Classical Master Classes

Barbara Doll performs in the international music scene both as a soloist and as a chamber musician. Since 2014 she is professor of violin at the Music Academy in Basel, Switzerland, having hold a similar position at the University of the Arts in Bern since 2004. 

Barbara has given concerts at such venues as the Wigmore Hall and the Barbican in London, the Philharmonie in Berlin, the Gasteig in Munich and the Auditorio Nacional in Madrid, as soloist e.g. with the English Chamber Orchestra and the European Union Chamber Orchestra. A passionate chamber musician both as violinist and violist she is a regular guest at Chamber Music festivals such as the Schleswig Holstein Festival, Steven Isserlis’ Chamber Music Festival Prussia Cove or the Ravinia Festival, USA, partnering artists as Miriam Fried, Homero Francesch, Heinz Holliger, Patricia Pagny, Silke Avenhaus, Adrian Oetiker, Filippo Gamba, Christopher Hinterhuber, Nicolas Altstaedt, Natalie Clein, Dieter Flury and Dimitri Ashkenazy.

For nearly 20 years Barbara has formed a duo with the pianist Cristina Marton- Argerich. Their interpretations of both mainstream and rarely performed repertoire have been internationally acclaimed for their personal and authentic approach. Since 2014 Barbara is a member of the ARIA String Quartet.

Barbara Doll was born near Munich. She was taught by Ana Chumachenko in Munich, Thomas Zehetmair and Thomas Brandis in Berlin and David Takeno in London. Masterclasses with Sandor Vegh, Ivry Gitlis and Gyorgy Kurtag had an important impact on her. 
Barbara is a laureate of the International Schubert Competition Graz, winner of the Schubert Prize, and of the Kuhmo International Duo Competition, Finland. 

Barbara Doll has been guest leading and directing prestigious chamber orchestras such as the English Chamber Orchestra, the European Union Chamber Orchestra, the Basle Chamber Orchestra, the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, the Kammerphilharmonie Amadé, the Ensemble Resonanz and the German Kammerakademie Neuss. For nearly twenty years she has been playing in the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, often under Claudio Abbado and Nikolaus Harnoncourt.

Barbara is regularly invited to give masterclasses and coach orchestra academies. Recent and upcoming engagements include Villa Musica Mainz, Künstlerhaus Boswil, Hindemith Foundation Blonay, the Aurora Chamber Music Festival Sweden, the Teatro del Lago Chile.

Since 2006 she is president of the ESTA ( European String teachers’ Association) Switzerland.
 

Her career has taken Silvia Simionescu, an internationally renowned violist, to concert stages around the world. She has performed in major music centers, including the Chatelet in Paris, the KKL in Lucerne, the Alte Oper in Frankfurt, the Casals-Hall in Tokyo, the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, the Beethovenhalle in Bonn, and the Marinskij Theater in St. Petersburg, in the Tonhalle Zurich and the Victoria Hall in Geneva. With her extraordinarily intense and intelligent interpretations, she inspired her audience.

Born in Romania, Silvia Simionescu started playing the violin at the age of six. She studied violin and viola at the International Music Academy Yehudi Menuhin in Switzerland with Yehudi Menuhin, Alberto Lysy and Johannes Eskaer. Her encounter with Ferenc Rados, the extraordinary pianist and teacher, had a formative influence on her musical development.

As a passionate chamber musician, she has been able to broaden her musical experience through exchanges with renowned musicians such as Alberto Lysy, Joshua Bell, Carolin Widmann, Léon Fleischer, Alexandr Lonquich, Ilya Gringolts, Ana Chumacenco, Jürg Wittman and Christian Poltera. Since 2009, as a member of the Gringolts Quartet, she has been exploring the masterpieces of string quartet literature.

Since 2004, Silvia Simionescu has been a professor for viola and chamber music at the FHNW Music Academy in Basel, Switzerland, and regularly gives master classes in Germany, India, Switzerland and Spain

Silvia Simionescu plays a viola by Giacomo Gennaro, Cremona, from 1660.

With his first prize win in December 2000 at the International Geneva Competition, Rafael Rosenfeld firmly established his reputation as one of Europe’s most exciting cellists. He toured Europe as a soloist including performances with orchestras like the SWR Stuttgart, the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, the Rotterdam Philharmonic in the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Tonhalle Orchestra, Zürich, the Orchestra de la Suisse Romande, the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra, the Radio Orchestra of Lugano, the Austrian Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Zürich Chamber Orchestra.

In addition to his success at the Geneva competition, Rafael Rosenfeld won numerous other prizes and awards at national and international competitions including third prize at the International ARD competition in Munich, a special prize at the International Jost competition in Lausanne and the highest award at the 1997 Migros Chamber Music Competition. In 1990 he was selected to represent Switzerland at the Eurovision competition in Vienna and in 1994 he was a finalist at the Tchaikowsky Competition in Moscow. He has made numerous radio and television appearances.

Rafael Rosenfeld received his musical education at the Zürich Conservatory and the Lübeck College of Music where his cello professors were Walter Grimmer and David Geringas respectively. Further inspiration came through world-acclaimed musicians like András Schiff, Steven Isserlis, Sandor Végh, Bernard Greenhouse, Ralph Kirschbaum, Menahem Pressler and György Kurtág.

Rafael Rosenfeld has followed invitations to important festivals such as the Lucerne Festival, the Ittinger Whitsun Concerts, Young Artists in Concert, Davos, the Interlakner Festwochen, Zürcher Festspiele and Open Chamber Music Prussia Cove. In 1995 Rafael Rosenfeld became the principal cellist of the Zürich Tonhalle Orchestra, and the ensemble's youngest member. In addition he is a member of Andras Schiff's chamber orchestra Cappella Andrea Barca.

Chamber music plays a cental role in Rafael Rosenfeld's musical life. For many years he performed as cellist of the Rosenfeld Trio and later was invited to join a trio with the violinist Gabor Takács-Nagy, former first violin of the Takács quartet, and the pianist Dénes Vârjon. Since 2002 his focus has been on exploring the string quartet literature with the Merel Quartet.

Rafael Rosenfeld is a professor of cello at the Basel Music Academy.