Following last week's announcement of the finalists of our Ambassador Programme open application, we are excited to announce the final artist on our programme this season as violinist Alexey Stychkin!

Alexey, our first ever open application winner, joins eight other exceptional young artists who were nominated on the Ambassador Programme this season. Each musician will have the opportunity to perform a concert, broadcast live and in high definition from the stunning setting of Classeek’s private recital hall in Aubonne, Switzerland, and will receive opportunities for career enhancement, throughout the one-year programme.

Nominated by Sir András Schiff, 21-year-old pianist Avery Gagliano recently made her Carnegie Hall debut and released her debut album “Reflections” on the Steinway & Sons label. She gained international acclaim as the First Prize and Best Concerto Prize winner of the 10th National Chopin Piano Competition and was the only American semifinalist at the 18th International Chopin Competition in 2021.

Nominated by Renaud Capuçon, 22-year-old Paul Zientara began studying the viola at the age of seven at the Music school of Yerres in Yves Pruvot's class. In 2015, he joined the CRR (Regional Conservatory) of Paris in Françoise Gnéri's class. He regularly participates in international academies and masterclasses including the Kronberg Academy Festival

Nominated by Gautier Capuçon,  20-year-old cellist Jeein You was born in South Korea in 2002 and began studying cello at five. When she was seven she joined the Korea National University Of Arts Preschool under her tutor Chung Myung-Wha. Her ambassador Capuçon says, “Jeein is such a talented cellist and a very sensitive musician with an incredible ability to carry her emotions through music."

Nominated by Sir András Schiff, pianist Julia Hamos performs a programme of Bach, Bartók and Schumann. A graduate of the Royal Academy of Music in London, Hamos currently studies with Sir András Schiff at the Barenboim-Said Akademie in Berlin and at the Kronberg Academy. In 2021 she worked with Daniel Barenboim in a succession of filmed masterclasses on Beethoven's solo piano and string sonatas.

Nominated by Sonia Simmenauer, violinist Bilal Alnemr began to study violin at the age of eight, at the Solhi-AL-WADI Conservatory. In 2007, he won the first prize in the national competition for young Syrian talents. His mentor Sonia Simmenauer says, “I was stricken when I met with Bilal the first time and his seriousness about being a musician. I admire his courage and dedication to music.”

Nominated by Sonia Simmenauer, 22-year-old Gigashvili is a frequent soloist and chamber musician working with various orchestras and taking part in festivals and masterclasses all over the world. He has always been passionate about music and was trained by famous Georgian pianist and teacher Revaz Tavadze where he continued his formal musical training at the Paliashvili Central Music School for Gifted Children. 

Nominated by Emmanuel Pahud, 24-year-old flautist Alberto Navarra began his studies under Maurizio Valentini at the Ghedini Conservatory in Cuneo. His ambassador Emmanuel Pahud says, “Alberto Navarra is a leading talent of his generation.” Alberto is also a laureate of the Severino Gazzelloni International Flute Competition and the Carl Nielsen Flute Competition.

Nominated by Sir András Schiff, 21-year-old pianist Tom Borrow began playing the piano at the age of 5 and has performed as a soloist with many native orchestras of his country, including the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra and the Israel Symphony Orchestra.

Welcomed onto the programme via the open application, Russian-Greek violinist Alexey Stychkin, born in Moscow in 2000, comes from a family with deep musical and artistic roots. He began his musical studies at the age of five and continued on to study with Marc Bouchkov at the Liege Royal Conservatory. Alexey is currently studying his masters degree at the Hochschule fur Musik und Tanz in Cologne with Mihaela Martin, and this season  holds an academy position in the first violin section of the Staatskapelle Berlin. 

Each artist on the programme will perform at the Classeek concert hall during the season, in a variety of solo, duo and chamber recitals. Find out more about our 

Ambassador Programme Artists 2022-23

Latest news

This season we have 8 wonderful emerging artists nominated onto the Classeek Ambassador programme, by our ambassadors, including pianists Avery Gagliano, Julia Hamos, Giorgi Gigashvili and Tom Borrow, flautist Alberto Navarra, violinist Bilal Alnemr, violist Paul Zientara, and cellist Jeein You. 

This year for the first time, we also opened up the programme to applicants all over the world, to fill our last space on the programme. Having received applications from very high level musicians and a diverse range of instruments and applicants, the process has been difficult. We are thankful to all artists who applied this year as we have been amazed to discover so much talent through the application process.

We are delighted to announce the 13 finalists of our Ambassador Programme open application, for season 2022-23

Following the next round of the application process, we will be announcing the final artist of our Ambassador Programme, next week. 

Open application finalists

Ambassador Programme 2022-23

Flute

Alberto Navarra

Nominated to the Classeek programme by world-class flautist Emmanuel Pahud, Alberto Navarra brings a vibrant programme of chamber music to his first rehearsal on the scheme. He is joined by cello and piano for Weber’s Trio in G minor, one of the composer’s most substantial chamber pieces. With lively writing for all three instruments and plenty of melodic invention, there are opportunities for each of the musicians to dazzle audiences with their virtuosity. A melancholic, contemplative Allegro moderato gives way to a spirited waltz, before we end with a final movement referred to as Schäfers Klage (Shepherd’s Complaint or Shepherd’s Lament, an allusion to Goethe’s 1802 poem of the same name). 

We then move on to three works for flute and piano, starting with a piece originally written for clarinet and piano: Schumann’s Fantasiestücke. These have been a staple of the chamber repertoire, transcribed for various instrumentations. The three pieces are almost character studies, with sudden contrasting shifts in mood, moving from inward-looking darkness to light, extroverted buoyancy. The first piece is rather dreamy, with directions for the players to approach ‘tenderly, with expression’. The second piece moves to the major version of the key, in a much more playful, energetic temperament. The final movement stays in this new major key, but with a frenzied energy, pushing the players to their limits for a triumphant ending.

Navarra then moves us on to two prominent pieces within the 20th-century flute repertoire: Poulenc’s Sonata and Frank Martin’s Ballade, both of which have enjoyed further success in well-known orchestrated versions. The Poulenc is almost elegiac in its poignant main theme, infused with the composer’s trademark wit and playfulness. Martin is less well known as a composer, but his Ballade is an essential piece in any flautist’s arsenal. In his early life, he was influenced by French composers, particularly Fauré, before he went on to study with Schoenberg in the 1930s, which inevitably introduced new approaches to composition. The blend of these vastly different styles became Martin’s trademark, which you can hear in his Ballade – a piece with no real tonal centre but plenty of lyricism. 

Alberto Navarra, flute

Fantasiestücke op. 73 (arr. flute and piano)

Sonata for flute and piano

Ballade for flute and piano

Trio in G minor op. 63

Chamber Recital

VENUE: Conservatoire de Musique de Genève

Coming up this Spring, emerging artists of the Classeek Ambassador Programme will feature in MusiKa's season programme, performing as part of our new collaboration pre concert series, Les Premières. 

We are happy to provide opportunities to our young artists, to bring them closer to some of the industry's top artists of today, in this partnership between MusiKa and Classeek.

This upcoming pre concert at the  Conservatoire de Musique de Genève, features Ambassador Programme artist and flautist  Alberto Navarra, performing alongside pianist Leonardo Pierdomenico in a programme of Schumann Fantasiestücke and Martin Ballade. 

Tickets for the pre concert are part of the main concert ticket and can be purchased via the 

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