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Cellist LiLa began her musical journey at the age of seven under the guidance of Professor Min Cao in Shanghai. In 2016, she transitioned to the Juilliard School Precollege division where she studied with Professors Richard Aaron and Sieun Lin. Since 2018, LiLa has continued her studies at Kronberg Academy with Frans Helmerson. She plays a 1690’s Giovanni Grancino Cello on loan through the Beare’s International Violin Society and has received numerous accolades, including first prizes in prestigious competitions such as the Osaka International Music Competition, ‘Antonio Janigro’ International Cello Competition, and the Tchaikovsky International Competition for Young Musicians. LiLa previously attended the Verbier Festival Academy in 2019 and has collaborated with esteemed orchestras such as Anima Musicae Chamber Orchestra, Prague Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and Orchestra Sinfonietta di Roma under conductors including Christoph Eschenbach and Valery Gergiev. As a chamber musician, she has shared the stage with artists including Steven Isserlis, Christian Tetzlaff, and Gidon Kremer.
From a very young age, Raphaël Merlin displayed an innate desire for diversity in music. Cello, piano, piano-jazz, writing, composition, analysis, conducting, orchestration, chamber music, arrangement, teaching … each of these disciplines generating an intense musical activity.
He began his musical training at the CNR of Clermont and quickly developed a love of polyphony and improvisation, which will naturally lead him to jazz and his first compositions; sometimes escaping from his studies accompanying a choir to the guitar, writing a few songs, infiltrating a big band or even founding a quartet of jazz … Some composition contests later, his first diplomas in conservatory in the bag and 15 years old, he moved to Paris and contracted the virus of orchestra’s conducting. The teachings of Igor Kiritchenko, Xavier Gagnepain and Philippe Müller for the cello, Hortense Cartier-Bresson for chamber music and Janos Komives for the conducting, trained him to interpretation, and he brilliantly completed his studies at the CNSM in Paris in 2005.
Chamber music, initially practiced with his family growing up, occupies a central part in Merlin’s work today. This has intensified since joining the remarkable Quatuor Ebène in 2002. The Quartet garnered a First Prize in 2004 at the international ARD competition in Munich, and now performs regularly throughout Europe, the U.S. and Asia in such prestigious venues as the Berlin Philharmonie, Wigmore Hall in London, Konzerthaus Vienna, , the Library of Congress in Washington, Carnegie Hall in New York, Philharmonie, Châtelet and Champs-Elysées theatres in Paris… The Quartet counts amongst its esteemed advisors Gabor Takacs, Eberhard Feltz, Gyorgy Kurtag and Pierre-Laurent Aimard. Musical collaborators have included Mitsuko Uchida, Nicholas Angelich, Menahem Pressler, Natalie Dessay, Renaud Capuçon, Gary Hoffman, Martin Fröst, Michel Portal. The Mirare label produced two discs, devoted to Haydn and Bartok, before the quartet signed an exclusive deal with Virgin Classics (now Erato/Warner) : Debussy, Fauré and Ravel (Gramophone of the year), Brahms, Mozart, Mendelssohn quartet albums followed, along with several arrangements and self compositions albums : “Fiction”, “Brazil”, “Eternal Stories” (2017). Recently a Schubert record featuring Gautier Capuçon and Matthias Goerne (songs arranged by Raphaël Merlin) received the Choc by Classica and the Edison prize 2016.
The son of a French teacher and enthusiastic former pupil of Xavier Gagnepain, Raphaël is passionate about teaching, and maintains lasting links with his former and current pupils. Regular cello teacher at Boulogne-Billancourt Conservatory, he gives regular master classes in chamber music at the CNSM Paris, American Arts Schools in Fontainebleau, at Universities of Stuttgart, Freiburg, Houston and at the Colburn School in Los Angeles. Merlin also performs as soloist with the Tchaikovsky Conservatory Orchestra in Moscow, the Massy Orchestra, Sostenuto, Ut 5è, Orchestre d’Auvergne . He recorded Brahms trio, Fauré sonatas and trio, Hersant trio, a tango album “Café 1930”. He remains a prolific arranger of classical, Jazz, Tango, and traditional music arrangements. From 1997 to 2002 he was the pianist in the Wildflower Quartet, and still sometimes plays jazz concerts from the piano.
