O/Modernt (Swedish for ‘Un/Modern’) is the innovative concept devised a decade ago by violinist, conductor and artistic director Hugo Ticciati. Combining old and new in unexpected ways, O/Modernt celebrates connectivity in and through the arts, aiming to bring about a heightened awareness of connections that span times, cultures and peoples. Our international programme of activities is focused on exploring artistic links between contemporary culture and the cultures of previous epochs, bringing together people from all walks of life, and re/connecting people with themselves by promoting active, imaginative engagement with music and the arts. Outward-looking, inclusive and passionate about breaking down boundaries, O/Modernt’s philosophy is encapsulated in our motto, borrowed from John Cage: Invent the past. Revise the future. Taking the past as an inexhaustible source of inspiration for artists working in every creative field, the O/Modernt spirit of reinvention finds expression in an expansive array of performances, events and projects.

Passion, coupled with precision, unheard-of expressivity and pure emotion characterize the concerts of the Belcea Quartet. With the Romanian violinist Corina Belcea, the Korean-Australian Suyeon Kang on second violin, the Polish violist Krzysztof Chorzelski and the French cellist Antoine Lederlin, four different artistic provenances meet and unite to create unique excellence.

The ensemble’s repertoire spans Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven to Bartok, Janacek to Szymanowski. They also continue to introduce new works by current composers to the audience such as Guillaume Connesson (2023), Joseph Phibbs (2018), Krzysztof Penderecki (2016), Thomas Larcher (2015) and Mark-Anthony Turnage (2014 & 2010). A new work by Julian Anderson will be premiered this season. These commissioned works are created in association with the Belcea Quartet Trust, the quartet’s own foundation, whose aim is to continually broaden the string quartet literature as well as to support young quartets through concentrated joint coaching sessions. In this way they can also pass on to the next generation the experience they gained as students of the Amadeus & Alban Berg Quartet.

In addition to the complete recordings of the String Quartets by Bartók, Beethoven, Brahms (Diapason d’or de l’année 2016) and Britten, the quartet’s wide-ranging discography includes works by Berg, Dutilleux, Mozart, Schoenberg, Schubert, Shostakovich, Janáček & Ligeti (among others). In spring 2022, Alpha Classics released the two String Sextets by Brahms performed with Tabea Zimmermann and Jean-Guihen Queyras.

Their performances of all Beethoven String Quartets at the Konzerthaus Vienna in 2012 were released on DVD by EuroArts in 2014, followed by the release of a recording of Britten’s three String Quartets in 2015.

From 2017 to 2020, the quartet held the prestigious position of Ensemble in Residence at the Pierre Boulez Hall in Berlin. Since then, they have performed there regularly. In addition, the Belcea Quartet has been part of a shared String Quartet series at the Vienna Konzerthaus since 2010. Beginning last season, Quatuor Ébène became their partner ensemble here.

This season, the Belcea Quartet will be making guest appearances at the three prominent European String Quartet biennials in Paris, Lisbon, and Amsterdam. In addition, they will be performing at various esteemed venues including Carnegie Hall New York City, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Flagey Brussels, National Concert Hall Dublin, Tonhalle Zurich, and Toppan Hall Tokyo.

Thomas Adès was born in London in 1971.  Renowned as both composer and performer, he works regularly with the world’s leading orchestras, opera companies and festivals.

His compositions include three operas : the most recent of which The Exterminating Angel premiered at the 2016 Salzburg Festival and subsequently has been performed at the Metropolitan Opera, New York and the Royal Opera House, London all conducted by the composer; The Tempest (Royal Opera House and Metropolitan Opera); and Powder Her Face. His orchestral works include Asyla (CBSO, 1997), Tevot (Berlin Philharmonic and Carnegie Hall, 2007), Polaris (New World Symphony, Miami 2011), Violin Concerto Concentric Paths (Berliner Festspiele and the BBC Proms, 2005), In Seven Days (Piano concerto with moving image – LA Philharmonic and RFH London 2008), Totentanz for mezzo-soprano, baritone, and orchestra (BBC Proms, 2013), and Concerto for Piano and Orchestra (Boston Symphony Orchestra, 2019). His compositions also include numerous celebrated chamber and solo works.

