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Born in Tel Aviv, cellist Daniel Mitnitsky trained for 17 years under his mentor, Zvi Harell. He studied at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music in Tel Aviv, the New England Conservatory in Boston in the classes of Paul Katz and Natasha Brofsky, and then at the International Menuhin Music Academy in Rolle, where he received guidance from Pablo de Naverán. He also had the privilege of working daily for nearly a month with the great musician Bernard Greenhouse.
Early on, Daniel received support from the ‘David Goldman Outstanding Young Musicians Program’ of the Jerusalem Music Centre and the America-Israel Cultural Foundation. Since then, he has won numerous awards and scholarships, including the ‘Rachel and Dov Gottesman Cello Prize’ from the Aviv Competition, the ‘Dan Ben-Bassat Scholarship,’ and First Prizes in Concerto and Chamber Music from the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music.
Chamber music quickly became his preferred means of expression. During his studies in Boston, he immersed himself in the string quartet repertoire and joined the ‘honors ensemble’ program.
In 2015, he moved to Europe to join the Aviv Quartet, with whom he performs in Europe, the USA, Israel, Canada, and South America. Last season, the quartet dedicated itself to Beethoven’s string quartets and performed the complete cycle during a series of concerts recorded by Swiss Radio and Television.
He has performed as a soloist and in chamber music at Victoria Hall in Geneva, the Tonhalle in Zurich, the KKL in Lucerne, the Rosey Concert Hall, the Muziekgebouw in Amsterdam, de Doelen in Rotterdam, Tivoli Vredenburg in Utrecht, the Tel Aviv Museum of Art, the Jerusalem Theatre, Jordan Hall in Boston, and the Lviv National Philharmonic.
He performs with the Menuhin Academy Soloists and has been invited to the prestigious Perlman Music Program, the Cello Biennale Amsterdam, the Gstaad Festival, and the Aspen Music Festival.
He has had the pleasure of sharing the stage with accomplished artists, such as Maxim Vengerov, Itzhak Perlman, Shani Diluka, and members of the Juilliard String Quartet, the Talich Quartet, and the Jacques Thibaud String Trio.
Also dedicated to orchestral repertoire, he led the cello section of the Menuhin Academy Soloists before joining the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne in 2017.
This 2020/2021 season, an Aviv Quartet recording dedicated to Schubert’s music, featuring the String Trio D. 581 and the Quintet D. 956, is being released on the Naxos label, as well as a recording titled ‘Live at Zentrum Paul Klee Bern’ with the ensemble ‘Tharice Virtuosi’ on Claves.
Daniel plays a 1856 Giuseppe Rocca cello, which is generously made available to him.
Born in 1998, Lukas Schwarz became a precollege student at the Musikhochschule Lübeck in the class of Troels Svane at the age of ten. In 2016 he started his studies at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy” in Leipzig in the class of Prof. Bruns, where he obtained his Bachelor’s degree in 2021 and his Master’s degree in 2023, both with the highest possible grade. He has taken part in masterclasses with David Geringas, Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, Jens-Peter Maintz, Jan Vogler, Stephan Forck and others.
Already at a young age, he gained attention by winning several 1st prizes at the National Youth competition Jugend musiziert, the 1st prize at the Lions Jugend Musikpreis and the 2nd prize at the international cello competition Antonio Janigro in Croatia. He was also awarded the “NDR Kultur Förderpreis” which involved a studio recording.
In 2011 Lukas Schwarz became a member of the National Youth Orchestra of Germany, touring through Europe and Asia and attending CD productions and radio recordings for the Deutsche Grammophon and German broadcasters. He received additional orchestral experiences at the Verbier Festival Junior Orchestra and as a member of Eroica Berlin, Orchester im Treppenhaus and junge norddeutsche philharmonie.
Lukas plays a cello by Carlo Tononi, Venice (c. 1720), generously loaned to him by the Beare’s International Violin Society.
Jens Peter Maintz enjoys an international reputation as soloist, chamber musician and teacher. Born in Hamburg, he studied with David Geringas and won First Prize at the 1994 ARD International Music Competition—the first cellist in 17 years to receive the award. He has appeared as soloist with orchestras including the Berlin Radio Symphony, Leipzig MDR Symphony, Stuttgart Radio Symphony, Den Haag Residentie Orkest and Tokyo Symphony, working with conductors such as Ashkenazy, Blomstedt, Janowski, Welser-Möst and McFerrin.
A former principal cello of the Deutsche Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Maintz has been principal cello of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra since 2006. He is also an acclaimed chamber musician, performing with Janine Jansen, Isabelle Faust, Hélène Grimaud, Antoine Tamestit and the Artemis, Carmina and Auryn Quartets. With Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, he founded the duo Cello Duello, celebrated at leading festivals worldwide.
His recordings include an ECHO Klassik–winning solo disc (Bach, Dutilleux, Kodály) and Haydn concertos with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen. Maintz is Professor of Cello at Berlin University of the Arts and the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía in Madrid. He plays the ‘Ex-Servais’ cello by Giovanni Grancino (1697).
