Guest soloists
Simon Zhu is already an outstanding violin virtuoso with a versatile repertoire. He studied at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and is currently studying with Prof Ana Chumachenco in Munich as well as with Ning Feng, and masterclasses with professors such as Wolfgang Marschner, Rainer Kussmaul, Boris Kuschnir, Petru Munteanu, Krzysztof Wegrzyn, Igor Ozim, Ingolf Turban and Paul Roczek rounded off his musical education.
At the age of 15, he won 1st prize at the 13th International Georg Philipp Telemann Competition in Poznan for the best interpretation of a Fantasia for violin solo by Georg Philipp Telemann. In May 2021 he won 2nd prize at the Menuhin Competition in Richmond, Virginia, as well as the Mozart Prize and the European Community EMCY Award for his outstanding performance at the Menuhin Competition, and in October 2023 he won 1st prize at the International Violin Competition ‘Premio Paganini’ 2023 in Genoa, Italy, and the special prize for the best Paganini concerto, as well as a number of important concert engagements.
Simon Zhu made his debut at the Berlin Philharmonie and has since performed there several times as a soloist with orchestra. He was a guest at the International Young Masters Violin Festival on Lake Constance and is a scholarship holder of the Menuhin Festival & Academy. He has given concerts in Germany, England, France, Belgium, Poland, Romania, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Korea and China and has performed with renowned orchestras, including the London Symphony Orchestra with Sir Antonio Pappano, the Academy of St. Martin-in-the-Fields England, the Berlin Symphony Orchestra and the Salzburg Chamber Soloists.
In October 2024, Simon Zhu performed with the London Symphony Orchestra and Maestro Antonio Pappano at the Guildhall in London, performing on the Il Cannone, which Paganini played during his lifetime. The King, His Majesty Charles III, attended the concert and received him after the concert.
In the coming season, Simon Zhu will give concerts in famous theatres such as La Scala in Milan, Dubai Opera, the Oman Opera House, the British Guildhall, the Madrid Prado Museum and the Teatro San Carlo in Naples. Simon is a scholarship holder of the International Music Academy in Liechtenstein and takes part in the Academy's intensive weeks and activities there. Since 2023, Simon has been playing an important violin by Zosimo Bergonzi, Cremona circa 1760, which is on generous loan from the Stretton Society.
Dates (please klick at the links):
09.05.2026, Meisterkonzert im Max-Joseph Saal, um 19:30 Uhr: “Die Violine durch die Jahrhunderte”
24.05.2026, Festliches Eröffnungskonzert auf Schloss Schleißheim um 19:30 Uhr
15.08.2026, Sommerliches Festkonzert auf Schloss Schleißheim um 19:30 Uhr
29.08.2026, Festkonzert “Sommer Ade” auf Schloss Schleißheim um 19:30 Uhr
21.11.2026, Meisterkonzert im Max-Joseph-Saal bei Kerzenschein, “Zauber der Violine” um 18:30 Uhr
04.12.2026, Meisterkonzert bei Kerzenschein im Max-Joseph Saal der Residenz um 18:30 Uhr
05.12.2026, Meisterkonzert bei Kerzenschein im Max-Joseph Saal, “4 Jahreszeiten bei Kerzenschein” um 18:30
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):
02.07.2026, Sommerkonzert im Brunnenhof um 20:00 Uhr
22.12.2026, Weihnachtliches Meisterkonzert im Herkulessaal 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):
22.05.2026, Meisterkonzert im Max-Joseph Saal um 19:30 Uhr: “Spanisch-Italienische Nacht”
23.05.2026, Klassik im Museum im Bayerischen Nationalmuseum um 15:30 Uhr
03.07.2026, Festkonzert in den Schlossarkaden von Schloss Schleißheim um 19:30 Uhr