Thomas Adès has been an Artistic Partner of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 2016 and will conduct the orchestra in Boston and at Tanglewood, perform chamber music with the orchestra players, and lead the summer Festival of Contemporary Music. He coaches Piano and Chamber Music annually at the International Musicians Seminar, Prussia Cove.

As a conductor, Thomas appears regularly with the Los Angeles, San Francisco and London Philharmonic orchestras, the Boston, London, BBC and City of Birmingham, Symphony orchestras, the Royal Concertgebouworkest, Leipzig Gewandhaus and the Czech Philharmonic. In opera, in addition to The Exterminating Angel, he has conducted The Rake’s Progress at the Royal Opera House and the Zürich Opera, The Tempest at the Metropolitan Opera and Vienna State Opera, and Gerald Barry’s latest opera Alice’s Adventures Under Ground in Los Angeles (world premiere) and in London (European premiere). In the 2019-20 season Thomas has a residency with the Royal Concertgebouworkest and also conducts the London and Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestras and makes his debut with Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. In the USA, he returns to the Los Angeles and Boston Symphony Orchestras. Thomas also returns to the Royal Opera House twice this season, to conduct Barry’s Alice’s Adventures Under Ground and the premiere of his new ballet The Dante Project.

His piano engagements include solo recitals at Carnegie Hall (Stern Auditorium), New York and the Wigmore Hall in London, and concerto appearances with the New York Philharmonic. This season will see the release of his album of solo piano music by Janacek and he will also join Simon Keenlyside in a recital of Schubert’s Winterreise at the Vienna State Opera.

His many awards include the Grawemeyer Award for Asyla (1999); Royal Philharmonic Society large-scale composition awards for Asyla, The Tempest and Tevot; and Ernst von Siemens Composers’ prize for Arcadiana; British Composer Award for The Four Quarters.  His CD recording of The Tempest from the Royal Opera House (EMI) won the Contemporary category of the 2010 Gramophone Awards; his DVD of the production from the Metropolitan Opera was awarded the Diapason d’Or de l’année (2013), Best Opera recording (2014 Grammy Awards) and Music DVD Recording of the Year (2014 ECHO Klassik Awards); and The Exterminating Angel won the World Premiere of the Year at the International Opera Awards (2017). In 2015 he was awarded the prestigious Léonie Sonning Music Prize and in Spring 2020 he will receive the Toru Takemitsu composition award at Tokyo Opera City where he will conduct a concert of his own music.

Described as “a magnetic presence” and “a constantly fascinating sound technician” (New York Classical Review), violinist Alena Baeva is considered one of the most exciting, versatile, and captivating soloists active on the world stage today, working with leading conductors including Gustavo Gimeno, Paavo Järvi, Marek Janowski, Vladimir Jurowski, Tomáš Netopil and Riccardo Minasi.

Possessing a passionate musical curiosity, Baeva holds an already vast and rapidly expanding active repertoire, including over fifty violin concerti. She is a champion of lesser- known works alongside the more mainstream violin literature, with recent performances promoting such composers as Bacewicz, Karaev, Karłowicz, and Silvestrov.

Baeva’s career as an international soloist of the highest renown has grown at an extraordinary pace over recent seasons, performing with orchestras including New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Die Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Gürzenich-Orchester Köln and Göteborgs Symfoniker. She enjoys a long-standing and rewarding relationship with the Orchestra of the XVIII Century, performing and recording a variety of repertoire on period instruments.

Chamber music holds a particularly special place in her musical life, where she enjoys collaborations with such esteemed artists as Yuri Bashmet, Daishin Kashimoto, Misha Maisky, Jean-Guihen Queyras, and the Belcea Quartet. Her regular sonata partner is the celebrated Ukrainian pianist Vadym Kholodenko, with whom she has had a dedicated musical partnership for more than a decade.

Baeva records exclusively for leading label Alpha Classics, and the first project of her multi- disc deal with the label Fantasy with Vaydm Kholodenko was released in February 2024. Baeva’s wider discography is extensive and reflects the impressive breadth of her repertoire. Recordings include Wieniawski Violin Concerto No.2 (with Orchestra of the XVIII Century, 2021); the Karłowicz Violin Concerto (with Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, 2018); and the Schumann Violin Concerto and original (1844) version of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto (for Melodiya Records, 2020).

