András Czifra (viool) werd geboren in Budapest, Hongarije, en begon op zesjarige leefijd met vioolstudie aan de Staatsmuziekschool te Budapest. Op 13 jarige leeftijd emigreerde hij samen met zijn familie naar Nederland. Een jaar later werd hij toegelaten tot de vioolklas van Arthur Grumiaux aan het Koninklijk Conservatorium te Brussel en in 1974 behaalde hij zijn "Premier Prix" aldaar. Met zijn echtgenote Corine Touboul vormt hij een viool-piano duo sinds hun studie bij Herman Krebbers, Rostislav Dubinsky en Luba Edlina. Zij hebben talloze concerten gegeven in binnen- en buitenland en opgetreden voor radio en TV.

András Czifra treed ook regelmatig op in andere kamermuziek-formaties; zo heeft hij samengewerkt met Jean-Jacques Kantorow, Vladimir Mendelssohn, Walter Boeykens en vele anderen.

Als solist heeft hij opgetreden in binnen- en buitenland, altijd opvallend door zijn warme vioolklank en persoonlijke stijl. Sinds 1995 is hij ook aktief als dirigent.

Hij is een zeer veelgevraagde vioolpedagoog; behalve zijn langdurige verbintenis met Codarts (Rotterdams Conservatorium) is hij ook aktief in andere landen, o.a. in Spanje, waar hij telkens weer als docent gevraagd wordt voor viool- en kamermuziek lessen.

Guido de Neve (b. Hasselt, Belgium, 8th January, 1963) appeared to be extraordinarily musically gifted already at a very early age. At the exceptionally young age of eleven he was accep­ted at the Brussels Royal Music Conservatory. Few years later he obtained the First Prize summa cum laude and with special congratulations of the jury. Later on prizes in competitions such as 'Andres Segovia' in Granada, 'Maria Canals' in Barcelona and the 'Medaille d'or' at the Festival des Jeunes Solistes de Bordeaux followed. In Brussels he was laureate of Tenuto whereas the jury of the Cera‑Prize crowned him as Flanders' most promising young musician.

In 1984 de Neve met the Hungarian violinist Sandor Végh in Assisi. This acquaintance influenced his further development thoroughly. Especially during the following six years of intense self tuition, a period during which Guido de Neve developed his very personal way of interpreting. This dedication was rewarded both at home and abroad. British newspapers were not the only ones to be enthusiastic. The Swedish newspaper Lysekil Posten did not hesitate either: “Music lovers should absolutely keep in mind the name of Guido de Neve's, he may well be a future world star”. Braunschweiger Zeitung saw “...doubtlessly a rising star at the violin sky” and De Morgen's Fred Brouwers recognized in the young virtuoso “...the new torchbearer of the Belgian violin school... De Bériot, Vieutemps, Ysaÿe, Grumiaux flashed through my head”.

In 1989 Guido de Neve founded the E.Ysaÿe Ensemble, playing chamber music together with Flanders’ most talented young musicians. That resulted in 1996 in founding the Spiegel String Quartet, where he played the first violin during six years.           
After many years of concerts and playing, he took an artistic sabbath during the following two years, a period of contemplation and rediscovering. His search for different kinds and qualities of sound, brought him to playing the baroque violin, something he already wanted to do for a couple of years, but never had the chance to. All of this resulted in a completely new direction. Since 2004, Guido de Neve performs on modern violin as well as on baroque violin. Together with Jan Michiels on pianoforte, he played the whole cycle of Beethoven sonatas on historical instruments. Also solo programs with Bach on baroque violin and Ysaÿe and Xenakis on modern instruments are the result of this thorough revitalisation. In 2006, Guido de Neve formed a new piano trio, “Trio Ysaÿe”, together with Boyan Vodenitcharov (piano) and Didier Poskin (cello), here again using the sounds of both historical and modern instruments.

However, de Neve is not merely a passionate violinist: he is widely appreciated for his re­search and 'restoration' of unpublished manuscripts. He discovered for example entirely forgotten masterworks of a.o. G. Lekeu, E. Ysaÿe, J. Jongen and A. De Boeck, whose creati­ons met with an enormous success both in the auditorium and on compact disc. de Neve has also become a source of inspiration for contemporary composers. In recent years, lots of works were written both for and with him. For this effort in favour of making Belgian composers known, he obtained the 1993 Willem Pelemans Prize.

