Giovanni Gnocchi

The Salzburg-based Italian cellist Giovanni Gnocchi made his debut as a soloist at the Hong Kong Arts Festival in a concert alongside Yo-Yo Ma. He has performed as a soloist under the baton of some of the most prestigious conductors, in concert halls around the world.  A passionate chamber musician, he is a welcome guest at festivals such as the Lucerne Festival, the Casals Festival in Prades, Festival Radio-France in Montpellier, Verbier Festival and the Delft Music Festival in The Netherlands.  From 2002 to 2010, Giovanni Gnocchi was principal cellist of Camerata Salzburg and has since performed as guest principal with orchestras such as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, and Munich Philharmonic. He has been a member of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra since 2008. In 2013, he was appointed professor of cello at the Universität Mozarteum in Salzburg. He is a jury member at the National Cello Competition during the 2026 Cello Biënnale.

From a young age, Daniël Kramer received lesson from Ton Hartsuiker. He went on to study at the Conservatory of Amsterdam with Håkon Austbø, where he received his Master’s degree with distinction. He also received lessons from Rudolf Jansen, Willem Brons, Murray Perahia, and Claude Helffer, among others. He won prizes at the Prinses Christina Concours in 1994,  Concorso Seghizzi in 2008, and the Concours Olivier Messiaen in Paris in 2007.  His performances as a soloist include concerts with the Residentie Orchestra of The Hague, the Netherlands Radio Chamber Philharmonic conducted by Peter Eötvös, the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra conducted by Werner Herbers, and the Netherlands Youth Orchestra conducted by Reinbert de Leeuw. He has collaborated with various composers, such as George Benjamin, Louis Andriessen, Toshio Hosokawa, and Sofia Gubaidulina, and has premiered numerous contemporary works.  Daniël Kramer is the principal accompanist of the National Cello Competition and has given many concerts with laureates. He recently collaborated with Eline Hensels, the winner of the competition in 2018, to record a CD which was recently nominated for an Edison.

Piano