Vienna Arts United
Artists
The Philharmonic Brass
“They come together in perfect harmony, which I find both relaxing and fulfilling. The sound they produce is consistently rich and round, even in the loudest passages. This is a testament to their cultural sophistication, as they seamlessly transition from pianissimo to fortissimo with a refined sound. This experience is invaluable, and I hope it continues to educate and delight audiences.”
Riccardo Muti
The Philharmonic Brass was founded on the vision of uniting the diversity and excellence of European brass artistry within a single ensemble. Internationally renowned soloists from leading orchestras form a 20-member formation that combines the transparency of chamber music with the power and brilliance of a symphonic brass sound. Tailor-made arrangements and original compositions allow the ensemble to fully explore its exceptional technical virtuosity, stylistic versatility and rich tonal spectrum.
The artistic profile of The Philharmonic Brass has been significantly shaped through collaborations with distinguished conductors such as Riccardo Muti and Tugan Sokhiev. Their musical guidance has influenced the ensemble’s distinctive sound and artistic direction. Concert tours have taken The Philharmonic Brass to prestigious concert halls and major festivals across Europe and Asia, where the ensemble has been celebrated for its virtuosity, precision and vibrant musical energy.
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Artis Trio
The Artis Trio brings together three distinguished figures from Vienna’s vibrant chamber music tradition and the international music scene: violinist Johannes Meissl, Vice-Rector for International Affairs and the Arts at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (mdw); cellist Othmar Müller; and pianist Avedis Kouyoumdjian. Their decades of experience on the world’s concert stages, profound dedication to chamber music and influential work as educators lend the ensemble exceptional artistic authority.
At the heart of the trio is violinist and conductor Johannes Meissl, a long-standing member of the internationally acclaimed Artis Quartet Vienna and Professor of Chamber Music at the mdw. As Artistic Director of isa – the International Summer Academy of the mdw – and, alongside Hatto Beyerle, of the European Chamber Music Academy (ECMA), he has played a defining role in shaping the international chamber music landscape and nurturing new generations of ensembles.
Othmar Müller is a founding member of the Artis Quartet Vienna and Professor at the Joseph Haydn Private University. He combines an extensive international concert career with a profound commitment to supporting and inspiring emerging musicians.
Avedis Kouyoumdjian, winner of the International Beethoven Piano Competition in Vienna, enjoys a distinguished career as a soloist and chamber musician and is Professor of Piano Chamber Music at the mdw.
Together, the three musicians unite the great Viennese chamber music tradition with openness, individuality and an exceptionally refined culture of collaborative music-making. The Artis Trio embodies the essence of the Viennese sound: stylistic clarity, expressive depth and a passionate musical dialogue at the highest international level.
Ensemble Wien-Berlin
In 1983, a small music festival in the south of Lower Saxony invited five first wind players of the Vienna and Berlin Philharmonic to make music together, from which the Ensemble Wien-Berlin emerged.
In the founding year, the musicians undertook their first major tour and established their reputation as an internationally outstanding wind quintet within a very short time. The Ensemble Wien-Berlin is a guest in the most renowned concert halls and can be seen at festivals such as the Salzburg Festival, the Mozartwoche Salzburg, the Wiener Festwochen, the Lucerne Festival and the Rheingau Music Festival. His repertoire includes almost all works for wind quintet, with a clear accent on the music of the 20th and 21st centuries. Century; among others, it baptised contemporary pieces by Wolfgang Rihm or Brett Deans, which were dedicated to the ensemble. An extensive discography documents the work of the ensemble over many years: most recently, the two LIVE recordings from the Vienna Konzerthaus were published by FONTEC.
Over time, the Ensemble Wien-Berlin experienced recasts. In addition, the musicians have always kept it open to expanding the regular cast depending on the chosen literature. Their partners include Maurizio Pollini, Elisabeth Leonskaja, Alexander Lonquich, Simon Rattle and Lars Vogt.
Philharmonic Trio Vienna
The Philharmonic Trio Vienna unites three exceptional musicians shaped by Vienna’s celebrated musical tradition: violinist Albena Danailova, Concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic; Sebastian Bru, Principal Cellist of the Vienna Philharmonic; and pianist Maximilian Flieder, who teaches at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (mdw). Their careers as soloists, orchestral musicians and chamber partners lend the ensemble exceptional authority and refinement.
