The violinist, viola player and composer Julian Rachlin counts as one of the most exciting and respected musicians of our time. Born in Lithuania, he moved to Vienna with his family in 1978, where he later studied at the Conservatory. After receiving the ›Young Musician of the Year‹ Award at the 1988 Eurovision Competition, Rachlin gave his debut as the youngest soloist with Riccardo Muti and the Vienna Philharmonic. Today, this violinist can look back on a number of appearances as soloist with some of the world’s leading conductors and orchestras including with Mariss Jansons and the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, with Riccardo Chailly and the Filarmonica della Scala and with Manfred Honeck and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra.

Last season’s highlights include the collaboration between Krzysztof Urbański and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, performances with Zubin Mehta and the Los Angeles Philharmonic and also with Valery Gergiev and the Mariinsky Orchestra. As a chamber musician and recitalist Julian Rachlin has performed with renowned artists such as Martha Argerich and Misha Maisky.  More recently, Julian Rachlin has also established himself as a highly regarded conductor, known for his dynamic style and lively interpretations. Julian Rachlin plays the ›ex Liebig‹ violin, made by Stradivarius in 1704, on loan from the Angelika Prokopp Private Foundation.

Jérémie Rhorer is one of the most versatile and intellectually challenging conductors of his generation. As founder and musical director of the orchestra Le Cercle de l’Harmonie, this French conductor is continuing artist-innovator tradition through his exploration of 18th and 19th century repertoire performed on historical instruments. He is also a renowned composer and winner of the Prix Pierre Cardin. For more than ten years, Jérémie Rhorer has developed a close relationship with the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, where he has conducted a wide range of standard, rarely performed and contemporary operas. Rhorer has also conducted major international orchestras such as the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Gewandhaus Orchestra, the Orchestre de Paris and the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra.

As a sought-after opera conductor, he has also conducted productions at the Wiener and Bayerische Staatsoper, the Teatro Real in Madrid and the Teatro dell’Opera di Roma and is regularly invited to Europe’s most prestigious festivals. Highlights of the current season include his debuts with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Bordeaux-Aquitaine and at Zürich Opera House with a new production of Offenbach’s rare opera ›Barkouff‹. In recent years, Rhorer and Le Cercle de l’Harmonie have initiated an innovative residency at the Grand Théâtre de Provence in Aix-en-Provence with an educational programme for new audiences. Jérémie Rhorer has been a regular guest at The Deutsche Kammer­philharmonie Bremen for years. Together they are currently working on a special Tchaikovsky cycle, which will be presented on tour in Germany and Europe this year and in the coming years.