Tanja Sonc is an internationally acclaimed violinist and winner of the Brahms Competition in Austria, among other accolades. She regularly performs on stages around the world as a soloist and chamber musician, and has been a member of the Zurich Chamber Orchestra since 2017. For the past 10 years, she has been directing her own Sonc Festival, a chamber music festival in Slovenia. In July 2026, she will perform as a professor and chamber musician at the prestigious Menuhin Festival in Gstaad, Switzerland.

Violinist Daniel Hope has been performing as a soloist for over 30 years and is respected and celebrated worldwide for his musical creativity and dedication to humanitarian causes.

In the summer of 2026, Daniel Hope will take over as artistic director of the Menuhin Festival in Gstaad. This will mark the 70th edition of the festival since its founding by Yehudi Menuhin and Benjamin Britten. He has served as music director of the Zurich Chamber Orchestra since 2016 and assumed the same role with the New Century Chamber Orchestra in San Francisco in 2018. In 2019, he became artistic director of the Frauenkirche in Dresden, and since 2020, he has served as president of the Beethoven House in Bonn, succeeding Joseph Joachim and Kurt Masur. Since 2007, he has been an exclusive artist with Deutsche Grammophon. As a chamber musician and soloist, he performs worldwide and collaborates with leading orchestras and conductors.

Hope regularly performs at the most prestigious concert halls and renowned festivals—from Carnegie Hall in New York to the Sydney Opera House, from Salzburg to Aspen and Tanglewood, from Schleswig-Holstein and Gstaad to the BBC Proms in London. He has collaborated with conductors such as Kurt Masur, Christoph Eschenbach, Simon Rattle, Vladimir Jurowski, Iván Fischer, and Christian Thielemann, as well as with top-tier orchestras, including the symphony orchestras of Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London, Los Angeles, Paris, and Tokyo. He also works closely with composers such as Alfred Schnittke, György Kurtág, Mark-Anthony Turnage, Tōru Takemitsu, and Tan Dun.

His discography includes more than 30 albums that have received numerous awards, including the Deutscher Schallplattenpreis, the Diapason d’Or de l’Année, the Edison Classical Award, and the Prix Caecilia. His recordings are also regularly praised by international music critics (The New York Times: “one of the best albums of the year”; Gramophone: “the best choice among all available recordings”).

Hope is dedicated to chamber music and was a member of the renowned Beaux Arts Trio for many years. His artistic versatility is also evident in projects with artists such as Klaus Maria Brandauer, Sebastian Koch, Iris Berben, Mia Farrow, and Sting, as well as in his work as a radio and television host. In 2017, the documentary film Daniel Hope – The Sound of Life was shown in cinemas across North America, Australia, and Europe.

Since 2016, he has hosted the weekly program Daniel Hope persönlich on WDR 3 radio. He has also written four books, published by Rowohlt, which have become bestsellers. He contributes as a writer to The Wall Street Journal and The Guardian, and as part of his Hope@9pm series, he hosts figures from the worlds of culture and politics for salon discussions at the Konzerthaus in Berlin.

To support other artists during the 2020 lockdown, Daniel Hope conceived and hosted the online live-streaming series Hope@Home. The project produced more than 150 episodes featuring music and conversations, which were broadcast on Arte, with guests ranging from Robert Wilson to Lang Lang.

Daniel Hope studied violin with Zakhar Bron, Itzhak Rashkovsky, and Felix Andrievsky, and trained at the Royal Academy of Music in London. He worked closely with his mentor Yehudi Menuhin, with whom he performed in numerous concerts around the world.

Hope is a recipient of the Federal Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and was awarded the European Culture Prize in 2015.

He lives with his family in Switzerland and plays a 1742 Guarneri del Gesù violin known as the “Ex-Lipiński,” which has been loaned to him.

The German-Chilean pianist Jacques Ammon gained international recognition following his success at the Claudio Arrau International Piano Competition. As a soloist and chamber musician, he has performed in leading concert halls around the world, including the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Wigmore Hall in London, the Wiener Konzerthaus in Vienna, and the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, and has participated in major international music festivals.

For nearly three decades, he has been part of the acclaimed duo Runge & Ammon alongside cellist Eckart Runge, with whom he performs and records worldwide. He has also collaborated extensively with violinist Daniel Hope on numerous concert and recording projects.

A highly regarded teacher, master class instructor, and jury member, Jacques Ammon has been a professor of piano at the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy University of Music and Theatre in Leipzig since 2014.

Josephine Knight performs around the world as a soloist, recitalist, artistic director, and chamber musician. She is known for her exceptional technical mastery, lyricism, and remarkable artistic expression. She regularly leads masterclasses around the world and is frequently invited to serve on juries at major international competitions.

In 2005, she made her debut as a soloist at the BBC Proms, and since then has performed with leading orchestras in the United Kingdom and abroad. She has collaborated with renowned conductors, including Sir Colin Davis, Edward Gardner, Richard Hickox, Vasily Petrenko, Sir Simon Rattle, and Andris Nelsons.

Her discography includes numerous acclaimed works, and she has been commissioned by renowned composers such as Sir John Tavener, Huw Watkins, Thea Musgrave, and Geoffrey Burgon. As a creative curator of concert programs, she recently released the album Schubert Reimagined on Orchid Classics, which has reached one million streams, received five stars from BBC Music Magazine, and was selected as one of Apple Music’s top ten albums. Josephine is a regular guest at the world’s most prestigious music festivals. Her mentors have included David Strange, Aldo Parisot (The Juilliard School), and Mischa Maisky.

Today, she holds the Alfred Piatti Chair of Cello at the Royal Academy of Music, where she serves as a professor. She is also highly regarded internationally as a teacher and enjoys working with some of the world’s most promising young musicians. Her edition of Schumann’s Concerto (Koncertstück) for cello and orchestra is the first published edition of the original version by Edition Peters.

