Mario Hossen is a prominent representative of the Bulgarian violin school. A virtuoso of an impressive style of performance he masterfully combines the classical approach with a filigree romantic expressiveness. The musician does not overlook the works by contemporary composers, showing keen responsibility and interest to the modern musical scores.

Mario Hosen began playing the violin in Bulgaria. He made his debut as soloist with Orchestra at the age of eight. He furthered his studies with the famous violin pedagogue Professor Michael Frischenschlager, Rector of the Vienna Music Academy. The virtuoso performer graduated with award of the Austrian Ministry of Culture for outstanding artistic achievement. His work with prominent performers and music pedagogues like Darina Dankova, Evgenia-Maria Popova (Bulgaria), Gérard Poulet (Paris), Ruggiero Ricci (USA), Ifra Neaman (London) lent an important impetus to his musical career.

Critics and audience alike have met his concert appearances with all 6 Paganini Concertos, the 24 Capricci and the 10 Beethoven Sonatas with acclaim. The violinist is holder of many international prices and awards. He also serves as Artistic Director of the South-East European Academy "Orpheus" and "Les Orpheistes Festival Orchestra". He is a guest professor in the New Bulgarian University Sofia.

Mario Hossen plays the 1749 G. B. Guadagnini violin, a loan of the Austrian National Bank.

Andreas Janke was born in Munich on 5th November 1983 into a German-Japanese family of musicians and received his first violin lessons at the age of three. He completed his training at the University Mozarteum Salzburg in the master class of Professor Igor Ozim; in addition, the Hagen Quartet tutored him in the subject of Chamber Music.

His co-operation with Yfrah Neaman, Wolfgang Marschner and Igor Oistrach provided him with further artistic stimuli.

After initial successes in the ‘Jugend musiziert’ competitions (music competition for children and adolescents in Germany), he won and was awarded prizes in numerous international competitions.
His concert tours took him through all of Europe and Japan, and he has already performed with several leading orchestras such as the London Symphony Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Belgian National Orchestra and the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields.

Andreas Janke plays the ‘Helvetica’ Stradivarius, Cremona 1686, owned by ‘Blue de Brasil’ of the Fazenda Ipiranga, on loan through the Instrument Fund of the German Music Foundation (‘Deutscher Musikinstrumentenfonds der Deutschen Stiftung Musikleben’).

He is Concertmaster of the Tonhalle-Orchestra Zurich.

Michael Salm, who studied in his native Berlin und at the New York Manhattan School of Music, has been serving as Assistant Principal 2nd Violin in the Zurich Opera House Orchestra since 1998.  In addition, he has been a member of the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra since 2003.

From 2005 to 2006 Michael Salm was Concertmaster of the Korean Symphony Orchestra in Seoul, South Korea. He appeared as a soloist with the Korean Symphony Orchestra, the Ulsan Philharmonic Orchestra and the International String Festival Daejon, amongst others, and passed on his experience teaching numerous master classes.

Furthermore Michael Salm is teaching at the Orchestra Academy of the Zurich Opera House and working as a tutor with the Swiss Youth Symphony Orchestra.