Hailed as a “wonderful pianist” with “absolute devotion to the music” and “admirable technique” (Globes), pianist Shir Semmel has performed in Europe, the United States, and her native Israel to critical acclaim. Praised for her “unstoppable energy and personality” (timesunionPLUS), her performances have been described as “gripping from beginning to end” (The Jerusalem Post). 

Semmel has recently been invited by Sir András Schiff to play recitals throughout Europe as part of his “Building Bridges” series, created to highlight young pianists of unusual promise. First Prize winner of several competitions, she has participated in international festivals such as the Ravinia’s Steans Music Institute, Music@Menlo, IMS Prussia Cove, IMS Open Chamber Music, the Gstaad Piano Academy at the Menuhin Festival, Mänttä Piano Festival in Finland and the International Keyboard Institute and Festival in New-York. She has appeared in such venues as Carnegie Hall (Weill and Zankel), Merkin Hall, Steinway Hall, Shriver Hall, Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater and Rose Studio, the Jerusalem Theater, Tel-Aviv Museum and many more. Future engagements include concerts in Israel, the United States (west and east coasts), Germany (including at the Konzerthaus Berlin) and Switzerland. 

​An avid chamber musician, Semmel cofounded the Jerusalem Piano Duo together with her brother, pianist Dror Semmel, and is also on the roster of the Manhattan Chamber players. She has collaborated with such artists as Gilbert Kalish, Colin Carr, Isabel Leonard, Hagai Shaham, Zvi Plesser, members of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and members of the Israel Philharmonoic Orchestra. As a former member of Carnegie Hall’s Ensemble ACJW, she performed regularly at Carnegie Hall among other venues, and worked to engage with the community and enhance music education throughout New York. ​Many of her concerts were recorded for the radio and some have been released on CD. A consistent recipient of the American-Israel Cultural Foundation excellence scholarships, Semmel has worked with renowned pianists such as Sir András Schiff, Murray Perahia, Richard Goode, Robert Levin, Jonathan Biss, Yefim Bronfman, and many others.

​In addition to her busy performance schedule, Shir has also taught undergraduate piano and chamber music students at Stony Brook University. She has given masterclasses in schools and universities in the US, and led workshops at the Juilliard School in New York. She currently teaches at the Israel Conservatory of Music, Tel-Aviv. ​

Born in Jerusalem, Semmel studied with Lena Nemirosky-Wiskind. She graduated summa cum laude from the Jerusalem Music Academy as a student of Alexander Tamir and Asaf Zohar. She completed her Master of Music degree with honors at the Buchmann-Mehta School of Music where she studied with Emanuel Krasovsky. She spent four years at the Peabody Institute as a student of Leon Fleisher, and has recently completed her DMA at SUNY Stony Brook under the tutelage of Gilbert Kalish.

Piano

Shir Semmel

Shir Semmel talks with Charlotte Gardner in an insightful discussion about her programme, her relationships with the composers of these works, and more about her musical upbringing. 

Shir Semmel interview

with Charlotte Gardner

After studying with Jérôme Pernoo at the CNSM in Paris and then in Gautier Capuçon's class of excellence at the Vuitton Foundation, Caroline Sypniewski perfected her skills with Clemens Hagen at the Mozarteum in Salzburg. At the same time, she obtained the DEM in piano at the CRR in Paris as well as a DEM in accompaniment at the CRR in Boulogne-Billancourt. Throughout her career, she has notably benefited from the advice of Gary Hoffman, Lluis Claret, Ivan Monighetti, Wolfgang Boettcher, Colin Carr.

Caroline has performed as a soloist and in chamber music in many festivals such as Prades, Debussy, W Krainie Chopina in Warsaw, the Orangerie de Sceaux, Vézère, Val d'Aulnay, Edinburgh Festival, Tons Voisins, Notes in Irancy, Instants de Grasse, Music at l'Empéri, Music at Versailles, Music and wines at Clos-Vougeot, Musical Thursdays in Royan, Monsieur Haydn's Holidays at Roche Posay; and in large halls European institutions such as the Victoria Hall in Geneva, Philharmonie de Paris, Kurhaus in Baden-Baden, La Seine Musicale, Fondation Louis Vuitton, Schloss Elmau, Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord, and the Chorégies d'Orange. In April 2018 she represented the Van Cleef & Arpels brand at a private event at the Summer Palace in Beijing.

She has taken part in numerous varied projects including the Seiji Ozawa Academy, Jaroussky Academy, Villecroze Academy, and masterclasses at Kronberg. She is a resident at the Villa Musica Foundation in Germany within the Mona Quartet, also a resident at ProQuartet, and she founded a string trio with her two sisters Magdalena and Anna. On the chamber music platform, she has shared the stage with Adam Laloum, Abdel Rahman El Bacha, Marie-Josèphe Jude, Gautier Capuçon, Philippe Graffin, Emmanuel Pahud, Jérôme Pernoo, Michel Beroff, Laurent Naouri, Philippe Bernold, amongst many others. As a soloist, Caroline has performed with the Baden-Baden Philharmonic Orchestra, Dijon-Bourgogne Orchestra, Appassionato Ensemble, Warsaw Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra and the New Europe Chamber Orchestra.