Ema Krečič Rode earned her master’s degree with honors in June 2024 at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg in the class of Prof. Clemens Hagen, and in June 2025 she completed a one-year postgraduate program there. For her academic achievements, she has twice received the Prešeren Award from the Academy of Music at the University of Ljubljana.

She is the winner of numerous national and international competitions. Among her achievements, the Sir Ian Stoutzker Prize (2023) stands out in particular; she received it for an exceptionally conceived and performed program in which she combined cello playing and singing.

Since 2026, she has been a member of the Beijaflor String Quartet, and she also actively participates in other chamber ensembles, including the Janus Piano Trio and the Cédez Cello Quartet. She regularly performs as a soloist with professional orchestras at home and abroad and appears as a guest at prestigious chamber music festivals, where she collaborates with renowned musicians such as Antje Weithaas, Lukas Hagen, Emmanuel Tjeknavorian, and Jonathan Brown.

Her artistic development has been significantly influenced by professors Igor Mitrović, Karmen Pečar, Matthias Bartolomey, Enrico Bronzi, Damir Hamidullin, and Jaka Stadler. She has also honed her skills in masterclasses with renowned cellists and pedagogues, including Jens-Peter Maintz, Julian Steckel, Marc Coppey, Philippe Muller, and Reinhard Latzko.

Singing is also an important part of her artistic expression. During her studies, she was a member of several girls’ choirs, and in 2024 she completed eight years of training in solo singing under Prof. Barbara Nagode.

Ema Krečič Rode plays a Swiss cello that once belonged to Prof. Heinrich Schiff. It was crafted by Angelo Radrizzani in 1932.

Viola player Nejc Mikolič studied at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana in the class of Prof. Mileta Kosija, where he graduated with honors in 2013. During his studies, he received two Prešeren Student Awards. He continued his studies in Vienna at the University of Music and Performing Arts under Prof. H.P. Ochsenhofer.

As a soloist, he has performed with the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, the Symphony Orchestra of the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, the Amadeo Orchestra, the Arseia String Orchestra, and the Coastal Chamber Orchestra.

As a principal violist, he has been engaged by the following orchestras: the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, the Orchestra Academy in Ossiach, the Pur-Pur International Orchestra, the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, and the SNG Opera and Ballet Ljubljana.

For five years, he was employed as principal violist with the KSO orchestra in Klagenfurt. He is a member of the Slovenian String Sextet and the Minui ensemble. He performs in various chamber ensembles both at home and abroad.

He teaches chamber music at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana. His students have won first prizes at domestic and international competitions.

Nikola Pajanović (born in 2000 in Ljubljana) is one of the most prominent Slovenian violinists of the younger generation. He began playing the violin at the age of six and developed his musical career under the mentorship of Igor Ulokin, Plamenka Dražil, and Gorjan Košuta. In 2023, he earned his master’s degree with honors (cum laude) from the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, and he recently completed his master’s studies at the Royal Academy of Music in London in Roman Simović’s class.

At the age of eight, he won first prize and a gold medal at the Euritmia International Competition in Italy, followed by numerous awards at international competitions. In 2016, he was the overall winner of the Jaroslav Kocian Competition in the Czech Republic, and in 2018, he advanced to the semifinals of the prestigious Menuhin Competition in Geneva. That same year, he took second place as Slovenia’s representative at the Eurovision Young Musicians competition in Edinburgh.

As a soloist, he has performed with the Slovenian Philharmonic, the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra, the SNG Maribor Symphony Orchestra, and other renowned orchestras. He has performed at major festivals and in renowned concert halls across Europe, including the Ljubljana Festival, the Maggio Musicale in Florence, and the Sarajevo Music Evenings.

For his achievements, he has received the Škerjanec Award, the Prešeren Award from the Academy of Music, and special recognitions from the University of Ljubljana. In the 2024/25 academic year, he was a scholarship recipient of the Rhona Reid Charitable Trust.

Born in Lebanon, Ribal Molaeb began his music studies (viola) at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and continued them at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, where he graduated with honors in 2018. Ribal Molaeb has performed as a soloist in a recital at the Vienna Musikverein. He is a member of Barenboim’s “West-Eastern Divan Orchestra.”

In the summer of 2015, he founded the “Molaeb Festival for Chamber Music and Fine Arts.” His CD “My Years in Vienna” (2010–2018) features his own compositions as well as sonatas by Brahms and Hindemith.

Due to his impressive career as a chamber musician, he was recently appointed head of the string department at the Lebanese National Conservatory. In Switzerland, he is the president and artistic director of the SUMITO cultural association.

Host and arranger: Klara Mlakar

Performers:

Tanja Sonc (violin)

Val Jelenski (violin)

Nejc Mikolič (viola)

Ema Krečič (cello)

Gal Gros (piano)

Program:

Edvard Grieg: Sonata No. 3 in C minor for Piano and Violin, Op. 45

Allegro molto appassionato

Allegretto espressivo alla Romanza

Allegro animato

Matija Krečič: In a melting pot

J. Brahms: Piano Quintet in F minor

Allegro non troppo

Andante

Scherzo

Finale

Performers:

Tanja Sonc (violin)

Ribal Molaeb (viola)

Irena Josifoska (cello)

Julija Miloslavska (piano)

Program:

Richard Strauss: Capriccio

P. I. Tchaikovsky: Souvenir de Florence

Allegro con spirito

Adagio cantabile e con moto

Allegretto moderato

Allegro vivace

Performers:

Tanja Sonc (violin)

Nikola Pajanović (violin)

Ribal Molaeb (viola)

Nejc Mikolič (viola)

Josephine Knight (cello)

Ema Krečič (cello)