As a conductor, he has led the Orchestre du Lycée Racine, the Orchestre des lauréats du Conservatoire, the Ostinato orchestra, Opus 93. In 2014, he founded “Les Forces majeures”, a chamber musicians orchestra : this energetic and versatile ensemble (traditional repertoire, contemporary, jazz…) instantaneously got an international success for its Rossini recording (Aparté label) with famous mezzo-soprano Karine Deshayes, released in 2016. Concerts with Nicholas Angelich, Edgar Moreau, Sayaka Shoji, Sarah Nemtanu, Inva Mula, Florian Sempey, Amel Brahim-Jelloul, Marc Mauillon… got interest by the French radios such as Radio Classique, who broadcasted live a French program including Fauré’s Requiem at Invalides Cathedral. An album recorded with Les Forces Majeures and cellist Edgar Moreau, including Gulda and Offenbach’s Concertos, was released in December 2018 (Erato / warner classics label). He also recently conducted the Orchestre de l’Opéra de Rouen for the project “Création habitants”, shared with choreographer Alban Richard, director of the CCN de Caen.
In 2011 he received his first commission as a composer, a concerto for string quartet and orchestra, for Cracow and Munich, with the Ebène String Quartet and the Klangforum Mitte Europa. Cellist Nicolas Altstaedt created his duet for violin and cello (2014, Concertgebouw Amsterdam) and a cello and string concerto (Lockenhaus Festival 2016).
Hailed by Le Monde as belonging to ‘the French cello elite’ and by La Croix as ‘a young man who already ranks among the masters of the cello’, Christian-Pierre La Marca has, in the space of a few years, distinguished himself by his radiant presence in the world’s leading concert halls and his recordings, all of which have won awards. After making his debut in Aix-en-Provence, he studied in Paris with Jean-Marie Gamard and Philippe Muller, before continuing with Frans Helmerson in Cologne and Steven Isserlis in London. He rounded off his training with masterclasses under Mstislav Rostropovich, Heinrich Schiff, Anner Bylsma and Gary Hoffman, and benefited from the advice and encouragement of such musical personalities as Itzhak Perlman, Philippe Jaroussky, Thomas Quasthoff, Leif Ove Andsnes, Maria João Pires, the Artemis Quartett and Seiji Ozawa. His trajectory was crowned with success at international competitions in Osaka, Frankfurt and London (Philharmonia), and he has several times been invited to appear at the Victoires de la Musique Classique.
He maintains a highly active presence on the French and international scenes, and is a regular guest in the world’s major musical centres, from the Philharmonie de Paris to the Oji Hall in Tokyo, the Vienna Musikverein, the Southbank Centre in London, the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg, 92nd Street Y in New York, and the Verbier, Ravinia and Trondheim festivals, among others.
Christian-Pierre La Marca is much sought after by his colleagues and shares a varied repertory with a whole range of exceptional artists of all generations and every instrument and voice. He performs regularly as a duo with the pianist Lise de la Salle. In the concerto repertory, he appears as a soloist with the Philharmonia Orchestra, the London Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestre National de France, Sinfonia Varsovia, the Brussels Philharmonic and Les Siècles, but also with Le Concert de la Loge and Les Ambassadeurs. An ardent advocate of contemporary music, he collaborates with many composers, among them Jörg Widmann, Pēteris Vasks, György Kurtág, Thierry Escaich, Philippe Hersant and Nicolas Bacri. His particularly inventive discography reflects his special interest in the voice, his curios- ity for all types of music and his passion for the great works of the classical repertory. His recordings have invariably received unanimous acclaim from press and public alike. Cello 360 is his first album on the naïve label, with which he has signed an exclusive agreement.
Christian-Pierre La Marca is a socially committed artist who initiated the ‘Concert for the Planet’ with the GoodPlanet Foundation and Yann Arthus-Bertrand, a solidarity event intended to raise funds for the environment. He is also joint artistic director with his brother, the violist Adrien La Marca, of the Forez Festival in France, and teaches at cello masterclasses for the Philippe Jaroussky Music Academy at La Seine Musicale in Paris.