Albena Danailova is a prominent figure in Vienna’s musical life. Before becoming Concertmaster of the Vienna State Opera Orchestra in 2008 and subsequently joining the Vienna Philharmonic, she held leading positions with the Bavarian State Orchestra and the London Philharmonic Orchestra. An international prizewinner, she performs worldwide as a soloist and chamber musician and has been Professor of Violin at the mdw since 2020.
Sebastian Bru joined the Vienna State Opera Orchestra at eighteen and became a member of the Vienna Philharmonic in 2013, serving as Principal Cellist since 2016. He appears worldwide as a soloist and collaborates with leading conductors and chamber musicians. His playing combines expressive depth, tonal warmth and versatility.
Born into a Viennese musical family, Maximilian Flieder studied at the mdw, Hanover and Munich. As a soloist and chamber musician, he has appeared at the Vienna Musikverein, Vienna Konzerthaus, Berlin Philharmonie, Suntory Hall in Tokyo and major venues throughout Asia. Since 2019, he has taught at the mdw’s Department of Piano in Performance.
Together, they embody the internationally renowned Viennese sound tradition through stylistic clarity, expressive intensity and a finely balanced culture of ensemble playing. The Philharmonic Trio Vienna stands for exceptional musical partnership and chamber music at the highest international level.
Sebastian Bru
Cellist Sebastian Bru, born in Vienna in 1987 into an Argentine-Austrian family of musicians, received his first musical training at the age of eight from his father, Ricardo Bru. He later studied with Josef Podhoransky in Bratislava and Robert Nagy at the Konservatorium Wien Privatuniversität, further refining his artistry in masterclasses with Clemens Hagen, David Geringas, Steven Isserlis, and Heinrich Schiff.
After winning a highly competitive audition, he joined the Vienna State Opera Orchestra (Vienna Philharmonic) in 2006. In the 2010/11 season he served as Principal Cellist of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, and since 2016 he has held the position of Principal Cellist of the Vienna Philharmonic.
As a soloist, Bru has appeared internationally with orchestras including the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Czech Philharmonic, the Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional of Buenos Aires. He is also regularly invited to perform with the Berlin Philharmonic, the Staatskapelle Dresden, and the Munich Philharmonic.
A passionate chamber musician, he collaborates with artists such as Rudolf Buchbinder, Rainer Honeck, and Stefan Stroissnig, with whom he released the recital album a deux on Sony Classical in 2019.
Sebastian Bru performs on the Guadagnini violoncello “ex Zweygberg”, generously provided by the Austrian National Bank.
Karl-Heinz Schütz
Karl-Heinz Schütz is Principal Flutist of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the Vienna State Opera Orchestra. He studied with Eva Amsler, Aurèle Nicolet, and Philippe Bernold, completing his studies with distinction at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Lyon (CNSM Lyon) in 2000.
During his studies, he already gained international recognition by winning the Carl Nielsen International Flute Competition (1998) and the International Flute Competition in Kraków (1999), marking the beginning of his international career.
Since then, Karl-Heinz Schütz has appeared worldwide as a soloist with renowned conductors including Riccardo Muti, Daniel Barenboim, Sir Neville Marriner, and Fabio Luisi, performing with leading orchestras such as the Vienna Philharmonic, the NHK Symphony Orchestra Tokyo, and the Academy of St Martin in the Fields.
An acclaimed chamber musician, he regularly appears at major international festivals including the Salzburg Festival. Since 2005, he has served as Professor at the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna (MUK) and gives masterclasses internationally.
Numerous recordings document his wide-ranging repertoire from Bach to Boulez. He is a member of Ensemble Wien-Berlin and the Wiener Ringensemble.
Albena Danailova
Albena Danailova is Concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.
Born in Sofia, the violinist studied at the University of Music and Theatre in Rostock and in Hamburg with Petru Munteanu, and attended masterclasses with distinguished artists including Ida Haendel and Herman Krebbers. After completing her studies, she joined the Bavarian State Orchestra, where she became Principal of the First Violins and subsequently First Concertmaster. In the 2003/04 season, she also served as Concertmaster of the London Philharmonic Orchestra. Since September 2008, she has held the position of Concertmaster of the Vienna State Opera Orchestra.
