String quartets by Schumann and Rihm

Biographies

Simon Roturier

Simon Roturier hails from Concarneau, a small seaside town in Brittany. He began playing the violin at the age of seven and decided to pursue music professionally by the time he was fourteen. He first studied at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris with Boris Garlitsky and Itamar Golan, then continued his training with Vladimir Nemtanu at the Conservatory in Lyon. He also took part in masterclasses with Ulf Hölscher, David Grimal, and Ida Haendel. Among other competitions, he won the Audience Prize at the David Oistrakh Competition in 2004. In 2006, he was a member of the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra under Claudio Abbado, and from 2007 to 2009 a scholarship holder of the Karajan Academy of the Berliner Philharmoniker. He went on to study with Antje Weithaas at the Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin and with the Artemis Quartet at the Berlin University of the Arts. Simon Roturier is the first violinist of the Noga Quartet, founded in 2009, and has been a member of the second violins of the Berliner Philharmoniker since 2011.

Angelo de Leo

Angelo de Leo was introduced to the violin by his older brother, who is also a violinist. Born in Böblingen, he received his first lessons at the age of six. Just five years later, he joined the Stuttgart University of Music as a junior student, where he studied with Christian Sikorski. He played for several years in the Bregaglia Quartet and later became the first violinist of the DeLeo Quartet, which he founded together with fellow junior students in Stuttgart. In 2011, he began studying with Thomas Brandis in Lübeck and continued his training in Berlin from 2015 with Antje Weithaas and at the Karajan Academy of the Berliner Philharmoniker. A multiple prizewinner at international competitions, he regularly performs as a soloist and chamber musician. He has appeared with the Südwestdeutsche Philharmonie Konstanz as well as with the philharmonic orchestras of Freiburg and Lübeck. Since 2018, he has been a member of the second violin section of the Berliner Philharmoniker.

Micha Afkham

Micha Afkham began violin lessons at the age of five. At sixteen – already studying with László Fogarassy and Roman Nodel – he switched to the viola. He first studied with Hatto Beyerle at the Hanover University of Music, and from 1999 continued his training with Tabea Zimmermann at the Hanns Eisler School of Music in Berlin. His artistic development was further shaped by masterclasses with musicians such as Yuri Bashmet, Gidon Kremer, Wolfram Christ, Serge Collot, and Herman Krebbers. He was also a scholarship holder of Villa Musica Mainz, the Richard Wagner Association in Hanover, and the German Foundation for Musical Life in Hamburg. In 2003, Micha Afkham joined the Karajan Academy of the Berliner Philharmoniker and became a member of the orchestra’s viola section the following year. A multiple prizewinner at international competitions, he performs regularly as a soloist and chamber musician in Germany and abroad. He is also a member of the Scharoun Ensemble Berlin and the Berlin Piano Quartet.

Solène Kermarrec

Solène Kermarrec was born in Brest, France, and completed her cello studies at three renowned institutions: the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris with Jean-Marie Gamard, the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest with Miklós Perényi, and the Berlin University of the Arts, where she studied under Wolfgang Boettcher. She has received numerous awards, including First Prize at the Domenico Gabrielli Competition in 2003. Since January 2007, Solène Kermarrec has been a member of the cello section of the Berliner Philharmoniker and is also part of the internationally acclaimed ensemble The 12 Cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic. In addition, she performs with the Venus Ensemble Berlin.