Besides all this, Guido de Neve is a very enthusiastic pedagogue. Teaching violin and chamber music at the Royal Flemish Conservatory in Antwerp, he presents all his skills and knowledge to the younger generation.

Guido de Neve plays one of the only remaining violins of the Antwerp violin maker Mathys Hofmans built in 1650. For performances on historical instruments, he plays a Hendrik Willems from 1692.

Otto Derolez (violin) is leader of the Flemish Radio Orchestra and is generally considered one of the most important violinists of Belgium. After having studied at the Royal Conservatories of Gent and Brussels, with the professors Rudolf Werthen, Katy Sebestyen and Philippe Hirschhorn, he graduated at the Internationale Musikakademie für Solisten (IMAS) in Wolfenbüttel under the guidance of Andre Gertler. He also received support and guidance from Prof. Yfrah Neaman. At the age of 16 he became member of I Fiamminghi, with which he performed in the most important concert halls of the world.

In 1992 he became leader of the Beethoven Academy of Antwerp. Among their most successful performances are Mozart's Symfonia Concertante under Christopher Hogwood and Luciano Berio's Chorale under Lucas Vis. In 1997 he returned to his roots and became leader of I Fiamminghi. The 4 Seasons by Vivaldi in the Symphony Hall of Birmingham and recordings of Nostalgia by Takemitsu and Tangos by Piazzolla are examples of Mr. Derolez' solistic achievements.

He made his debut with the Flemish Radio Orchestra with Richard Strauss' Ein Heldenleben under Frank Shipway. With this orchestra Otto Derolez performed the world premiere of Jeroen d'Hoe's violin concerto. Otto Derolez is also a very active chamber musician. Since 1992 he is the first violinist of the Prometheus Ensemble. With this ensemble he recorded Schubert's Octet and Trout Quintet, Stravinsky's l'Histoire du Soldat, Schoenberg's first Chamber Symphony and Transfigured Night. He is a professor of violin at the Lemmens Institute in Leuven.

Vegard Nilsen (violin) studied with prof. Arve Tellefsen at the Norwegian State Academy of Music and with Viktor Liberman and Lex Korff de Gidts at the Utrecht Conservatory where he graduated cum laude. During his student years he attended masterclasses with Hristo Donkin, Vladimir Mendelssohn, Franco Gulli, Gyorgy Pauk, Instvan Parkanyi, Herman Krebbers and the Altenberg Trio Wien. He was leader of the second violins of the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, and since 1995 he is a professor of violin at the Royal Flemish Conservatory of Music in Antwerp.

Being an accomplished pedagogue he gave master classes in Norway, Belgium, The Netherlands and Germany. A passionate chamber musician he has built up an international reputation als violinist of The Atlantic Trio (www.atlantictrio.com). His work as organizer of Gjøvik Chamber Music Festival and his own concert series in Amsterdam have been widely recognized. He has played chamber music with Gil Sharon, Phillippe Entremont and with members of the famous Orlando Quartet. Vegard Nilsen is the founder of the company "Music and Business" (www.muziekenzaken.nl). He plays a violin by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume.

Olsi Leka (cello) started his cello studies at the age of six and already at the age of ten, in 1990, he won the first prize at the Young Cellists Competition. Four years later he won the first prize again in the same competition at the senior level. In 1999 he finished his studies with a Gold Medal at the Tirana Secondary Music School and continued further specialization at the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels where he was awarded the Van de Kerckhove honour prize. He also received a scholarship from the Erasmus Program to complete an exchange with the Musik Hochschule in Cologne in the cello class of Maria Kliegel. In 2003 Olsi Leka won the first prize of the Concours d’Interprétation Musicale in Brussels followed by the second prize at the International Competition of Music Interpretation in Limassol, Cyprus.