Francesco Massimino is an Italian cellist based in Basel. He studied at the ‘G. Verdi’ Conservatory in Turin, then at the Stauffer Center for Strings with Antonio Meneses, before earning a Master’s degree in cello with highest honors at the Hochschule für Musik Basel, in the class of Thomas Demenga.
Massimino made his solo debut with the Orchestra Filarmonica di Torino and has since performed in Europe and Asia. Among his recent highlights: Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations with the Sinfonieorchester Basel (2023) and Beethoven’s Triple Concerto with the Evergreen Symphony Orchestra in Taipei (2024).
A passionate chamber musician, he is a founding member of Trio Concept (formerly Trio Chagall), awarded prizes in Trieste, Schoenfeld (2023), and at the Verbier Festival (2024). In 2025/26, the trio will embark on a European tour as an ECHO Rising Star.
He plays a cello by Gaetano Sgarabotto (L’Oro del Reno, 1948).
Yo Kitamura was born in Japan in 2004. He studies with Jens Peter Maintz at the Universität der Künste Berlin and with Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi at the Toho Gakuen College of Music, where he is a scholarship recipient. In 2024, he won first prize at the George Enescu International Competition and the Pablo Casals International Award. He also won first prize at the Johannes Brahms International Competition, second prize at the 2022 Khachaturian International Competition, and unanimously received first prize at the Tchaikovsky International Competition for Young Musicians in 2017. He made his orchestral debut at the age of nine, his recital debut at ten, and performed as a soloist at the Suntory Hall at the age of eleven. Yo has participated three times in the Kronberg Academy, including as a scholarship recipient in 2022. He has also attended masterclasses with renowned cellists such as Wolfgang Boettcher, David Geringas, Philippe Muller, Mischa Maisky and Steven Isserlis.
Jinseok Jeong was born in Budapest to a Korean family and began playing the cello at the age of five. At 11, he was admitted to the young talents program at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, where he studied with professors György Déri and István Varga. During these years, he won prizes at several international competitions, including the Antonio Janigro, David Popper, and Jan Vychtil competitions.
Italian-Portuguese cellist Luis Dias Canali grew up in Gran Canaria. He began playing the cello at the age of four with Alba Page in Las Palmas, before studying at the Feuermann Konservatorium in Kronberg, then at the École Normale de Musique de Paris, where he has been training with Henri Demarquette since 2021. He performs regularly in Europe, notably in Greece, Denmark, France, Portugal, and Germany, with solo appearances alongside the Orquesta IBF, the Sorbisches-National-Ensemble, and the Orquesta Filarmónica de Gran Canaria. In 2024, he participated in the Kronberg Cello Masterclasses and is currently continuing his studies with Frans Helmerson at the Stauffer Academy (2024/25 season). Joint winner of the 2nd prize and the AENA Special Prize at the Pablo Casals International Award 2024, he also won seven first prizes in the International Bach Festival, Stars-at-Tenerife, and Vatelot-Rampal competitions. He plays a cello by Thomas Bertrand.
Maxim Calver came to public attention as a finalist in the 2018 BBC Young Musician competition, where he performed with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra. Since then, he has appeared as a soloist with orchestras across the UK and Europe and has performed in leading venues such as Wigmore Hall, Konzerthaus Berlin, and the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, among others. As a chamber musician, he has performed at festivals such as the Pau Casals Festival, the Gstaad Menuhin Festival, IMS Prussia Cove, and the Kronberg Academy ‘Chamber Music Connects the World’ Festival, where he collaborated with Lawrence Power, Ante Weithaas, and Gidon Kremer. Maxim recently completed his studies at the Royal College of Music in London with Melissa Phelps, and from September, he will be an artist in residence at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel, where he will study with Gary Hoffman.
Pauline Boudon began learning the cello at the age of three in Lyon. She obtained her degree from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris with Jérôme Pernoo and is currently pursuing a master’s degree with Marc Coppey. A passionate chamber musician, she is a member of the Quatuor Citadelles and is also completing a master’s degree in piano trio. Pauline performs regularly with the Opéra de Paris and has appeared in numerous festivals, collaborating with musicians such as Ulf Wallin, Peter Bruns, Anne Gastinel, François Salque and the Quatuor Arod. She has participated in masterclasses with Valentin Erben, Corina Belcea, Frans Helmerson and others. She plays a cello by Benjamin Banks, dated 1786, generously loaned by Cordes en Partage.
Seungyeon Baik is currently pursuing a master’s degree at the Universität der Künste in Berlin, where she is studying with Jens Peter Maintz. She won first prize at the 2019 David Popper International Cello Competition, second prize at the Vienna Classic Strings and third prize at the Ars Classica Competition. In 2024, she was named a Villa Musica fellow and participated in the NDR Elbphilharmonie Academy. Seungyeon has performed at the Kronberg, Rutesheim, and Kirishima festivals, and has performed as a soloist with the Incheon Philharmonic Orchestra and the KBS Symphony Orchestra. She has participated in masterclasses with Miklós Perényi, Arto Noras, Frans Helmerson, Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, and Laurence Lesser.