Guest soloists
Gabriele Cassone began his trumpet studies with various teachers, including Gino Comisso.After studying trumpet from Maestro Mario Catena at the “J. Tomadini" in Udine and studying composition from Maestro Luciano Chailly, he won at the age of 17 the competition for first trumpet in the Pomeriggi Musicali orchestra in Milan, a position he held for 13 years. He later also held this position with the Orchestra Filarmonica della Scala in Milan and with the RAI Orchestra in the same city.
Cassone later devoted himself to a solo career in numerous areas of classical music: he is the dedicatee of multible works of contemporary music, such as Luciano Berio's sequencea; Ivan Fedele and Salvatore Sciarrino also wrote for him.
Cassone is also a great interpreter of Baroque music: he was soloist with Ton Koopman's Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra (recording of Cantata BWV 51 by Johann Sebastian Bach), John Eliot Gardiner's English Baroque Soloists (Second Brandenburg Concerto by J. S. Bach) and is a regular guest of the Concerto Italiano by Rinaldo Alessandrini. As a soloist he has appeared in the most important theaters in the world: La Scala in Milan, Cité de la Musique in Paris, Mozarteum in Salzburg, Queen Elizabeth Hall in London, Carnegie Hall in New York, the Vienna Konzerthaus and the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam.
As a teacher, he holds numerous master classes around the world and specialization courses (Accademia di Santa Cecilia in Rome, Lausanne Conservatory, etc). He currently teaches the trumpet course at the Conservatorio Guido Cantelli in Novara. He also teaches at the “Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana” in Lugano.
Until today he is one of the most famous trumpeters in the world and has performed in the most famous theaters in New York, Paris, London, Vienna, Sydney, Amsterdam, Salzburg and several times in Milan's Scala.
Dates (please klick at the links):
22.12.2026, Weihnachtliches Meisterkonzert im Herkulessaal um 19:30 Uhr
02.07.2027, Sommerkonzert im Brunnenhof um 20:00 Uhr
Ruslan Talas – Star Violinist
Ruslan Talas is a Kazakhstan-born violinist whose versatile and passionate approach to the instrument has been shaped by the European, Russian and Kazakh violin traditions.
He began his musical education at the National Music Academy in Astana (2005–2010), studying with Tamara Karp and Valery Magay. He subsequently continued his studies at the Central Music School in Moscow (2010–2017) and the Tchaikovsky Conservatory (2017–2021) with Irina Bochkova, as well as studying for many years with Vladimir Reider in Israel. From 2021 to 2024, he completed his Master's degree under Janine Jansen at the HEMU Conservatory in Sion, Switzerland. He continued his studies with her at the Kronberg Academy in Germany from 2024 to 2026, supported by the Carola and Gerd Kaiser Foundation. Since 2026, he has been studying in the class of Christian Tetzlaff.
Ruslan Talas has won numerous prizes and distinctions at international competitions. His most notable achievements include:
- Laureate of the Queen Elisabeth Competition (2024)
- Second Prize at the Stuttgart International Violin Competition (2024)
- First Prize at the Rodolfo Lipizer International Violin Competition (2022)
- First Prize at the Worldvision Music Contest (2022)
- First Prize at the Vietnam International Competition (2019)
- First Prize at the 8th International Tchaikovsky Youth Competition (2014)
- Finalist at the Montreal International Musical Competition (2023)
He has performed at some of the world's most prestigious concert venues, including the Berlin Philharmonie, the Wiener Konzerthaus, BOZAR in Brussels and the Salle Cortot in Paris. His concert engagements have taken him across Europe, Asia and the Americas, with performances in cities such as Montreal, Moscow, Beijing, Hanoi and Mexico City.
As a soloist, he has appeared with renowned orchestras, including the Belgian National Orchestra, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra, the Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra and the Russian National Orchestra.
A passionate chamber musician, Ruslan Talas has collaborated with distinguished artists such as Gidon Kremer, Steven Isserlis, Janine Jansen and Christian Tetzlaff, as well as acclaimed ensembles including the Belcea Quartet, Cremona Quartet and Leonkoro Quartet. He is also a regular guest at prestigious international festivals, including the George Enescu Festival, the International Chamber Music Festival Utrecht and Chamber Music Connects the World at Kronberg Academy.
24.02.2027, Festkonzert im Cuvilliés-Theater um 19:30 Uhr
Guitarist Leonard Becker is the winner of the Andres Segovia Competition 2021 in La Herradura (Spain). He released his debut CD with NAXOS in July 2021, on which he presents chamber music with guitar by Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco.
In March 2019, Leonard won 1st prize at the international chamber music competition ‘Gerhard Vogt’ for string quartet and guitar in Schweinfurt together with a string quartet he put together at the Munich University of Music. In November 2020, he was awarded 2nd prize at the international Hannabach Solo Guitar Competition in Augsburg.
The musician has already performed several times with orchestra. In summer 2019, Leonard performed Joaquin Rodrigo's ‘Concierto de Aranjuez’ together with the Pilsen Philharmonic Orchestra.
Leonard Becker completed his Master's degree with distinction in September 2024 at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich in the class of Prof. Franz Halasz.
With his music, Leonard wants to establish the concert guitar more in the classical music world and show people the unexpected capabilities of this instrument. He is particularly keen to combine the guitar with a wide variety of other instruments. He is a big fan of the music of Steely Dan, Benjamin Britten and Franz Schubert.
Dates (please klick at the links):
24.04.2027, Klassik im Museum, Spanisch-Italienischer Nachmittag um 15:30 Uhr
12.06.2027, Festkonzert im Hubertussaal von Schloss Nymphenburg um 19:30 Uhr
13.06.2027, Käfers Gourmet Klassik, Italienisch-Spanische Matinée im Gartensaal des Prinzregententheaters um 11.00 Uhr
08.07.2027, Klassik im Museum Open-Air im Kanonenhof um 18:30 Uhr
23.07.2027, Fürstenrieder Schlosskonzerte Open-Air im Schlosspark um 19:30 Uhr