At the age of 24 he became principal cellist of the National Orchestra of Belgium and guest teacher of cello at the Koninklijk Muziek Conservatorium in Brussel. Olsi Leka gives great importance to baroque cello and contemporary music, as essential languages for an all round musician.
Lately he has played R.Schumann, P. I. Tchaikovsky, E.Lalo, J.Brahms cello concertos. An important milestone in his career was the succesfull interpretation of Henry Dutilleux's cello concerto "Tout un monde lointain" in the presence, and with the warm congratulations of the composer himself. In the last years, Olsi Leka has given masterclasses and has appeared as soloist and chamber musician in most European countries and he works regularly with the "Duo Eden" Harp and Cello Duo, and "Piano Trio Amati". He is one of the promising violoncellists of the young generation of European musicians.

Herman van Kogelenberg (flute) was born in Thorn (the Netherlands) and received his musical training from Willem Tonnaer, Abbie de Quant en Emily Beynon at the Music Academies of Amsterdam, Utrecht and The Hague. In 1999 he was appointed solo flautist of the Liège Philharmonic Orchestra and since 2003 he has been a flautist with the Amsterdam Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra.
Herman van Kogelenberg is teacher at the Royal Conservatory at The Hague. As a soloist he has performed concertos by a.o. Mozart, Reinecke, Martin, Devienne, Cimarosa and Telemann, with orchestras such as the Liège Philharmonic Orchestra, the Royal Conservatory Symphony Orchestra at The Hague and the Charlemagne Chamber Orchestra in Brussels. He also is an enthusiastic Chamber musician, notably with the Amsterdam Farkas Quintet. A recent highlight was his appearance in the Great Hall of the Amsterdam Concertgebouw with soprano Renée Flemming. Herman van Kogelenberg is also a welcome guest with ensembles such as the Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra, the Ebony Band, the Viotta Ensemble, the Asko- and Schönberg Ensembles and the Amsterdam Sinfonietta.

Geert Baeckelandt (clarinet) started his musical career in Brugge at the local music school. Apart from acquiring several diplomas with distinctions at the Brussels School of music and the Antwerp School of Music with Walter Boeykens, he joined the class of Professor Hans Rudolf Stalder in Basel (Switzerland). As a player of authentic instruments he learned al lot about the classical style and its interpretation.

He assisted at several sessions with the ancient instruments in Germany and France. For three years he was soloist clarinet-player in the Band of the Guides, the principal military wind band of Belgium. After this period he was a member of the New Belgian Chamber Orchestra and of "I Fiammingh", whith whom he toured in several countries in Europe and Asia. He played with I Fiamminghi as a soloist at the Metropolitan Arts Centre in Tokio. He was principal clarinet-player of the Beethoven academie and is now principal clarinet player in several orchestras like the Orchestra of the Low Lands.

He is doing a lot of chamber music, trio with violoncello, viola, woodwind quintet, woodwind ensemble and a lot of recitals with piano and harp. He made several recordings, e.g. his Mozart-Salieri cd.

René Pagen (horn) studied with Hubert Cruts and Erich Penzel at the Conservatory of Maastricht. Already at a very young age he played in different youth orchestras under the baton of Leonard Bernstein, Sergiu Celibidache, Bernard Haitink, Sir Georg Solti and Claudio Abbado.

In 1992 René became solo hornist with the Bochumer Symphoniker; from 1994 onwards he fulfilled the same function in the Radio Symfonie Orchestra of Hilversum. In 2004 René was appointed solo hornist of the Residentie Orchestra of The Hague, and since 2006 of the Radio Philharmonic Ochestra Holland. At present he combines these two important positions. As a soloist René performed with the Residentie Orchestra, "Orkest van het Oosten", the Radio Symfonie Orchestra, Transilvania Filharmonia Cluj, Flexible Brass and Holland Wind Players with conductors as Eri Klas, Steward Robertson and Jaap van Zweden.

René Pagen is a professor of horn at the conservatory of Enschede.