A prizewinner at numerous international competitions and a semi-finalist at the International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, she performs worldwide as a soloist and chamber musician. She has appeared with orchestras such as the Vienna Philharmonic, the NHK Symphony Orchestra, and the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, collaborating with conductors including Seiji Ozawa, Georges Prêtre, and Andris Nelsons.
Since 2020, she has been Professor at the mdw – University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. She performs on the Stradivarius “Ex-Haemmerle,” kindly provided by the Austrian National Bank.
Johannes Meissl
Since 1982, Johannes Meissl has been a member of the internationally acclaimed Artis Quartet Vienna, one of Europe's leading string quartets. With more than 2,000 performances in the world's most prestigious concert halls and at renowned international festivals, the ensemble has established itself as a distinguished ambassador of the Viennese chamber music tradition. Its artistic achievements have been recognized with numerous international awards, including the Grand Prix du Disque, Diapason d'Or, the German Record Critics' Award, Echo Klassik, and the MIDEM Classical Award.
Alongside his extensive international concert career as a violinist, chamber musician, and conductor, Johannes Meissl has devoted himself to the education of future generations of musicians. Since October 2019, he has served as Vice Rector for International Affairs and the Arts at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (mdw), one of the world's leading institutions for music education. He is also the Artistic Director of isa – the International Summer Academy of the mdw, one of Europe's most prestigious international training programs for outstanding young musicians, and Artistic Director of the European Chamber Music Academy (ECMA), one of Europe's foremost institutions dedicated to the education and development of exceptional young chamber ensembles.
As a conductor, Johannes Meissl has collaborated with orchestras in Austria, Japan, Finland, and numerous other countries. Through his exceptional combination of artistic excellence, international leadership, and educational vision, he has become one of the most influential figures in today's European classical music landscape.
Young Ae Choi
The Garden
2016
Longing
2015
Where I Belong
2010
In the mid-1960s, at a time when higher education was far from equally accessible to women in South Korea, Young Ae Choi belonged to an early generation of women who pursued academic training in the fine arts. Her studies at Dong-A University laid the foundation for a distinguished artistic career spanning several decades. As one of her country’s early academically trained female painters, she challenged the social and gender-related limitations that shaped the lives of women entering the arts at the time.
Rooted in the tradition of Western painting, Choi’s work has evolved into a distinctive and deeply personal visual language characterised by a figurative, impressionistically informed approach. Light, colour and atmosphere enter into a sensitive dialogue with the visible subject. Rather than dissolving representational form entirely, she translates observation into painterly states of mood and perception. Moving between close attention to the visible world and intuitive artistic expression, her work unfolds through a lyrical language in which colour assumes not only a descriptive role, but also an emotional and spatial dimension.
Through exceptional artistic talent, perseverance and an unwavering creative vision, Choi established herself as an artist despite the social and gender-specific constraints of her generation. Numerous solo, group and invitational exhibitions earned her a respected position within the Korean art world and brought her work to broader audiences across Asia and internationally.
Her artistic achievements have been recognised with an award at the World International Art Competition. Her work has also been presented in numerous solo exhibitions and in significant invitational and group exhibitions, including the *Invitational Exhibition of 100 Korean Artists*, an invitational exhibition at the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts, and a curated exhibition featuring three Korean women artists.
Among the notable milestones of her exhibition career was a presentation at Gallery Hyundai in Seoul, one of South Korea’s longest-established galleries for modern and contemporary art. Her work has also been shown internationally, including in exhibitions in San Francisco.
Alongside her own artistic practice, Choi assumed positions of responsibility within the Korean art community. She served as Chair of the Western Painting Section in Seoul’s Dobong-gu district and as Chair of the Western Painting Section of the Hurak Lee Foundation in Ulsan. She was also a member of the artists’ association Cheongjohoe and the Korean Contemporary Artists Association.
Young Ae Choi’s artistic journey reflects the experience of a generation of Korean women who established academically grounded and professional careers in the visual arts under challenging social conditions. Her œuvre brings the tradition of Western painting into dialogue with an atmospheric and unmistakably personal mode of expression, positioning her work within both Korean and international exhibition contexts.
Today, Young Ae Choi lives and works in Vienna, Austria. Developed over the course of several decades, her body of work bears witness to the remarkable journey of an artist who transcended the limitations of her time and established an enduring artistic presence through talent, determination and an independent painterly voice.