Olga Scheps / Kuss Quartett MIECZYSLAW WEINBERG Piano Quintet

Olga Scheps was born in Moscow in 1986, the daughter of two pianists, and discovered the instrument for herself at the age of four. She began studying the piano more intensively after her family moved to Germany in 1992. At an early age she had already developed her own unique style of keyboard playing, which combines intense emotiveness and powerful expressivity with extraordinary pianistic technique. Among those who discovered these talents was Alfred Brendel, who has encouraged the young pianist. A holder of scholarships from the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben and Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes, she completed her studies with Professor Pavel Gililov in her adopted home of Cologne in 2013, passing her Concert Examination with Distinction. She rounded out her training with Professor Arie Vardi and Professor Dmitri Bashkirov.
Besides the well-known works for piano Olga Scheps’s repertory consists of compositions that are seldom heard in the concert hall, including the posthumous Études of Frédéric Chopin, Franz Liszt’s Malédiction, Olivier Messiaen’s Les Oiseaux exotiques, Antonín Dvořák’s Piano Concerto, Arvo Pärt’s "Lamentate", and Mieczysław Weinberg’s Piano 
Quintet.
Her solo recitals are as popular with audiences all over the world as her acclaimed appearances as soloist with orchestra and her chamber projects.

Kuss Quartet / Mojca Erdmann BRAHMS String Quartet No. 3 Op. 67 - Lieder SCHOENBERG String Quartet No. 2 Op. 10

With its unique approach to music-making, the Kuss Quartet ranks amongst the world's best-renowned ensembles. 

'Worlds away from shallow showmanship' its members constantly strive for interpretations of a 'revelatory nature', 'whose individuality (is derived) entirely from a deep and comprehensive exploration of the idiosyncrasies of each work.' (Frankfurter Rundschau) 

Deep understanding of a work takes time to mature - that is self-evident for the Kuss Quartet; as is the courage, borne of personal discoveries, to develop their passion for experimentation. This is what the Kuss Quartet has stood for since the beginning of its professional career in 2002. 

The two founder members, Jana Kuss and Oliver Wille (violin) have been travelling the same musical path for 25 years. Together with their colleagues William Coleman and Mikayel Hakhnazaryan, they are pioneers of a concept-based presentation of chamber music, which reveals new musical perspectives and attracts a wide-ranging and cultured audience. 'Kuss Plus' -the ensemble's classical lounge series - has become legendary in its success, making its mark on the Berlin music scene and getting close to its audience, not only in the literal sense. However, even whilst performing in cult clubs, classical music remains the quartet's top priority.

Kim Kashkashian BETTY OLIVERO / TIGRAN MANSURIAN / EITAN STEINBERG Neharót

 Kim Kashkashian’s new album following her Spanish and Argentinian songs on "Asturiana"olç is a carefully composed prgramme addressing fascinating connections between three contemporary composers from Israel and Armenia. With five pieces respectively based on traditional laments of the Near East, Armenian chant and Hasidic melody, the focus is again on essentially vocal expressivenss. “What we hear in this music touches off resonances below the level of our acquired experience”, writes Paul Griffiths in his liner notes. “Singing these songs, in a hybrid register that embraces male and female, Kashkashian’s viola sings for us all.” Betty Olivero started work on “Neharót Neharót” under the impression of the suffering and pain caused by the war in Lebanon in 2006. Olivero’s hypnotic lament for viola, accordion, percussion, two string ensembles and tape draws on allusions to Kurdish and north African songs, traditional oriental music and Monteverdi. The instrument’s singing abilities come even more to the fore in Tigran Mansurian’s “Three Arias (Sung out the window facing Mount Ararat)” which articulate the Armenian people’s longing for the holy mountain beyond the border. “Rava Deravin” by Israeli Eitan Steinberg is based on a melody for a poem by one of the greatest traditional kabbalists and was first conceived in a version for voice and instrumental ensemble. According to the composer, Kashkashian “manages to cry the prayer from within the strings, to murmur the sacred text with no words”.