One of the underlying principles of Johannes Brahms’s works is the way the composer creatively engages with a range of musical traditions, from the old German folk song through to the madrigal to Viennese Classicism and the Romanticism of the likes of Schumann and Mendelssohn. This tendency has at times led to Brahms being labelled a “conservative”.

The young cellist Julia Hagen is known as one of the most promising instrumentalists of her generation. Most recently she has made her debut with the Vienna Chamber Orchestra as well as with the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra at the famous Suntory Hall in Tokyo

Annika Treutler grew up in Detmold and is now based in Berlin. She studied with Prof. Matthias Kirschnereit at the Rostock College of Music and Drama and Prof. Bernd Goetzke at the Hanover College of Music, Drama and Media. The young artist won third prize at the Montreal International Piano Competition in 2014 national.