Saxophone & Clarinet

Hayrapet Arakelyan was praised as one of the leading saxophonist of his generation during his performance at the Eurovision young musicians competition in 2010.

Mr. Arakelyan has appeared in numerous international music festivals in Paris, Boston, St. Petersburg, Aberdeen, Zurich, New York, Singapore , Berlin. In 2011, he was invited by the Italian Saxophone Association to conduct a master class and a solo recital at the XVII Stage Internationale del Saxofono di Fermo. In addition, he has performed as a soloist with orchestras including the Radio Symphony Orchestra Vienna, the Boston Pops Orchestra, the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra, the Poznan Philharmonic Orchestra, the Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra and the Folkwang Chamber Orchestra. He has performed at many music festivals, including the Mosel Festival, the Beethoven Fest Bonn, Festspiele Mecklenburg Vorpommern, the Schleswig Holstein Musikfestival, the Bachfest Leipzig, Dresdner Musikfestspiele, the Musikfestival Graffeneg the Schumann Festival in Dusseldorf, the Emilia Romanga Musicfestival and the New York Chamber Music Festival.

Graduated with honors from the Conservatory of Music in L’Aquila and attended classes with J.M. Londeix. Since 1984, he has given more than 1,600 concerts. As a member of the Quartetto di Sassofoni Accademia, he has toured Europe, Africa, Asia, the Middle East, the Far East, North America and South America. Mr. Di Bacco has given concerts in prestigious venues including the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Teatro Teresa Carreño in Caracas, Palau de La Musica in Valencia, Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in Paris, Konzerthaus in Bern, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Barcelona, Cappella Paolina at the Quirinale Palace and the most important concert associations in Italy. He has presented concerts with pianists and organists, with a variety of chamber music ensembles and as soloist with many symphony orchestras, including the Orchestra del Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana (a tour of Japan and China), Orchestra Filarmonica di Donetsk, Orquesta Sinfónica de Maracaibo, the Orchestra Sinfonica Abruzzese, Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra, Orchestra Internazionale di Lanciano, Orchestra Sinfonica Sulmonese (International Festival of Symphony Music El-Djem in Tunisia), Orchestra del Teatro Maruccino di Chieti, Zagreb String Orchestra and the Orchestra Benedetto Marcello, Orchestra del Conservatorio di Pescara, l’Orchestra da Camera Fiorentina, Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale di Kiev, Filarmonica di Chisinau, Orchestra da Camera di Riga, Orchestra Sinfonica di Donetsk, Orchestra Sinfonica di Adana (Turchia), Zilina Symphony Orchestra (Svolacchia) ecc...

Born in Chieti, he studied under the guidance of Lucia Passaglia at the Conservatory "L. Cherubini" in Florence graduating with highest honours. He participated as a student performer on a three-year piano perfection course at the “Accademia Musicale Umbra” where he achieved a "Diploma of Excellence”.

Later, he participated in the "International Master Classes" in Klaipeda (Lithuania), held by Lazar Berman. With him, his concert repertoire deepened and improved with particular attention to the music of F. Liszt, at the European Academy of Music, Erba (CO). He perfected Chamber Music at the International School of Chamber Music in Duino under the guidance of "Trio of Trieste" achieving a "Diploma with Merit". He has won national and international competitions, including "M. Clementi" in Florence, “Agorà 80" in Rome, "F. Liszt" in Lucca, and "Città di Stresa". In 1997 he won second prize at the 'T. I. M. " - International Music Tournament; in 1998, he was awarded the prestigious "Prix Venice"; in 1999 he won second prize at the international competition "Ecomusic" of Monopoli (BA); in 2002 was the winner of the 40th International Piano Competition "Arcangelo Speranza" in Taranto. In 2009 he was awarded in the “4th International Tbilisi Piano Competition" in Georgia (WFIMC).

A consummate performer and scholar, Nicolai Pfeffer is hailed by the press for his „strong dynamic contrasts, rich colors, sensitivity, and passion“ (NZZ). „The clarinet poet“ (La repubblica) is recognized as a sought-after soloist, chamber musician, and educator of the younger generation.

Pfeffer completed his artistic studies at the University of Music and Dance Cologne under the guidance of Ralph Manno, earning his Master's degree with distinction in solo and chamber music in 2011. He completed his postgraduate studies under Professor Howard Klug and Alfred Prinz at Indiana University Bloomington in Indiana (USA). During his studies, Mr. Pfeffer drew great inspiration from his masterclass experiences with Sabine Meyer (Lübeck), Sharon Kam (Hanover), Anthony Spiri (Cologne), Karl Leister (Berlin), Alfred Prinz ( Vienna), and Sir Alan Hacker (London).

As a soloist and passionate chamber musician, Nicolai Pfeffer has established himself as a stylistically confident and virtuosic clarinetist. He made his debut as a soloist with the Orchestra of La Scala Milan, conducted by Maestro Fabio Luisi, performing Rossini's Clarinet Concerto in 2018. Furthermore, he has collaborated with conductors like Markus Stenz, Jonathan Webb, Mario Venzago, Daniel Spaw and Grigori Palikarov, presenting central works of the solo clarinet repertoire. Pfeffer has performed in major prestigious concert halls in Germany and at renowned festivals in Europe, the United States, South America, and the Middle East. He has performed with notable pianists, violinists, cellists, and vocalists, and has appeared as a guest solo clarinetist with various orchestras, including the Cologne Opera, the German Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the Athens State Symphony Orchestra, and the Bamberger Symphoniker and other orchestras. His performances have been recorded for various important radio and television broadcasts across Europe.

".. I am very impressed by the sound beauty, the dynamics quality, the tone colour play, the musical expressiveness and fantasy rendering" [Karl Leister - historical first clarinet of the Philharmonic Orchestra of Berlin conducted by Herbert von Karajan]; “in a word, superbly” [Fanfare Magazine USA]; “perfect musicality” [Musica Magazine]; “masterfully
interpretation” [The Clarinet USA], “admirable coherence, a whole warm, rich and very charming sound” [Journal ofMusic].

Musicians who added a significant contribution to his artistic development are Angelo Clemente, Romeo Tudorache and Karl Leister. His artistic collaboration with Karl Leister, Fabio Bidini, Yuri Gandelsman, Paolo Pollastri, Francesco Pomarico, Ovidiu Balan, Riccardo Ceni, Ivano Battiston, Fabio Di Cásola, Victoria Soames Samek, Aurelian Octav Popa, Mark Clinton, Karen Becker, Angelo Inglese, Landon Baumgard, Patrick Messina,
Enesco Quartet (Paris) and Giuliano Mazzoccante, with which it forms a stable DUO, is remarkable.