Alexander Melnikov completed his studies with Lev Naumov at the Moscow Conservatory, concentrating even from a very early age on historical performance practice. Today, this Russian pianist performs regularly with renowned early music ensembles such as the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, Musica Aeterna, the Academy for Ancient Music in Berlin and the Orchestre des Champs Elysées. He is equally a much sought after soloist with ensembles such as the Royal Concertgebouw, the Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig, the Philadelphia Orchestra, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, the Russian National Orchestra, the BBC Philharmonic and the NHK Symphony.  In addition, he has also worked with conductors such as Mikhail Pletnev, Paavo Järvi, Thomas Dausgaard and Valery Gergiev.

Melnikov‘s intensive involvement with chamber music is a vital facet of his work, typically with the cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras and his longtime duo partner Isabelle Faust. Their recording of the complete set of Beethoven violin sonatas, which has not only been nominated for a Grammy but which has also been awarded a Gramophone Award, is considered a reference recording. Melnikov’s recordings of Shostakovich’s op. 87 Preludes and Fugues have also been named by the BBC Music Magazine as one of the most important recordings of all time. Since 2017/18, Alexander Melnikov’s ›The Man with the Many Pianos‹ project has presented a programme played on various historical instruments and which reflects the styles of the respective periods. A highlight of the 2018/19 season is his residency at London’s Wigmore Hall.

Jérémie Rhorer is one of the most versatile and intellectually ambitious conductors of his generation. As the founder and Artistic Director of the orchestra Le Cercle de l’Harmonie, the Frenchman continues in the tradition of artist-innovator, exploring the repertoire of the 18th and 19th centuries using period instruments. A winner of the Prix Pierre Cardin, Rhorer is also a well-respected composer. For over 10 years, Jérémie Rhorer has developed a close relationship with the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, where he has conducted a broad spectrum of standard, rarely-performed and contemporary operas. Rhorer has also conducted some of the most distinguished international orchestras, including the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Gewandhausorchester, the Orchestre de Paris and the Czech Philharmonic.

In demand as an opera conductor, Rhorer has conducted performances at the Vienna State Opera, the Bavarian State Opera, the Teatro Real in Madrid and the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma and has also guest conducted at some of Europe’s most prestigious international festivals. Highlights of the current season include his debuts with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Bordeaux-Aquitaine and at the Opernhaus Zürich with a new production of Offenbach’s seldom-performed opera Barkouff. In recent years, Jérémie Rhorer and Le Cercle de l’Harmonie have initiated an innovative residency at Le Grand Théâtre de Provence in Aix-en-Provence, which includes an educational programme dedicated to new audiences. The exciting conductor enjoys a long-standing collaboration with The Deutsche Kammer­philharmonie Bremen.