Short biographies in alphabetical order
Prof. Dr. Eckart Altenmüller is Scientific Vice President and Director of the Institute of Music Physiology and Musicians’ Medicine at the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media (HMTMH). After studying medicine in Tübingen, Paris and Freiburg and studying music (flute) in Freiburg at the same time, he specialized in neurophysiology and neurology. He has headed the institute in Hanover since 1994 and conducts intensive research into the central nervous processing of music and the sensorimotor function of music-making. He has also set up a special outpatient clinic for musical disorders. He remains artistically active as a concert flutist.
Marina Baranova, artistic director, was born in Kharkiv as the daughter of a married couple of pianists. Her training according to the ideals of the “Russian School” laid the foundation for her outstanding pianism, which she perfected with Vladimir Krainev in Hanover. After successful competitions and debuts, she realized that a career as a classical pianist only expressed part of her musical personality. She turned her attention back to improvisation and composition. She made her debut as a composer in 2013 with the album Firebird – Piano Meets World Percussion. To date, she has released six further albums in which she combines classical music, jazz, minimal music and synaesthesia. On the album Cosmic Calendar, released in 2023, she appeared as sole producer for the first time.
Prof. Markus Becker has established himself as an outstanding interpreter of piano literature from Bach to the modern era and impresses with his versatility, both in classical music and jazz. He regularly performs at renowned festivals such as the Ruhr Piano Festival and the Beethovenfest Bonn and has worked with leading orchestras and conductors such as Claudio Abbado and the Berlin Philharmonic. His recordings, including the complete recording of Max Reger’s piano works, have received numerous awards. As a professor at the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media, he has been passing on his knowledge to a successful pianist and chamber music class since 1993.
Damian Marhulets is a versatile composer, visual artist and curator of transdisciplinary projects with new forms of artistic expression. He is also a lecturer in composition and sound design. He was born in Minsk in 1980, where he trained as an oboist. After moving to Germany in 2000, he pursued new artistic paths and immersed himself in the experimental music scene. His music combines acoustic instruments with electronic elements and visual art. Marhulets studied composition and electronic music at the universities in Hanover and Cologne and has worked with outstanding artists and ensembles at renowned cultural institutions worldwide. His music is presented at international festivals.
Ido Ramot is a German-Israeli pianist who is characterized by his broad repertoire from baroque to modern and his special expertise in classical improvisation. Born in Israel in 1994, he made his debut with the Johannesburg Symphony Orchestra at the age of nine. Since then, he has played in renowned concert halls around the world. Ramot has won several prizes at international competitions, including the Chopin Competition in Tel Aviv and the “Maria Canals” in Barcelona. He is currently studying at the Stuttgart University of Music and Performing Arts in a unique master’s program for classical improvisation under Prof. Dr. Noam Sivan.
Maria I. J. Reich is a versatile Berlin musician, composer and author. She received extensive musical training in violin and composition at an early age, followed by studies in communication and cultural studies as well as music studies at the UdK Berlin and the HfM Hanns Eisler, where she specialized in jazz and improvisation. Reich is active throughout Germany as a violinist, violist and composer. She composes chamber music, theater and film music and performs regularly with various ensembles. As an author, she published her first volume of poetry “Kompost” in 2021. Reich also leads workshops and is involved in numerous international music projects.
Prof. Roman Rofalski is a professor of practical piano playing at the Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media and a versatile pianist and composer. His musical work is characterized by a constant search for new challenges and artistic forms of expression. Rofalski moves with ease between classical literature, jazz, new music and experimental electronics. With the Roman Rofalski Trio, he has released several albums that reinterpret classical models such as Ravel and Schubert. He also gives concerts worldwide, is a permanent member of the Oh Ton Ensemble and works with the Stockhausen Foundation.
Prof. Noam Sivan is a pianist and composer and a pioneer in the revival of classical improvisation. He plays fugues and four-movement sonatas extemporaneously, leads orchestral and choral improvisations and collaborates with instrumentalists, singers, dancers and actors. His solo album Ambiro’s Journey has been described as a “new milestone in the development of improvisation”. Born in Haifa, Israel in 1978, Noam Sivan was Director of Improvisation at the Curtis Institute and taught at the Juilliard School. Since 2021, he has been a professor at the HMDK Stuttgart, where he leads one of the world’s first master’s programs for piano improvisation.
As of September 2024 © Villa Seligmann
