Slovak violinist Dalibor Karvay is often called a child prodigy: he began playing violin at the age of three and a half, then only four years later performed in a public concert, and while still a student at an elementary arts school made several recordings for Slovak Radio. When eight years old he won a Gold Prize in the Kocian International Violin Competition, and at the age of eleven he issued his first compact disc. He graduated from the conservatoires in Žilina and later in Vienna, where in 2002 he also won First Prize in a violin competition. He has performed in prestigious cultural events such as a concert in the Vatican in honour of Pope John Paul II, a benefit concert for the United Nations, and the Week of Slovak Culture in Spain. He concertizes regularly in Europe, both North and South America, and Asia. He also engages intensively in chamber playing, most often collaborating with soloists Radek Baborák, Julian Rachlin, and Boris Kuschnir.

Michaela Fukačová of Brno, one of the most outstanding Czech cellists of the present time, has performed as soloist in such major musical centres as London, Paris, Copenhagen, Berlin, New York, and Tokyo. Her career received an early boost from a quick succession of successes in prestigious competitions. She has won honours in the Prague Spring Competition, the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, and the competition in the Dutch city of Scheveningen among many other distinctions. After graduating from the Brno Conservatoire, Prague’s Academy of Performing Arts, and the soloist class of the Royal Conservatoire in Copenhagen, she further developed her talent in studies with legendary cellists. Most beneficial in her opinion have been her private lessons with Mstislav Rostropovich. She performs as soloist with many leading Czech, Slovak, and Scandinavian orchestras as well as with such famous ensembles as the Berlin Philharmonic, the NHK Orchestra of Tokyo, and the BBC Symphony, under numerous renowned conductors. The Czech Philharmonic invited her as a soloist for a tour of Japan on the occasion of that orchestra’s hundredth anniversary. Her recording of the cello concerto Six Realms by Peter Lieberson won a Gramophone Award in 2006 in the United States, and a year later in the same country was one of five recordings nominated for Best Classical Album of the Year. Ms. Fukačová plays an Italian instrument by Carlo Tononi from 1726.

Oboist Jana Brožková ranks among the foremost Czech performers of classical music today. After impressive performances already during her studies at the Prague Conservatoire and Prague’s Academy of Musical Arts, she attracted attention in 1983 through victory in the Concertino Praga International Competition, and in 1989 she was declared Absolute Victor as well as receiving a special prize in the Europäischer Musikpreis Competition in Zürich. In the Prague Spring Competition in 1991 she won Third Prize, before rounding out her competition triumphs in 1997 with First Prize in the IDRS Gillet Competition in Evanston, Illinois. For fifteen years she was first oboist in the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra, and since 2002 she has held the same position in the Czech Philharmonic. She appears regularly on Czech concert stages as a soloist and a member of chamber ensembles. With the Afflatus Quintet she won the prestigious First Prize in the ARD Competition in Munich in 1997. Since 1999 she has also been serving as a pedagogue at the Academy of Performing Arts. In addition she is a frequent member of juries in both domestic and international performance competitions.

A native of Berlin, oboist Clara Dent graduated from the Mozarteum in Salzburg and earned her master’s diploma at the Academy of Music in Munich. She has won honours in many international performance competitions including the ARD Competition in Munich. She collaborates as a soloist with many important European orchestras, such as the Bavarian Radio Symphony, the Bach Collegium of Munich, the Camerata Academica of Salzburg, the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra, the Berlin Radio Symphony, and the Polish Chamber Philharmonic, and appears regularly in international music festivals in many countries of Europe, including the Berliner Festwochen, the Bach-Festwochen in Thun, and the Chamber Music Festival in Maribor. Since 1999 she has been principal oboist in the Berlin Radio Symphony. She shared in a recording of concertos by Johann Sebastian Bach on the Tacet label.

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.

One of the most successful Czech contrabassists, Štěpán Kratochvíl was born in Prague where he studied double bass at the conservatoire from 1989 to 1995 under the guidance of the outstanding pedagogue and composer Václav Fuka. After graduating he continued his education through 1997 at the College of Arts in Berlin with Rainer Zepperitz, first contrabassist of the Berlin Philharmonic. During the next two years he played with a fellowship in the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra, and from 2000 to 2002 he had a fellowship from the Herbert von Karajan Foundation in association with Berlin Philharmonic under the guidance of that orchestra’s principal bassist Esko Laine. He has been a member of the contrabass section of the Munich Philharmonic since 2003, and since 2006 also of the Festival Orchestra in Lucerne.

In addition to the above, other outstanding soloists will be introduced: Martina Bačová - violin, Daishin Kashimoto - violin, Joaquín Riquelme García - viola, Karel Untermüller - viola, Hana Baboráková - violoncello, Shirley Brill - clarinet, Radek Baborák - French horn, Kateřina Javůrková - French horn, Mikuláš Koska - French horn, Jan Vobořil - French horn, Tomáš Františ - bassoon, Ondřej Roskovec - bassoon, Jan Brabec - clarinet, Denis Kozhukhin - piano