Lorraine McAslan, violin

Identified in The Strad magazine as ‘one of the most distinguished British violinists of her generation’, Lorraine McAslan was at the age of seventeen talent-spotted by Isaac Stern, and on his recommendation went to study at the Juilliard School in New York with the legendary Dorothy DeLay. Since then she has produced a large discography and appeared as soloist with many of Britain and Europe’s leading orchestras, including the London Symphony, London Philharmonic, Royal Scottish National, Royal Philharmonic, Royal Liverpool, London Mozart Players, Bern Symphony, Scottish Chamber and English Chamber Orchestras, and with conductors including Andrew Davis, Raymond Leppard, Jerzy Maksymiuk, Libor Pesek, Eliahu Inbal, Alexander Gibson and Jukka-Pekka Saraste.

Karine Georgian, cello

Characterised by the Boston Globe as ‘a musical mind that is passionate, inventive, spontaneous, yet carefully reasoned and serenely assured,’ is today one of the outstanding exponents of the golden generation of Russian string playing. She began her cello studies at the age of five under her father Armen Georgian, a renowned Armenian cellist and teacher who taught for over fifty years at Moscow’s Gnessin Institute, where Rostropovich came one day to listen to his young daughter performing in a school concert. The result was an invitation to join Rostropovich’s celebrated Class 19 in the Moscow Conservatoire, where Karine remained for the next seven years. Soon after taking First Prize and Gold Medal at the Third Tchaikovsky International Competition she was launching her international career in Carnegie Hall with the Chicago Symphony and her compatriot Aram Khachaturian on the podium for his Cello Concerto, followed by the US premiere of his Cello Rhapsody, with the same forces. Today Karine’s repertoire encompasses more than forty concertos and a huge range of instrumental and chamber music, her sympathies extending from the eighteenth century to the present day.

John Lenehan, piano

With more than 70 albums to his credit, reflecting an enormous variety of genres and styles, John Lenehan ranks as one of the most versatile pianists on the classical scene today. Praised by the New York Times for his “great flair and virtuosity” and the (London) Times – “a masterly recital”, John Lenehan has appeared in concerts throughout the World from Abu Dhabi to Zurich and from Aberdeen to Zimbabwe. As a soloist he has appeared with orchestras such as the London Symphony at the Barbican and the Royal Philharmonic in the Royal Albert Hall. John Lenehan has also collaborated with some of the leading instrumentalists of our time and is recognised as an outstanding and versatile chamber musician.