Compétition > Jury

Goran Končar

violin - Zagreb Quartet
Croatia

Goran Končar, one of the most prominent Croatian violinists, born 1954, studied at the Zagreb Music Academy in the classes of Martin Borić and Josip Klima. He achieved his M.A. degree in the class of Leonid Kogan at the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow. He continued his musical training with Max Rostal in Bern and Henryk Szeryng in Geneve. Then he continued studying under Yfrah Neaman in London to become his assistant at the Guildhall School of Music in the period 1981 – 1983.

He started his international soloist career in 1982, undertaking guest tours in most European countries, the USA, Japan and Israel.
In the period from 1984 to 1994 he was concert master of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London, the Croatian Radio & Television Symphony Orchestra and the Zagreb Philharmonic. He also performed in many concerts with eminent orchestras and conductors throughout the world.
Končar is the recipient of many first and special awards at numerous national competitions in the country, as well as the Music Life award in Moscow (1980) for the performance of the Concerto for the Violin and Orchestra by Dmitri Shostakovich, the first prize at the International Competition in Bratislava (1984) and other top acknowledgments. The long list of his awards includes the outstanding Vladimir Nazor Award (2006).
Končar’s first disc was published in 1984 by EMI in London, and he has also recorded for the BBC, CBS, France Musique, HRT and other radio and television stations. Croatia Records published one of the rare integral performances of Eugène Ysaÿe’s solo violin sonatas.
From 1987 to 2012 he directed the Zagreb Quartet and for the quarter of the century he embedded his skill and art into the existence of this oldest chamber ensemble, not only in Croatia but in Europe as well. The Zagreb Quartet was established as far back as 1919, and for the period of almost a century it was a basis of the tradition of chamber music-making in Croatia; in this tradition Goran Končar is certainly one of the pivotal personalities. During this period he appeared in more than 2,000 concerts, and under his guidance the Zagreb Quartet had more than 1,000 performances, appearing on all continents in best known world concert halls, and cooperated with a large number of Croatian and foreign soloists. Končar also played the majority of first performances of works composed by Croatian composers written for the strings quartet, and he also published 15 albums. What should not be forgotten is the fact that the Quartet had to find a solution for their working space as a crucial problem. In the year 2007, supported by the City of Zagreb, the Zagreb Quartet was granted their own studio in 31 Ilica Street. Under Končar’s guidance the Zagreb Quartet performed all quartets composed by Shostakovich, Mozart, Prokofiev, Janáček, the majority of Haydn’s quartets and all quintets.

Kyril Zlotnikov

cello - Jerusalem Quartet
Israël - Portugal

Born in Minsk, Belarus to a family of professional musicians, Kyril Zlotnikov began his studies at the Belarusian State Music Academy with Prof. Vladimir Perlin. He continued his studies in Israel with Prof. Uzi Wiesel and Hillel Zori, completing his musical education under the direction of Prof. Michael Khomitzer in Jerusalem Rubin Academy of Music and Dance.
While a student, Kyril Zlotnikov participated in master classes and courses with such prominent musicians as Isaac Stern, Yo-Yo Ma, Natalia Gutman, Boris Pergamenschikow, Aldo Parisot and Georgy Kurtag. Since 1991 Kyril Zlotnikov was a recipient of a scholarship from the America- Israel Culture Foundation, won prizes in many contests including the Clairmont Competition, the Braun-Roger Siegl Competition, the Pierre Tarcali Prize.

He is a founding member of the recognised for its artistic creativity, one of the most dynamic and exciting quartets currently performing - The Jerusalem Quartet. The musicians have been giving multiply performances all over the world and become the Israel's leading string quartet. Since 2002 till 2020 the Jerusalem Quartet has recorded exclusively for Harmonia Mundi. From 2022 the Quartet records for BIS Records.

Along with his extensive chamber music appearances Kyril Zlotnikov has performed and been broadcast as a soloist with internationally renowned orchestras, such as the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra, the Ludwigsburg Symphony Orchestra, The Gulbenkian Orchestra, West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, Jerusalem Camerata and enjoys artistic collaboration with acclaimed conductors including Daniel Barenboim, Zubin Mehta, Lawrence Foster, Asher Fish, Simone Young. He has a wide repertoire covering the important cello works of the baroque, the classical period, romantic and the contemporary music.
Kyril Zlotnikov is a regular guests at major chamber music festivals such as the Proms Festival, Verbier Festival, Vancouver, Gstaad, Salzburg, Rheingau, Ravinia, Schleswig-Holstein, the Jerusalem and the Schwetzingen Festivals among others. 