Roland Broux (guitar) studied the guitar with Mathieu Vanhees at the music school of Genk en later with Victor Van Puyenbroeck at the Royal Flemish Conservatory of Antwerp. He attended masterclasses with Julian Bream, Leo Brouwer, Roberto Aussel and David Starobin. He studied musicology at the University of Leuven, and 1985 he was awarded the Diploma de Merito in the guitar class of Oscar Ghiglia at the Accademia Chigiana in Siena (Italy). Roland Broux was the first Belgian laureate of the international guitar competition Printemps de la Guitare in Charleroi. Several times he was invited as a soloist with orchestras, the National orchestra of Belgium, de Filharmonie, the Flemish Radio Orchestra, the Orchestra of Zeeland and the Flemish Symphony Orchestra in Joaquin Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez and Heitor Villa-Lobos' Concerto.

Born in Moscow, Lubov Stuchevskaya studied voice and piano at the Ippolitov-Ivanov College of Music, Moscow. She continued her vocal training in London with Vera Rozsa, and at the opera school of the Royal College of Music, London. She has participated in numerous master-classes with singers of renown such as Mirella Freni, Giuseppe di Stefano, Luigi Alva, Niko Castel, Nicolai Gedda, Graham Clark, Grace Bumbry, Elena Obraztsova and Patricia McCaffrey, and completed two consecutive years in the Metropolitan Opera Workshop

Ms. Stuchevskaya has performed the major roles in the romantic operatic repertoire including Violetta (La Traviata), Lisa (The Queen of Spades), Fiordiligi (Così Fan Tutte), First Lady (The Magic Flute), Santuzza (Cavalleria Rusticana), Tatyana (Eugene Onegin), Cio-Cio San (Madama Butterfly), Leonora (Il Trovatore), Marina Mnishek (Boris Godunov) as well as the title roles in Rusalka, Iolanta, Tosca and Aida. Under the tutelage of Ileana Cotrubas, Ms. Stuchevskaya studied the role of Mimi (La Bohème).

Ms. Stuchevskaya’s oratorio repertoire includes Brahms Deutsches Requiem, Bach Magnificat, Vivaldi Gloria, Rossini Stabat Mater, Mendelssohn Elijah, Dvořak Stabat Mater and Te Deum, Verdi Requiem with such conductors as Gennady Rozhdestvensky, David Wilcocks, Vladimir Millman and Solly Aronovsky.

A highly regarded recitalist, both as a singer and an accompanist, Ms. Stuchevskaya has performed widely throughout Europe and has made appearances at such festivals as the Norfolk Festival, the Mayfield Festival, as well as the prestigious White Nights Festival in St. Petersburg.

Discography includes Shostakovich’s Hamlet and King Lear for the Naxos label.
In recent years Ms. Stuchevskaya has focused  on teaching and coaching. Formerly she was Russian language coach at the Royal College of Music, London. She currently holds a professorship at The Royal Flemish Conservatoire (Vocal Studies), Antwerp, and has given masterclasses at the Koeln Musikhochschule and the Icelandic Academy of Arts, Reykjavik. As coach she has collaborated with Simon Keenlyside, Natalie Dessay, Juanita Lascarro, Henrietta Bonde-Hensen, Ilya Levinsky, Jean Teitgen and others.

In 2002 he received the "Master of Music" degree from the Royal Flemish Conservatoire in Antwerp, with highest honours for piano. Afterwards he studied at the Royal Conservatoire of Music in Brussels under the supervision of Professor Boyan Vodenitcharov. In 2004 he recorded a CD with works of F. Chopin and the Belgian composer Emmanuel Durlet. These pieces are often broadcast by Radio VRT/KLARA. In 2005 he completed his education at the Royal Conservatoire of Brussels and received the degree "Specialization Instrument - Chamber Music" and a degree in Piano magna cum laude.

Kiyotaka received several scholarships, a.o. from the "Rotary Club", the "Oranjebeurs" (Holland) and the "Stichting Conservatorium Antwerpen". He took master classes given by Murray Perahia, Conrad Hansen, Jan Wijn, Jozef De Beenhouwer, Hans Leygraf. In 2008 he received his "Postgraduate Concert Soloist" degree with the highest honours at the Royal Flemish Conservatoire of Music in Antwerp. In 2009 he recorded his second CD with "Lyric pieces" of E. Grieg.

Kiyotaka IZUMI is piano professor at the Municipal Academy of Music and Word in Borgerhout and Willebroek. He is also piano accompanist at the Royal Flemish Conservatoire of Music in Antwerp.