974 to 1982 and with František Pospíšil at the Prague Conservatory from 1982 to 1988. As a student, he was appointed as the first-ever concertmaster of the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra under Claudio Abbado in 1987, the year it was formed.

Milan Šetena moved to Vienna in 1988, where he continued his studies with Professor Alfred Staar. In 1990, he was engaged as a first violinist of the Vienna State Opera, and in 1994, he became a member of the Vienna Philharmonic.

In addition to the VPO, Milan performs with the Kammerorchester Wien-Berlin, Wiener Virtuosen, the Wiener Geigen Quartet, the Schulhoff Quartet, and the Antonín Dvořák Piano Quartet, with whom he has participated in numerous CD recordings and performed at renowned international festivals, such as the Salzburg Festival, Schubertiade Schwarzenberg, Festival Mitte Europa, and The Stars of the White Nights Festival in St. Petersburg. Moreover, Milan has appeared as a soloist at numerous concerts in Austria and abroad.

In 2009, he recorded a CD titled Wiener Romanzen with his long-standing piano partner, Maria Vigilante. Along with Rainer Honeck, the concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Milan appeared as a soloist on a CD in the "Precious Music" series of the Österreichische Nationalbank. In 2012, Milan recorded another CD in this series, this time as a soloist in his own right.

As well as his activities as an orchestral, chamber, and solo musician, Milan Šetena is also a chamber music coach. In January 2012, he served on the jury of the Concertino Praga International Chamber Music Competition, and in June 2014, he was a panelist for the A. Dvořák International Chamber Music Competition.

In May 2019, Milan Šetena was awarded the title of professor by Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen.

In the summers of 2020, 2022, and 2023, Milan initiated and subsequently became the Artistic Director of the highly successful International Music Masterclasses Slavonice (www.immcslavonice.com).

Milan Šetena plays a violin by Sanctus Seraphin, Venice (1733), on loan from the Austrian Nationalbank’s collection.

source: Milan Šetena