Festival 2026

Imogen Cooper

Pianist

Imogen Cooper

Regarded as one of the finest interpreters of Classical and Romantic repertoire, Imogen Cooper is internationally renowned for her virtuosity and lyricism. Recent and future concerto performances include the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra with Sir Simon Rattle, London Symphony Orchestra with Manfred Honeck, Hallé Orchestra with Sir Mark Elder and The Cleveland and Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestras with Dame Jane Glover. This season her solo recitals include London, Vienna, Amsterdam, Philadelphia and the Klavierfest Ruhr in Germany. In Spring 2026 she will perform in China for the first time, playing solo recitals and Schubert’s Winterreise with Mark Padmore.

As a committed chamber musician Imogen performs regularly with Henning Kraggerud and Adrian Brendel. Following a long collaboration with Wolfgang Holzmair in both concert and recording, her current Lieder partners include Ian Bostridge, Dame Sarah Connolly and Mark Padmore. Imogen’s recent solo recording for Chandos Records features music by Fauré, Liszt, Ravel and Respighi.

Imogen received a DBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2021. In 2015 she founded the Imogen Cooper Music Trust to support young pianists and give them time in an environment of peace and beauty.

Nino Gvetadze

Pianist

Nino Gvetadze

Georgian pianist Nino Gvetadze was born and raised in Tbilisi. She resides in the Netherlands and leads an active international career as a soloist and chamber musician. Her performances have been praised by critics throughout Europe and Asia. She has received numerous awards, including second prize, the press prize and the audience award at the International Franz Liszt Piano Competition in 2008, as well as the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award in 2010.

Nino has recorded ten solo albums, all highly acclaimed by the international press, including BBC Music Magazine, Gramophone, The Independent, Het Parool and NRC.

She has performed with leading orchestras such as the Rotterdam Philharmonic, Brussels Philharmonic, Warsaw Philharmonic, Seoul Philharmonic, Netherlands Philharmonic and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra.

Since 2008 she has been a member of the Aroso Trio, together with violinist Frederieke Saeijs and cellist Maja Bogdanović.

Nino is professor at the Rotterdam Conservatory, co-founder and Artistic Director of the Naarden International Piano Festival and Artistic Director of the Delft Chamber Music Festival.

She plays on a Steinway grand piano, kindly loaned to her by the Dutch National Music Instrument Foundation.

Julien Libeer

Pianist

Julien Libeer

The Belgian pianist Julien Libeer (b. 1987) is internationally acclaimed for his profound musical approach, expressive interpretations and lucid intellectual vision. His playing combines technical clarity with refined sensitivity, inviting audiences to rediscover the repertoire of Bach, Mozart, Ravel and many others time and again.

At the age of four Julien saw Bernstein conduct his West Side Story; his next major inspirator was the Romanian pianist Dinu Lipatti. A decisive influence in his artistic formation was the Franco-Polish pedagogue Jean Fassina, followed by an intense artistic collaboration with Maria João Pires at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel. From her Julien learned that “freedom” is one’s most precious possession, on stage and beyond. He deliberately avoided piano competitions and further refined his artistry in masterclasses with among others, Alfred Brendel, Dmitry Bashkirov and the Artemis and Alban Berg Quartets.

Julien is Artist in Residence at Flagey (Brussels) and has performed in leading concert halls and festivals such as the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Wigmore Hall and Barbican Hall in London, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, and the Enescu Festival. As a soloist he has collaborated with orchestras including the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the Belgian National Orchestra, and Sinfonia Varsovia, with conductors such as Trevor Pinnock and Jun Märkl.

His discography on Harmonia Mundi and Evil Penguin Records has received international praise, with particular attention to his Bach projects and his dedication to Dinu Lipatti. Conceptual programmes such as A Well-Tempered Conversation reveal his ability to connect repertoire in historically informed and creatively imaginative ways. Together with Daniel Reuss of Cappella Amsterdam he has further developed these ideas in innovative concert formats.

Alongside his performing career Julien is deeply committed to music education and audience development. He is the artistic director of the children’s choir Singing Molenbeek and the initiator of Salon Libeer—projects that use music as a means of dialogue, reflection and social growth.

Alberto Ferro

Pianist

Alberto Ferro

Alberto Ferro was born in Italy in 1996 and achieved his Master’s degree with Professor Epifanio Comis at the Bellini Conservatoire in Catania.

He won many prizes in international competitions, including first prize at the Beethoven Competition in Bonn (2017), second prize at the Busoni Competition in Bolzano (2015) and sixth prize at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels (2016).

Alberto has performed in many concerts throughout Europe including the Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest, National Philharmonic in Warsaw, Palau de la Música Catalana in Barcelona, Herkulessaal in Munich, BOZAR in Brussels, Kolarac Concert Hall in Belgrade, Teatro Massimo in Palermo, Gewandhaus in Leipzig, Bronfman Auditorium in Tel Aviv, TivoliVredenburg in Utrecht, Teatro la Fenice in Venice, Philharmonic Hall in Liège, Philharmonie in Luxembourg, Concertgebouw in Bruges and LAC in Lugano.

