Wiener Musikakademie

VIOLIN - CHAMBER MUSIC

Barna Kobori was born in Kronstadt (Brasov, Romania). He has lived in Vienna since 1986 and became an Austrian citizen in 1988.
Barna began his violin studies at the age of five, and graduated from the music college in Cluj (Romania) in 1984. Following his graduation he became a member of the Brasov Philharmonic Orchestra, where he worked for two years. During this time he appeared as a soloist together with the orchestra and also performed at numerous recitals.
From 1987 until 1992 he studied at the Vienna University of Music with Prof. Günter Pichler (Alban Berg Quartet).
In 1987 Barna became a member of the Vienna Chamber Orchestra. He became an orchestra soloist in 1996. During this time he worked with great artists including Philippe Entremont, Sir Yehudi Menuhin, Sándor Végh, Sir Neville Marriner, Heinz Holliger and took part in many tours in Europe, USA, Japan and South America.
Since June 1998 Barna has been an associate of the Royal College of Music in London.
Barna was a chamber music lecturer at the Spanish Youth Orchestra JONDE as well as at the Jeunesse Camping in Salzburg.
In 1998 he formed the aron quartett together with Ludwig Mueller, Georg Hamann and Christophe Pantillon. The quartet made its debut in Vienna during the year of its foundation, and was highly acclaimed by press and public alike. Since then, the quartet has developed a wide-ranging repertoire – also in collaboration with Heinz Holliger, Heinrich Schiff and members of the Amadeus, LaSalle and Alban Berg quartets.
The aron quartett has performed together with artists such as Bruno Canino, Philippe Entremont, Elisabeth Leonskaja, Oleg Maisenberg, Wenzel Fuchs, Sharon Kam, Daniel Ottensamer and members of the Alban Berg quartet.
A busy concert schedule has so far taken the aron quartett through Europe, the USA, Mexico and Japan and to renowned festivals (Viennese Festival Weeks, international String Quartet Festival in Prague, Biennale di Venezia, Schoenberg Festival, “Klangbogen” Festival, Cervantino Festival, Kuhmo Festival, Stresa Festival, Enescu Festival, Carinthischer Sommer etc.). In 2001, the aron quartett made its debut at the Carnegie Hall in New York, and in 2002 at London’s Wigmore Hall and the Tchaikovsky Conservatoire in Moscow. In 2004, they made their debut at the Vienna Musikverein, where in 2007 they performed Korngold’s complete string quartets and his piano quintet in a four-part cycle. In 2008, the aron quartett founded the Laudon Castle Chamber Music Festival (Kammermusikfestival Schloss Laudon).
CD recordings include string quartets by Franz Schubert (“Rosamunde” and “Death and the Maiden”, Preiser Records 90549) and a CD box with Arnold Schoenberg’s complete works for string quartet (Preiser Records 90572) for which the aron quartett received the Pasticcio Prize. The international press acclaimed this CD as one of the best recordings of 20th century chamber music. The outstanding interpretation and technical excellence of these recordings not only demonstrate the aron quartett’s exceptional competence but also set new standards. Cascavelle has released the piano quintets by Dvorak and Frank in a recording with Philippe Entremont. For the German label cpo the quartet has recorded the complete string quartets by Erich Wolfgang Korngold as well as the piano quintet with Henri Sigfridsson and in March 2010 the CD (“Paris-Vienne-Moscou 1910 - 2010”) has been released bv Preiser Records. In 2013 cpo published a second CD with works by Korngold (string sextet with Th. Selditz and M. Diaz & Suite op. 23 with H. Sigfridsson) and in 2014  the Kammermusikfestival Schloss Laudon released a recording with works by Schubert, Eisler, Shostakovitch and Horovitz. 