Caroline was named Adami's Classic Revelation 2017, Young Talent 2019 at the Music and Wine Festival at Clos-Vougeot, is supported by the Safran Foundation and won the Ginette Neveu prize at the Carl Flesch Academy 2015 as well as the Grand Prix of the 2018 Ravel Academy.

Cello

Caroline Sypniewski

Cellist Caroline Sypniewski's general discussion with Charlotte Gardner in May 2022, about her musical upbringing, studying in Salzburg, and more.

Caroline Sypniewski interview

with Charlotte Gardner 

Born in 1995 to a family of musicians, Nathalia Milstein began the piano at the age of 4 with her father Serguei Milstein and continued her studies with Nelson Goerner at the Geneva Haute Ecole de Musique as well as with Sir András Schiff at the Barenboim-Saïd Akademie in Berlin.

Nathalia launched her international career in 2015 by winning 1st Prize at the Dublin International Piano Competition and has been since then invited to renowned halls such as the National Concert Hall in Dublin, Zankel Hall in New York, Wigmore Hall in London, Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Pierre Boulez Saal in Berlin and the Radio France Auditorium in Paris, as well as performing with orchestras such as the Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra, RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, Deutsche Kammerakademie Neuss, Boulez Ensemble, Paris and Geneva Chamber Orchestras, amongst conductors such as Mikko Franck, Matthias Pintscher, John Storgårds and Arie van Beek.

In 2017 she was awarded the Young Soloist Prize by the Médias Francophones Publics and in season 2021/22 Nathalia was selected for the “Building Bridges” series curated by Sir András Schiff. Throughout her studies, Nathalia Milstein has received valuable teaching from renowned professors and pianists such as Daniel Barenboim, Menahem Pressler, Emanuel Krasovsky, Elena Ashkenazy or Enrico Pace.

A keen chamber music player, Nathalia also performs regularly with renowned musicians and is invited to international chamber music events, such as the Intonations Festival in Berlin, the West Cork Festival in Ireland, Lavaux Classic in Switzerland, the Schiermonnikoog Festival in the Netherlands. She also appears on the latest CD recording of the Prazak Quartet dedicated to works of Smetana. For several years she has been playing in duo with her sister violinist Maria Milstein, with whom she recorded two albums together - “La Sonate de Vinteuil” (2017) and “Ravel Voyageur” (2019) - both on the French label Mirare and praised by international critics. Supported by the Safran Foundation (Paris) and the Foundation “Tempo” (Geneva), Nathalia's debut solo CD, featuring works of Prokofiev and Ravel, is released in 2018 on Mirare. Her second album « Visions Fugitives » is released in September 2021 and is awarded a « Choc Classica » as one of the best recordings of 2021.

Nathalia Milstein

Nathalia Milstein's discussion with Charlotte Gardner about her career experiences and recital programme performed at Classeek in March 2022.

Nathalia Milstein interview

Gautier Capuçon is a true 21st century ambassador for the cello. Performing internationally with many of the world's foremost conductors and instrumentalists, he is also founder and leader of the 'Classe d'Excellence de Violoncelle' at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris and a passionate ambassador for the Orchestre à l'École Association, which brings classical music to more than 40,000 thousands school children across France. A multiple award winner, he is acclaimed for his expressive musicianship, exuberant virtuosity, and for the deep sonority of his 1701 Matteo Goffriller cello "L'Ambassadeur".

Gautier Capuçon

"It's an incredible space dedicated to the arts, dedicated to the young generation... they can experience, they can feel secure, they can try new repertoire, they can show themselves to the world" 

- Gautier Capuçon on the Classeek Showroom

Gautier Capuçon interview clip

on Classeek's concert hall

“Thanks Classeek for this beautiful energy, trust and for highlighting today’s and tomorrow’s talents” - Gautier Capuçon on Classeek's initiatives

Gautier on Classeek

Gautier Capuçon talks about sharing and expressing the language of classical music.

the 'Power of Music'

Anouchka Hack is acclaimed by audience and press for her expressive sound and vast musicality. With her captivating stage presence and devoted interpretations, she convinces both as a soloist and in a Duo with her sister, pianist Katharina Hack. Concert engagements have led her to play in halls like the Musikverein Vienna, Beethovenhaus Bonn, Fondation Louis Vuitton Paris, Gasteig Munich and Konzerthaus Dortmund. 

Born 1996 in Antwerp, she grew up in a family of musicians in Germany, receiving cello lessons in Dortmund from the age of six. Following studies at the Academy of Music in Cologne, the Academy of Music in Lübeck and continuing studies with Frans Helmerson in Berlin, she was selected in the 2017/18 season for Gautier Capucon ́s Classe d ́Excellence de Violoncelle at the Fondation Louis Vuitton in Paris. 

Anouchka Hack

Anouchka Hack & Katharina Hack tell us about their concert programme and experience at Classeek.

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