The French horn player and conductor Radek Baborák is one of the most successful Czech performers of his generation. He studied French horn under the legendary French horn player and teacher Bedřich Tylšar, and he already won a number of international competitions as a student. From 2003 until 2010 he held the prestigious post of principal French horn of the Berlin Philharmonic. He appears at important music festivals (Salzburg, Saint Petersburg, Utrecht) and collaborates with leading orchestras around the world (Munich Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, Moscow Philharmonic) and with top conductors (Daniel Barenboim, Seiji Ozawa, Simon Rattle, Neeme Järvi, James Levine, Vladimir Askhenazy). He is the founder and artistic director of the Baborak Ensemble and a member of the Afflatus Quintet, and he collaborates with the Berlin Baroque Soloists. He is the founder and conductor of the Czech Sinfonietta, which consists of musicians of the younger generation. He has also taught as a lecturer at the Fondazione Arturo Toscanini in Bologna and as a guest professor at TOHO University in Tokyo, and he teaches at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague.

Japanese violinist Daishin Kashimoto has been playing his instrument since early childhood. After studies in Tokyo, from the age of only seven he continued his education at the prestigious Juilliard School in New York and the College of Music in Lübeck. In 1993 he won First Place in the Yehudi Menuhin International Competition, and a year later he received honours in the violin competition in Cologne. In 1996 he triumphed in the Fritz Kreisler Violin Competition in Vienna. He appears regularly as a soloist with leading orchestras of the world such as the Boston Symphony, L’Orchestre Nationale de France, the Bavarian Radio Symphony, the Staatskapelle of Dresden, and the St. Petersburg Philharmonic. Since 2009 he has been a member of the Berlin Philharmonic, where he presently holds the position of concertmaster. He is also fond of performing chamber music, serving for example as a member of the Berlin Philharmonic Octet.

Shirley Brill studied clarinet in Israel, Germany, and the United States. At the outset of her career she performed as a soloist with the Israel Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta. Later she began appearing with other orchestras including the Hamburg Symphony, the Polish Radio Symphony, and the Munich Symphony. She collaborates with star artists like conductors Daniel Barenboim and Jeffrey Tate, and soloists Sabine Meyer, Emmanuel Pahud, and Janine Jansen. She has reaped important honours in international competitions in Switzerland, Germany, and Great Britain. Since 1999 she has been playing in a duo with pianist Jonathan Aner, making a series of acclaimed recordings and appearing in many prestigious venues including New York’s Carnegie Hall and the Tonhalle in Zürich.

Bence Bogányi studied bassoon in his native Hungary before continuing his education at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki and the College of Music in Berlin. He holds numerous awards including First Prize in the Bernhard Crusell International Music Competition in Finland. In 2005 he gave the world premiere of the Bassoon Concerto dedicated to him by the important Finnish composer Kalevi Aho. During the course of his career he has been principal bassoonist in the State Opera in Helsinki, the Helsinki Philharmonic, and the Berlin Radio Symphony, and since 2007 he has held that position with the Munich Philharmonic. He has already appeared as a soloist and chamber player in many countries of Europe and in Japan. With the Chantilly Quintet he has participated in concerts, workshops, and master classes in such diverse locations as Greece, Czechia, and Africa. Since 2009 he has been teaching bassoon at the College of Music in Nürnberg.

Russian pianist Denis Kozhukhin is considered one of the most promising talents of the young generation. He attracted major attention from the public and critics in 2010 when at the age of twenty-three he won the prestigious Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels. His playing is often called a combination of extraordinary technical mastery, penetrating musical intelligence, and expressive maturity. He is a frequent guest of important musical events like the Verbier Festival and the Progetto Martha Argerich, and has already appeared as soloist in many famous venues—the Hercules Hall in Munich, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, and London’s Wigmore Hall. Last season he performed with the Chicago Symphony, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, and many other ensembles. In 2015 he signed an exclusive recording contract with Pentatone.

In addition to the above, other outstanding soloists will be introduced: Martina Bačová - violin, Karel Untermüller - viola, Hana Baboráková - violoncello, Michaela Fukačová - violoncello, Petr Valášek - clarinet, Štěpán Kratochvíl - double bass, Joaquín Riquelme García - viola