GESANG

The Russian bass Evert Sooster was born 1968 in St. Petersburg. He studied at the St. Petersburg Conservatory with Georgy Zastavny and at the Academy for Theatre with Alexander Kunizyn. In 1990 he came to Vienna in order to finish his studies at the famous Vienna Music Academy wich Kurt Equiluz, Charles Spencer, Margarita Lilowa and Curt Malm. From 1996 onwards he also attended several master classes with Evgeni Nesterenko, Inge Borkh and Irina Archipova. Private lessons with Simon Baddi, Vienna.
Evert Sooster has studied "Lied und Oratorium" in the class of Km,Sg. Prof. Kurt Equilutz and Prof. Charles Spencer Opera - class of Prof. Wolfgang Gabriel and Prof. Kurt Malm.
Within the last years Evert Sooster had a number of engagements in well known opera houses like the Wiener Kammeroper (Trulove / THE RAKES PROGRESS and Simone / GIANNI SCHICCI), the Schwetzinger Festspiele (Masetto / DON GIOVANNI), the Hungarian National Opera House (Leporello / DON GIOVANNI and Philipp II / DON CARLO), the Opera North in Leeds (Arquell /PELLEAS ET MELISANDE), the Opera Marseille (Vanuzzi /DIE SCHWEIGSAME FRAU), the Opera Helsinki (Enrico / ANNA BOLENA) and at the Teatro San Carlo Napoli to sing Abimelech in SAMSON AND DALLILA by C. Saint-Saens.
Furthermore in 2002 he was guest at the Salzburger Festspiele, singing König in DIE LIEBE DER DANAE by Richard Strauss and in 2003 singing Philisters / SAMSON & DALILA – with Placido Domingo. Later he sang at the Opernhaus Passau the part of Phillip / DON CARLO and Fiesco / SIMON BOCCANEGRA, at Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden the title role in BORIS GODUNOW and Colin / LA BOHEME, at Theater Rostock König Treff in Sergej Prokofieff’s THE LOVE FOR THE THREE ORANGES and Kaspar / Eremit in Weber’s DER FREISCHÜTZ at the Festival of Reinsberg/Austria.
Since the season 2007/08 Evert Sooster is member of the opera ensemble of Landestheater Niederbayern where he sang Don Basilio / IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA, Fürst Gremin / EUGEN ONEGIN, Orovesco / NORMA. Future parts are Delaqua / EINE NACHT IN VENEDIG, Lodovico in Verdi’s OTELLO and Publio / LA CLEMENZA DI TITO.
In spring 2010 he performed as Mephestopheles in Berlioz’s LA DAMNATION DE FAUST in Budapest, Zagreb and Ljubljana. With this role Evert Sooster has ended his work at the Niederbayerisches Landestheater in June 2011. Since that time he is acting as a freelance artist at diverse european opera theatres. So he was singing Truffaldino in ARIANDNE AUF NAXOS by Richard Strauss, Surin in DAME PIQUE by Tschakowsky at the Theatre of Freiburg, Il saccerdotte in ASSASSINO NELLA CATTEDRALE by Ildebrando Pizzetti in the Duomo di Milano a.o.
In the current season 2013/2014 Evert Sooster is singing again at the opera of Freiburg. He is there with following rolles : Procida in I VESPRI SICILIANI by Giuseppe Verdi, Yunus Güner – Sibels Father in GEGEN DIE WAND by Ludger Vollmer, Talpa in Il TABARRO by G.Puccini.
In November 2013 Evert Sooster has sang in MESSA DA REQUIEM by Giuseppe Verdi, first in the Münster Church of Herford and at the folowing recital at the Regentenbau Hall in Bad Kissingen.
In his present career Evert Sooster performs with well known conductors and directors including Valerij Gergiev, Fabio Luisi, Ivor Bolton, Thomas Hengelbrock, Yoram David, Johannes Prinz, Achim Freyer and Ivo Guerra.
Besides his opera-roles Evert Sooster gave numerous recitals and he is also a frequent soloist at various concert halls.

COMPOSITION

Barbara Mayer (born in Schwabmünchen, Southern Germany) received her first piano lessons at the age of 5, already showing a great talent for improvising and composing at such an early age. At age 14, she made her piano debut in the “Concert for Young Talents of the Region of Augsburg”, where she performed Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy’s Piano Concerto n. 1 in G minor.
She pursued her musical studies in composition, piano, and piano pedagogy, at the Universities of Music Mozarteum Salzburg and Anton-Bruckner-Universität Linz with Prof. Adriana Hölszky, Prof. Cordelia Höfer-Teutsch and Prof. Dr. Margit Haider-Dechant.

In 2008/09 Barbara Mayer was awarded a scholarship by the OEAD (Austrian Academic Exchange Service), which allowed her to further her education in composition studies at the Escola Superior de Musica de Lisboa in Lisbon, Portugal.

A year later, in 2010, the Philharmonic Orchestra of the City of Augsburg commissioned her with the composition of an orchestral work inspired by themes of Richard Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde”. Her project culminated in March 2011 with the premiere of her concerto “Tristanesk” for piano, percussion and orchestra, performed by Barbara Mayer herself and the Philarmonic Orchestra of Augsburg.

