Zurich Ensemble
Biography Zurich Ensemble
Fabio Di Càsola
“His brilliant... unforgettable performance... can think of no higher praise…” –comments the critic of the Sunday Times on Fabio di Càsola’s SONY recording of Mozart’s concerto for clarinet and orchestra. And the Swiss music magazine ‚Musik&Theater’ states that „Without doubt, Fabio di Càsola is the number one among Swiss clarinetists“. In 1990, he was awarded First Prize at the renowned ‚Concours de Genève’. This success of the 23 year-old artist triggered a string of invitations to important international music festivals such as the Berliner Festspiele, the Evian Festival, and the International Chamber Music Festival at Lockenhaus. He has appeared as soloist with the Russian National Orchestra, the Prague Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the Musikkollegium Winterthur, the Orchestra delle Svizzera Italiana, the Lucerne Festival Strings and many other professional formations. He is also a member of several chamber music ensembles, artistic director of the „Klang-Musiktage at Meggenhorn Castle“ and holds a professorship at the Zürcher Hochschule der Künste. www.dicasola.com
Kamilla Schatz
„When Kamilla Schatz plays, she becomes one with her violin; she revels and sings….“ With these words, the Berliner Tagesspiegel hailed the debut of the Swiss violinist Kamilla Schatz at the Berliner Philharmonie in 2000. Since then she has appeared as soloist with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, the SWR Sinfonieorchester Freiburg/Baden-Baden, the Zürcher Kammerorchester, the Northern Sinfonia, the Winterthurer Stadtorchester, the Basler Sinfonieorchester and other professional orchestras. She has also performed as a chamber musician at the Berliner Festwochen, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival and the Lucerne Festival. Her former teachers include Françoise Zöldy-Pfister, Sándor Zöldy and Hatto Beyerle in Basel, Szymon Goldberg at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, and Lorand Fenyves in Toronto. While still a student, she received numerous recognitions and prizes, including top awards from the Migros-Genossenschaftsbund as well as the Kiefer Hablitzel Foundation. Since 2003, Kamilla Schatz has been acting as co-director of the highly successful Kulturfestival Resonanzen in St. Moritz. www.kamillaschatz.de
Pi-Chin Chien
Her busy international concert schedule includes performances with different chamber music groups as well as solo appearances with orchestras such as the Philharmonia Orchestra London, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra London, the National Symphony Orchestra Taiwan (NSO), the Zürcher Kammerorchester, and the Krakow Philharmonic She has given cello recitals and chamber music performances in many top concert halls including Carnegie Hall, the New York Lincoln Center, the Konzerthaus Berlin and the Tonhalle Zürich; plays as a regular member with several chamber music ensembles; and holds the position of solo cellist with the „Stradivari-Ensemble“. A native of Taiwan, she received her training with M. Stocker, C. Starck, M. Jerie und S. Apolin in Europe. After obtaining a “Soloist Diploma with distinction”, she continued her training with P. Fournier, M. Rostropowitsch, Yo-yo Ma and others. She has been a laureate at the Leonard Rose-Competition and the International Chamber Music Competition, Kerkrade, and has been awarded the Förderungs-Preis of the City of Zurich as well as the Edwin Fischer-Prize «Förderung junger Musiker» of the UBS. www.pichin.net
Benjamin Engeli
A laureate of numerous international music competitions, Benjamin Engeli has performed at prestigious concert venues such as the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Wigmore Hall London, Hamer Hall Melbourne, the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory, the Herkulessaal der Münchner Residenz and the Vienna Konzerthaus. In 2010, Solo Musica issued his highly acclaimed recording of Beethoven’s piano sonatas. Many of his appearances have been recorded for radio. His teachers included Adrian Oetiker, Homero Francesch, Lazar Berman, Andrzej Jasinski, Maurizio Pollini and Andràs Schiff. In addition to his activities as a soloist, he is a passionate chamber musician. He is a member of the Tecchler Trio, which received the First Prize at the 2007 ARD Music Competition in Munich, as well as of the Gershwin Piano Quartet which is currently on tour around the world. He also performs frequently with ad hoc chamber ensembles and is much in demand as an accompanist for Lieder recitals. In 2009 he accepted a professorship for chamber music at the Hochschule für Musik in Basel. The same year he was also awarded the Kulturförderbeitrag of the Cantons of Thurgau. www.benjaminengeli.com
