Guest Artists

Mihaela Martin is a very versatile musician who has played the violin since she was five years old. Equally at home as a soloist and as part of a chamber ensemble, Martin has collaborated with musical greats such as Kurt Masur, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Sir Yehudi Menuhin, Martha Argerich, Radu Lupu, Leon Fleisher, and Menahem Pressler. Born in Bucharest, Romania, Martin began studying the violin under the guidance of her father, himself a violinist. Her talent soon became clear and she began to win national competitions. She went on to gain recognition outside of Romania, being awarded top prizes at major international competitions, such as the International Tchaikovsky Competition, the Montreal International Music Competition, the Queen Elisabeth Competition and the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis. Martin was both humanly and musically influenced by two outstanding musicians, who were her teachers at different stages of her musical development: Silvia Marcovici and the great pedagogue, Stefan Gheorghiu, with whom she studied for 10 years. She left Romania in 1986 and has since resided in Germany. She is a regular guest at many chamber music festivals, and pursues her intense love for chamber music as member of the Michelangelo String Quartet, which she helped found in 2003, and with whom she continues to tour extensively. Another of Martin’s great passions is sharing her musical knowledge and curiosity with the young generation of musicians, and following their development closely. She holds professorships at the Hochschule für Musik in Köln, Kronberg Academy, and at the Barenboim-Said Akademie.

Swedish cellist Frans Helmerson has performed with many of today’s finest conductors, including Seiji Ozawa, Colin Davies, Neeme Järvi, Evgeni Svetlanov, Esa-Pekka Salonen, Herbert Blomstedt, Sergiu Comissiona, Frübeck de Burgos, Kurt Sanderling and Mstislav Rostropovich. He has also toured with a number of major orchestras throughout Europe, the US, South America, Asia and Australia. Helmerson studied in Göteborg, Rome and London with Guido Vecchi, Guiseppe Selmi and William Pleeth. He also benefitted greatly from the guidance and support of Mstislav Rostropovitch. Helmerson’s love for chamber music led him to take the position as artistic director of the Korsholm Festival in Finland from 1994-2001. He frequently appears at a number of international festivals, such as Verbier, Prades, Naantali, Kuhmo and Ravinia. In 2002, he formed the Michelangelo String Quartet. He held a professorship at the Musikhochschule in Cologne and then moved on to his current positions as guest professor at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin, professor at the Kronberg Academy Masters and lecturer in cello at the Barenboim-Said Akademie. His recordings include concertos by Dvorak and Shostakovich, the Brahms Double Concerto with violinist Mihaela Martin, the Bach Solo Suites, and others.