Historically informed performance practice on modern instruments — that was the founding idea when, in 1995, members of the Berliner Philharmoniker and leading figures from the early music world came together to form the Berliner Barock Solisten. It was an innovative venture: as violinist Raimar Orlovsky recalls, at the time “early music was not cultivated in our orchestra at all”. Yet the Berliner Philharmoniker had in Rainer Kussmaul a Concertmaster whose enthusiasm for Baroque music proved infectious among his colleagues.

 

The ensemble’s members made a conscious decision to interpret the repertoire of the 17th and 18th centuries on modern instruments — an approach through which they developed a distinctive sound culture that has since become their hallmark. Following Rainer Kussmaul’s retirement in 2012, the Berliner Barock Solisten placed artistic direction in a variety of hands, including those of Bernhard Forck, Daniel Hope and Frank Peter Zimmermann. Since 2018, the ensemble has been led by Reinhard Goebel.

 

 

Noah Bendix-Balgley enjoys a wide-ranging musical life as a violinist. He is First Concertmaster of the Berliner Philharmoniker and tours both as a soloist and as a chamber musician. His clear and heartfelt personal sound has reached and moved listeners around the world.

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Born in Asheville, North Carolina, Noah began playing the violin at age 4. At age 9, he played for Lord Yehudi Menuhin. He graduated from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and the Munich Hochschule. His principal mentors were Mauricio Fuks, Christoph Poppen and Ana Chumachenco. A laureate of the 2009 Queen Elisabeth Competition, he also won top prizes at the Long-Thibaud Competition in France and the Postacchini Competition in Italy.

 

 

Viola: Diyang Mei
Diyang Mei currently serves as Principal Viola of the Berlin Philharmonic, making history as the first Chinese musician to hold this position in the orchestra’s 140-year legacy. He is also a Professor at the Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin. Previously, he held the position of Principal Viola (tenured) with the Munich Philharmonic and was invited to serve on the jury of the International Brahms Viola Competition in Austria.

In 2018, Mei won First Prize at the 67th ARD International Music Competition (Viola), sweeping all six special prizes in the process. As the most prestigious and influential international award in the viola world, the ARD Viola category has seen only six laureates in its 70-year history—with the First Prize remaining unawarded in all other editions. Additionally, Mei is a recipient of the Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship (UK) and the Osnabrück Music Prize (Germany).