Born in Latvia, Mischa Maisky has the distinction of being the only cellist in the world to have studied with both Mstislav Rostropovich and Gregor Piatigorsky. Truly a worldclass musician and a regular guest at many major International Festivals, he has collaborated with the most outstanding conductors. His long and illustrious career has brought him many honours and awards, just some of which include: the 46th Istanbul Music Festival Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018, the title of Honorary Membership of the Royal Academy of Music in 2019, Accademico Onorario of the Accademia di Santa Cecilia and the Honorary Fellow Award of the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. Maisky’s recordings have enjoyed world-wide critical acclaim and have been awarded several prizes. In June 2021 a set of complete recordings on DG with over 40 CDs was released.
Of Bulgarian-Chinese heritage, Zlatomir Fung began studying the cello at the age of three, then leapt to international attention in 2019 as both the first American in four decades and the youngest musician ever to win First Prize at the International Tchaikovsky Competition Cello Division. Fung has since been fast establishing a reputation for boundless virtuosity, exquisite sensitivity and impeccable technique across the repertoire range, and also for his insight into contemporary repertoire. Further awards include a 2020 Avery Fisher Career Grant. At the beginning of the 2021/22 season, he made his recital debut at Carnegie Hall. Other season highlights include Bravo! Vail with violinist Joshua Bell and pianist Shai Wosner, and European recital tours performing in cities including Dresden, Ostrava, Rome, Florence and Turin. He plays an W.E. Hill and Sons cello from 1905.
Swedish cellist Frans Helmerson began his musical training with Guido Vecchi in Gothenburg before moving on to study with Giuseppe Selmi in Rome and William Pleeth in London. Sergiu Celibidache and his mentor Mstislav Rostropovich also played a very influential role in his artistic development. In 1971, he won the renowned Cassado Competition in Florence – the first of many distinctions. Tours have taken him to other countries in Europe as well as to Japan, Russia, South America, Australia, New Zealand and the USA.
Frans Helmerson plays with many well-known orchestras and receives outstanding critical acclaim for his concerts and recordings. His recording of Dvořák’s Cello Concerto with Neeme Järvi and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra was acknowledged as the “best recording currently available on the market”. His recording of Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No 1 is also highly praised.
Frans Helmerson’s love of chamber music is another important driving force in his musical endeavours. He is a regular guest at the major European festivals, including the Verbier Festival, the Pablo Casals Festival in Prades and the Ravinia Festival, and spent many years as the artistic director of the Umea-Korsholm International Chamber Music Festival. In 2002 he co-founded the Michelangelo String Quartet.
In addition to his career as a soloist, chamber musician and conductor, Frans Helmerson taught for several years as a professor at the conservatories in Cologne and in Madrid. From 2011 to 2016 he has been teaching as a guest professor at the Hanns Eisler School of Music in Berlin. 2016 saw him gain an additional professorship at the Barenboim-Said Akademie in Berlin. Frans Helmerson has been teaching on the Kronberg Academy Study Programmes as a principal professor since 2006. He plays a cello by Stefan-Peter Greiner.
Multi award-winning French cellist Gautier Capuçon is celebrated internationally for his expressive musicianship and exuberant virtuosity. His 2021/22 season includes invitations with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and Alain Altinoglu, the Cleveland Orchestra and Michael Tilson Thomas, and the Mariinsky and Valery Gergiev. He is Artist-in-Residence at the Paris Philharmonie as well as the Wiener Konzerthaus. Current new music collaborators include Lera Auerbach, Richard Dubugnon, Danny Elfman and Thierry Escaich. Committed to supporting young musicians, Capuçon founded the Classe d’Excellence de Violoncelle at Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris and is ambassador for the Orchestre à l’École association, featured during his annual French odyssey Un Été en France. He records exclusively for Erato (Warner Classics) and plays a 1701 Matteo Goffriller cello, ‘L’Ambasadeur’.