Cello: olsileka

 

The cellist Olsi Leka is section leader at the Belgian National Orchestra and cello professor at the Royal Conservatory of Antwerp as well as an established artist. Winner of several international competitions, he is regularly invited to perform as a soloist and chamber musician in countries throughout Europe and Asia.

 

In recent years, Olsi Leka has devoted himself to the development of personal projects such as recording CDs for various record companies, as well as the creation of interdisciplinary projects such as "Music and Mythology" and "Recital in Images 1914- 18 ". He plays an exceptional cello crafted by the Italian violin maker Raffaele Gagliano around 1820, and graciously made available by the Éric Feldbusch Foundation. This cello was donated to Eric Feldbusch in 1965 by Queen Elizabeth of Belgium on the occasion of the creation of the piano trio bearing her name.

 

 

Piano: Peter Caelen

 

Pianist Peter Caelen studied at the Conservatories of Maastricht and Amsterdam with Frans van Beveren, Joop Celis and Willem Brons. He continued his studies with Peter Feuchtwanger in London and Thomas Duis in Saarbrücken. Furthermore he has taken part in masterclasses with musicians such as Peter Donohoe, Lazar Berman, Eugen Indjic, Piotr Paleczny and Jan Michiels.Peter Caelen plays concerts throughout Europe and China at major venues and series such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, De Doelen in Rotterdam, Beijing Concert Hall, the Shandong Grand Theatre Concert Hall in Jinan, Holywell Music Room in Oxford, Brussels Royal Conservatory Main Hall and Concerts de Midi, the Saarbrücker Kammerkonzerte, the Rhein Mosel Halle in Koblenz and Sellosali in Espoo. Furthermore he is also to be heard at festivals such as the the Klevischer Klaviersommer, the Mendelssohn-Tage, the Kamarihelmi Festival, the International Festival Summer in Old Ljubljana Town, the Alba Music Festival and the Euro Chamber Music Festival Gdansk. As a soloist he performed with several orchestras and as a chamber musician he works with numerous musicians such as violinists Simone Lamsma, Esther Yoo, Lisanne Soeterbroek and Hans van Kerckhoven, cellist Olsi Leka, the Carducci and Atrium String Quartets, members of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Symphonieorchester des Bayrischen Rundfunks and the wind soloists of the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen. In 2017 he toured China performing the complete works for violin and piano by Brahms with violinist Volodja Balzalorsky in thirteen concerts.