Biography
The Berlin Philharmonic Virtuosi emerged from the Berlin Chamber Music Ensemble in 1977. Since then, the group has performed to considerable acclaim on the world’s major stages. Renowned soloists such as Alfred Brendel, Friedrich Gulda, Cyprien Katsaris have performed with the Philharmonic Virtuosi. The core repertoire is focussed on the Viennese Classical and Romantic periods, including serenades and symphonies by Haydn, Mozart, Mendelssohn, Offenbach, Rossini, Schubert, Dvořák and Tchaikovsky, as well as works by Bartók and Schoenberg.
One of the ensemble’s specialities is arrangements for string ensemble, underlining the ‘Virtuosi’ of the ensemble’s name; these include string quartets by Verdi, Brahms, Dvorak, Piazzolla and Rossini. In 2000, violinist Laurentiu Dinca took over the direction of the ensemble. Concerts and tours have taken the Philharmonic Virtuosi in both chamber orchestra and string quartet iterations to Italy, Germany, Spain, China and Japan. The group has also produced many recordings of works from the repertoire with labels such as Teldec, NEC and Japan’s Hats, and these have been honoured by the specialist press both at home and abroad.
Musicians
Luiz Felipe Coelho
Hande Küden
Álvaro Parra
Christoph von der Nahmer
Bettina Sartorius
Matthew Hunter
Martin von der Nahmer
Walter Küssner
Christoph Igelbrink
Stanisław Pajak
Laurentiu Dinca (violin)
Stephan Schulze (violin)