The ACF DC and the Embassy of the Principality of Liechtenstein are proud to present three outstanding musicians from the prestigious Academy of Music in Liechtenstein in concert featuring Simon Haje (piano), Arne Zeller (cello) and Leonhard Baumgartner (violin).
The Academy of Music in Liechtenstein is an internationally recognized institution that takes great pleasure in supporting young people from all over the world by giving them access to music.
The students are in Washington DC on the invitation of the Ryuji Ueno Foundation to participate in the foundation’s Washington Semester Leadership Program. The students will attend lectures, coaching sessions and visit Shenandoah University where they will meet and interact with other advanced students of music.
The concert will be followed by a wine reception offered by the Embassy of the Principality of Liechtenstein.
PROGRAM
Johannes Brahms | Piano Trio No. 1 in B Major, Op. 8
Astor Piazzolla | The Four Seasons of Buenos Aires | Spring and Summer
Dmitri Shostakovich | Piano Trio No. 1 in C Minor, Op. 8
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Leonhard Baumgartner was born in Austria in 2007 and has been studying at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz with Regina Brandstätter since 2019. In 2022, he intensified his studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (mdw) and at the University of Music and Theater Munich. Leonhard is the winner of several international music prizes. Among others, he won the “Eurovision Young Musicians” in 2024, the “Discovery Award” of the International Classical Music Awards” 2023, and the “Zhuhai International Mozart Competition” 2022. Leonhard made his debut with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra at the age of 15 in the Vienna Konzerthaus and since then has performed frequently as a soloist, including with the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the NFM Philharmonic Wrozław, the Baden-Baden Philharmonic, the Württemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn, the Liechtenstein Symphony Orchestra and the Ensemble Esperanza. Leonhard plays a precious violin by J.B. Vuillaume, Paris 1854, generously loaned by a member of the Stretton Society.
Simon Haje was born in Germany in 2005. He began taking piano lessons at the age of six, and at the age of nine he was accepted as a student at the Berlin University of the Arts, where he is currently completing his bachelor's degree. Simon has received numerous prizes at international piano competitions, most recently first prize at the "Franz Liszt Center International Piano Competition", the "Concours International Piano Neuchatel Val de Travers", the "International Piano Competition Aarhus", the "International Piano Competition Kronberg" and the "Orbetello Piano Competition". In 2024, he was invited by the German Bundestag for a musical contribution to the nationally televised memorial service for the victims of National Socialism. Simon's repertoire ranges from the Baroque to the present day with a focus on Beethoven, Schumann and Brahms as well as modern music. In particular, he has worked on several of Ligeti's most complex piano works. Simon was awarded scholarships by Yehudi Menuhin Live Music Now Berlin e.V., the German Foundation for Music Life, Musica Mundi Belgium and the Daniel Hope Academy. He was named a Young Steinway Artist in 2022.
Arne Zeller was born in Germany in 2006. He began playing the cello at the age of six and has been under the guidance of Peter Bruns at HMT Leipzig since the age of 14, where he graduated from in 2024. Throughout his musical journey, he has received numerous awards and prizes in both national and international competitions, including, most recently, Second Prize at the international Brahms Competition in Pörtschach. At the age of 13, he made his solo debut with the Rococo-Variations, followed by performances of the Korngold cello concerto with the Baden-Baden Philharmonic. In 2023, he was soloist with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra. Arne Zeller holds scholarships from the German Foundation for Music Life, the International Music Academy Liechtenstein, and the Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes. Arne is kindly provided with the Charles Adolphe Maucotel “ex-Tortelier” violoncello (Paris, 1850), a generous loan by a member of the Stretton Society. As a laureate of the award of the „Deutscher Musikinstrumentenfonds“, he also plays a cello by Antonio Sgarbi, Rome 1894, a loan of the „Kulturkreis der deutschen Wirtschaft“ (within the Federation of German Industries).
Images: Leonhard Baumgartner © Andrej Grilc, Simon Haje © Tom McKenzie, © Arne Zeller