A keen recitalist and chamber musician, Zlotnikov has shared the stage with the foremost artists of today such as Daniel Barenboim, András Schiff, Elisabeth Leonskaja, Pierre Boulez, Elena Bashkirova, Mitsuko Uchida, Natalia Gutman, Tabea Zimmerman, Miriam Fried, Michael Tree, Asher Fish, Nikolaj Znaider, Lang Lang, Itamar Golan, Martin Fröst.

Kyril Zlotnikov has served as a jury member for several international competitions, including the 2016 ARD International
Music Competition in Munich, 2018 Melbourne International Chamber Music Competition, 2022 Wigmore Hall International String Quartet Competition.

From 2001 till 2012 Kyril Zlotnikov was a principal cellist and a teacher of the cello group at the "West- Eastern Divan Orchestra" under Maestro Daniel Barenboim. He also frequently took part in special projects and tours of the Berlin Staatskapelle Orchestra as a principal cellist. 

Among many recordings with the Jerusalem Quartet, Zlotnikov has recorded the complete Mozart piano trios with Maestro Daniel Barenboim and violinist Nikolaj Znaider. The two CDs were released by EMI in April 2006.
Since 2020, Kyril is an ambassador for Jargar Strings. Kyril Zlotnikov plays an Amati Brothers cello made in Cremona, circa 1610 which is on loan from a Charitable Trust. 

Luc-Marie Aguera (unavailable)

violin - Ysaÿe Quartet
France

Marie Chilemme

viola - Ebène Quartet
France

Mihaela Martin

violin - Michelangelo Quartet
Romania

The Romanian-born artist Mihaela Martin is one of the most outstanding violin virtuosos of her generation. Her father gave her her first violin lessons when she was five years old. She later studied with Stefan Gheorghiu, who was himself a pupil of George Enescu and David Oistrakh.

At the age of 19, Mihaela Martin won second prize in the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, which was followed by further main prizes in Montreal, Sion and Brussels. Being awarded first prize in the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis launched her international career. She has performed with leading orchestras such as the BBC Symphony, the Royal Philharmonic and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, as well as the Mozarteum Orchestra of Salzburg and the Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra. She has worked with conductors such as Kurt Masur, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Charles Dutoit and Neeme Järvi.

Chamber music has a very important place in Mihaela’s life In addition to participating in many chamber music festivals, she is a founding member of the Michelangelo String Quartet since 2003 with whom she performed in Carnegie Hall, Boulez Hall, Wigmore Hall, Library of Congress, Concertgebouw, Theatre de Champs Élysée.

Since 2017 she is artistic director of the Rolandseck Chamber music Festival.

Mihaela Martin is a professor at University of Music in Cologne , at the Barenboim-Said Academy in Berlin and at the Kronberg Academy.

She also gives masterclasses throughout the world and is a regular jury member at important international competitions such as the Queen Elisabeth (Belgium), Indianapolis (USA), Enescu (Romania) and Tchaikovsky (Russia).

Mihaela Martin plays a violin by J.G.Guadagnini that dates from 1748.

Niklas Schmidt

cello, Fine Arts Quartet, Fontenay Trio
Deutschland

Niklas Schmidt, cellist of the Fine Arts Quartet, first studied in Hamburg. Later, he worked in Cologne with the Amadeus Quartet and was a regular guest at the Menuhin Academy in Gstaad. He was a founding member of the internationally acclaimed Trio Fontenay, with whom he spent two decades as cellist.

The Trio Fontenay recorded virtually the complete piano trio literature for the Teldec, EMI, and Philips labels, and most of its recordings received international awards such as the Diapason d'Or and the German Record Award (for its recordings of the complete Beethoven Trios). Schmidt has also recorded the Beethoven Triple Concerto with the London Philharmonia Orchestra, cello sonatas by Schubert, Strauss, and Rachmaninoff, Preludes by Moscheles, and most recently, all of Bach's solo cello suites.

He has been a juror at international competitions in Hamburg, Melbourne, Reggio Emiglia (Borciani), Vienna and Lyon, and most recently, he chaired the Mendelssohn Competition in Berlin. He is also director of the International Mendelssohn Festival (IMF) in Hamburg. Schmidt has been Professor of Violoncello and Chamber Music in Hamburg since 1987 and regularly gives masterclasses all over the world. He plays on a Rogeri cello (Brescia) from the year 1700. For more information click here: http://niklasschmidt.com