Matthias Well
Born the son of the Bavarian musician Michael Well (known for the music and cabaret group “Biermösl Blosn”) in Munich in 1993, German-French violinist Matthias Well first received musical training on the violin at the age of five.

Matthias Well studied at the University of Music and Per forming Arts Munich with Mikyung Lee and, in addition to a bachelor’s degree, obtained two master’s degrees, which he completed with distinction. In addition, his artistic development was in uenced and supported by the violinist Kirill Troussov. He has also received valuable musical insight from attending master classes given by well-known musicians such as James Ehnes, Dmitry Sitkovetsky, Augustin Hadelich, Zakhar Bron, and Julia Fischer.

In 2016, Matthias Well and his sister, the cellist Maria Well, won the Special Prize of the Kulturkreis Gasteig for their outstanding interpretation of a modern work. Thanks to the mentorship of Julia Fischer, he received the Fanny Mendelssohn Young Artist Award, enabling him to complete his debut CD, Funeralissimo. The release was a notable success, reaching the top 20 of the German classical music charts and attracting a great deal of attention and high critical praise from German media.

Matthias Well has performed as a soloist with, among others, members of the Munich Philharmonic, the Vienna International Orchestra and the Taurida International Symphony Orchestra from Saint Petersburg. He has been invited to appear with various ensembles and artists at numerous festivals. Since the Elbphilharmonie opened, he has also performed there regularly.

Lilian Akopova
1st Prize Winner at the Vianna Da Motta International Piano Competition 2010, Lilian Akopova displays “ impressive virtuoso and pianistic capabilities” (Anne-Sophie Mutter).

Lilian Akopova received early instruction in music from the age of six with Valery Kozlov at the Kyiv Lysenko State Music Lyceum for Gifted Children, later graduating with highest honors at the age of 18. She holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree from the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich, where, at the invitation of Elisso Virsaladze, she completed the master class with distinction.

During her studies she was invited to attend master classes with András Schiff and Paul Badura-Skoda. She is a scholarship holder of the Yehudi Menuhin “Live Music Now” Foundation, the Gulbenkian Foundation and the German Academic Exchange (DAAD). Lilian Akopova has taken part in numerous international piano competitions. In 2010 she won First Prize at the International Piano Competition “Vianna Da Motta” in Lisbon. She was also awarded First Prizes at the Carlet International Piano Competition in Valencia, the “Rome 2005” Competition, and the “Primo Premio Sulmona” in Italy.

Lilian Akopova has appeared in concert with the Carinthian Symphony Orchestra Klagenfurt, the Bolzano Chamber Orchestra, the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, and the National Symphony Orchestra of Ukraine under the baton of conductors such as Enrique García Asensio, Arthur Fagen and Volker Schmidt-Gertenbach. Numerous radio recordings testify to her musical artistry.