After successfully completing both her Bachelor and Master studies with the highest honours, she is currently working on her PhD in Musicology at Mozarteum University in Salzburg.

She has continued to follow her artistic impulses in a wide array of Masterclasses and composition seminars, such as Vienna Master Classes, Masterclasses “Jeunesses Musicales” Weikersheim in Germany, Sommercampus Hochschule für Musik Rostock, Allegro Vivo International Chamber Music Festival Horn in Lower Austria, and Festival-Estival Annecy in France, taught by highly acclaimed composers and pianists of the likes of Anatol Ugorsky, Alexander Jenner, Filippo Faes, Konstantin Bogino, Marialena Fernandes, Roger Muraro, Masaaki Hirasawa, Klaus Huber, Ruth Zechlin, Theo Brandmüller, among others.

Throughout her career, a great number of prestigious institutions have recognized Barbara Mayer’s talent with their scholarships, namely the International Richard Wagner Foundation for the Bayreuth Festival, the OEAD, the Mozarteum University and the Federal Ministry of Science and Research.
 
Her accomplishments in piano and composition competitions include but are not limited to:
1st Prize for Piano in the “International Music Competition Paul Harris”, Verbania (Italy);
1st Prize (“Most distinguished”) in the International Composition Competition and 1st Prize in the International Piano Competition of the “Ibla Grand Prize World Music Competition”, Ragusa/New York (Italy/USA) ;
Special Distinction for her piano composition of Franz Liszt’s “Paraphrase de Rigoletto“ with improvisation sections (selected for its potential performance in Carnegie Hall during the winners` concert tour);
String Quartet Award for her “3 Miniatures for String Quartet“ in the Mozarteum Composition Competition, including the performance of her piece by the prestigious Austrian Ensemble for Contemporary Music (OENM).

Barbara Mayer is also the first female winner of the Young Artists’ Award for Composition of the City of Augsburg in their 50 years of history. The jury remarked:
“Barbara Mayer shows an astounding professionalism in her compositions, and proves to have the necessary confidence to sucessfully navigate the current state of affairs in composition. She effortlessly combines structural clarity with a wide range of subtle tonalities, creating  great atmospheric density as well as intense, sensuous sound experiences. In her work she succeds in reconciling elements percieved as irreconciliable, and bridges the gaps between styles and genres, bursting with ideas and expressivity. Her eagerness to experiment shows her outstanding talent to integrate non-musical methods and elements. We foresee a sensational artistic career ahead of her.”

Barbara Mayer’s compositional Œuvre consists of solo works for various instruments, chamber music (with and without vocals), electronic pieces and compositions for orchestra.

Her compositions have already been performed both by herself on piano and by prominent orchestras and ensembles on festivals like “Young Generation Festival of ZKM Karlsruhe, Germany; the 50th Electronic Studio Festival of Mozarteum University; the Event and Concert Series “Retrospektiv und aktuell“ H2 Centre for Contemporary Art Augsburg, Festival-Estival Annecy in France, among many others.

Concerts, commissioned works, composition performances and musicological activities in Austria and abroad in France, Italy, Portugal, Germany, Czech Republic, Brazil etc. endorse her musical career.

VOICE

Ksenija Kovacic was born in Varazdin, Croatia.
After having finished her diploma at the Music Academy in Zagreb, she started her Master studies at the Music University in Graz (Singing, Lied, Oratorium and Opera) and completed them. Appearances followed at Graz Opera, Opera house of music and theatre (MUMUTH), Theatre im Palais Graz, Musikverein für Steiermark and as well at the Music Biennale Zagreb.
On stage she sang for instance Pamina (Die Zauberflöte), Susanna (Le nozze di Figaro), Gretel (Hänsel und Gretel), Badi` at (L´ Upupa), Prinzess Schlafittchen (Das Traumfresserchen), Marie (Die verkaufte Braut), erste Dienerin and Solo voice (Frau ohne Schatten).
She also took part in the world premiere of Mauro Montalbetti`s opera "Lies and sorrow" with the leading part of Donna 1 at the event of "Steirischer Herbst".
Recitals with classic and modern music she sang in Croatia, Germany, Slovenia, Slowakia and Austria. She was price winner of the contest " Best of South East".