Festival appearances included the Copenhagen Summer Festival, Unione Musicale di Torino, Bologna Festival, Società dei Concerti di Milano, Tyrolean Festival Erl, Kissinger Sommer, Beethovenfest, Piano aux Jacobins, Gent Festival van Vlaanderen and Villa Musica Rheinland-Pfalz.

He has performed with several orchestras including the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, National Orchestra of Belgium, Málaga Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestra Filarmonica della Fenice, the Antwerp Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Chamber Orchestra of Wallonia, under the direction of renowned conductors such as Thierry Fischer, Marin Alsop and Christian Zacharias.

Alberto is Professor of Piano at the Franco Vittadini State Conservatoire of Music in Pavia.

Ana Bakradze

Pianist

Ana Bakradze

Ana Bakradze was born in Tbilisi, Georgia, and began playing the piano at the age of six at the Tbilisi Art School. She continued her education at the Zakaria Paliashvili Central Music School in Tbilisi in 2014. In 2018 she graduated from high school with a gold medal as the best student of the year. Since 2018 she has been studying piano at the University of the Arts in Berlin under the guidance of professor Gottlieb Wallisch (Bachelor and Master).

In 2025 Ana Bakradze was honoured with the Förderpreis at the Classic Marathon, presented by the Rheingau Music Festival and Hessen Agentur. She is a scholarship holder of the Paul Hindemith Society Berlin, the Ad Infinitum Foundation and the International Music Academy Liechtenstein.

In the same year she was selected for a scholarship from the Lisa Batiashvili Foundation. She has performed as soloist and chamber musician at numerous concert series and festivals across Europe, including the Rheingau Music Festival, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, het Grachtenfestival Amsterdam, Pianoscope Festival (France), the Schiermonnikoog Chamber Music Festival, Villa Musica Rheinland-Pfalz, Musikalischer Sommer in Ostfriesland and in concerts in Berlin, Paris, London, Vienna, Amsterdam, Utrecht, Barcelona, Stockholm, Porto, Luxembourg, Geneva and Zurich.

Illia Fialko

Pianist

Illia Fialko

Illia Fialko comes from a highly musical Ukrainian family. From 2007 to 2018, he studied at the Lysenko Music School in Kyiv with the renowned teacher Borys Fedorov. Illia is a laureate of numerous international competitions and has given many concerts in Ukraine and across Europe.

From 2018 to 2025 he studied at the Conservatory of Amsterdam with Naum Grubert, where he completed his Master’s degree with a 10, the highest possible grade. He now performs regularly in the Netherlands and has appeared on Podium Witteman and NPO Radio 4. He has performed in some of the Netherlands’ most prestigious concert halls, including the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Concertgebouw De Vereeniging in Nijmegen and TivoliVredenburg in Utrecht.

In 2025, Illia took part in the recordings of a feature film, acting as a stand-in for the legendary pianist Youri Egorov. He is currently awaiting the film’s release and is preparing a concert programme featuring music from the film, with which he will tour throughout the Netherlands.

Paul Salard

Pianist

Paul Salard

Paul Salard (France) began studying the piano at the age of 10. Two years later he entered the Conservatoire à Rayonnement Régional de Nice, where he studied with Amédée Briggen. In June 2023, after only four years of study, he obtained the Diplôme d’Études Musicales (DEM).

He has participated in masterclasses with Marie-Josèphe Jude, Hortense Cartier-Bresson, Florent Boffard, Cédric Pescia, Antti Siirala, Roman Zaslavsky and Michel Dalberto.

In 2024 he won first prize and the audience prize at the Globe International Piano Competition (The Netherlands), second prize at the Samson François Competition (France), first prize unanimously at the Arte Piano Competition (Italy) and first prize at the Vienna Classic Stars International Competition.

In 2025, at the age of 17, he became the youngest pianist to win first prize at the Young Piano Foundation Competition in Amsterdam, also receiving the audience prize, the Youri Egorov Prize and awards for chamber music and contemporary performance.

He is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree at the Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK) in the class of Björn Lehmann.

Sandro Nebieridze

Pianist

Sandro Nebieridze

Sandro Nebieridze, a pianist and composer, began his musical journey at the age of five at the Z. Paliashvili Central Music School in Tbilisi. He furthered his studies at the Tbilisi State Conservatory and is currently advancing his piano skills at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich and the Accademia di Imola under Professors Antti Siirala and Boris Petrushansky.

Nebieridze has earned numerous international accolades, including second prize at the 65th Busoni Competition and Kissinger KlavierOlymp, first prize at Astana Piano Passion, and the grand prix at the Grand Piano Competition. His albums, released by Harmonia Mundi in 2019 and Genuin Classics in 2025, have received international acclaim, earning him the Tsinandali Award and Opus Klassik 2020 nomination.

As a composer Nebieridze is globally recognised for his award-winning Piano Concerto No. 1, and for his chamber, choral and piano works.

He frequently performs across Europe in prestigious venues, collaborating with conductors like Petr Popelka, Olivier Tardy and Gianandrea Noseda, and he has even substituted for Lang Lang at a ZDF Christmas concert.

Nebieridze is a scholarship holder of the Lisa Batiashvili Foundation and Martha Pulvermacher Foundation and is pursuing the Excellence in Performance degree in Munich.