Born in Kyrgyzstan with Slavic-Tatar ancestry, Baeva took her first violin lessons at the age of five under renowned pedagogue Olga Danilova in Kazakhstan before studying with Professor Eduard Grach in Russia. She also took lessons with Mstislav Rostropovich, Boris Garlitsky, and Shlomo Mintz, and took part in the Seiji Ozawa International Academy Switzerland, focused on string quartet repertoire. Naturalised Luxembourgish, Alena Baeva has resided in Luxembourg since 2010.

Alena Baeva plays on the “ex-William Kroll” Guarneri del Gesù of 1738 – on a generous loan from an anonymous patron, with the kind assistance of J&A Beares.

The pianist Julius Drake lives in London and enjoys an international reputation as one of the finest instrumentalists in his field, collaborating with many of the world’s leading artists, both in recital and on disc. His passionate interest in song has led to invitations to devise song series for Wigmore Hall, London; The Concertgebouw, Amsterdam; 92nd Street Y, New York; and the Pierre Boulez Saal, Berlin. Julius Drake’s many recordings include a widely acclaimed series with Gerald Finley for Hyperion Records of which ‘Songs by Samuel Barber’, ‘Schumann: Dichterliebe & other Heine Settings’ and ‘Britten: Songs & Proverbs of William Blake’ won the 2007, 2009 and 2011 Gramophone Awards; recordings with Ian Bostridge and Alice Coote for EMI; with Joyce DiDonato, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson and Matthew Polenzani for Wigmore Live; and with Anna Prohaska for Alpha. Julius Drake is Professor of Collaborative Piano at the Guildhall School of Music in London and he is regularly invited to give masterclasses worldwide.

As violinist, leader and conductor, Hugo Ticciati imbibes all possible forms of creativity, whether it be performing world premieres in the most prestigious venues around the world, improvising with monks in India, or devising innovative programmes for O/Modernt Chamber Orchestra and Festival which he founded in 2011. Alongside his passion to discover and learn from the music of previous epochs and non-western traditions, Hugo embraces the world of contemporary music. To date, over forty works have been written for and dedicated to him by a host of eminent composers, including Erkki-Sven Tüür, Pēteris Vasks, Victoria Borisova-Ollas, Albert Schnelzer and Dobrinka Tabakova.

Sascha Bota, Violist born in Timisoara, Romania was studying with Gérard Caussé in Madrid, with Thomas Riebl in Salzburg as well as with Walter Levin from the LaSalle Quartet for a post graduate quartet course in Basel. Since he has had the opportunity to play in chamber groups with musicians including Thomas Zehetmair, Benjamin Schmid, Leonidas Kavakos and principal players of the Berliner Philarmonie, the Doric Quartet and the Hagen Quartet. As a soloist, he has performed with the Australian Chamber Orchestra, the Zurich Chamber Orchestra and Philharmonia Banatul amongst others. Sascha has been playing as principal  viola with numerous of orchestras such as the Camerata Salzburg and the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique. He also successfully won auditions for  the Solo Viola of the Zurich Chamber Orchestra as well as the Australian Chamber Orchestra, where he was appointed as a core member shortly after. Sascha is dedicated to jazz and other forms of improvised music and regularly appears at jazz concerts and festivals.

Irina Zahharenkova is one of the most outstanding keyboard performers of her generation to emerge from Estonia today.

She has won first prizes from major international piano competitions as the International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition (Leipzig, Germany – 2006), Alessandro Casagrande International Piano Competition (Terni, Italy – 2006), International Competition George Enescu (Bucharest, Romania – 2005), and Jaén International Piano Contest (Jaén, Spain – 2004). In 2008 she became prize-winner in Artur Rubinstein International Piano Master Competition in Tel Aviv, Israel. Irina has also been a laureate in Prague Spring competition in Czech Republic (2005) – as a harpsichordist and in Festival van Vlaanderen competition in Bruges, Belgium (2004) – as fortepianist. She was a winner of 2007 Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship Award.

Emma Bonnici is a dynamic performer, teacher and speaker. Her 8 years working in Poland with two multi award winning physical theatre companies have influenced her views and approach to training and performance greatly.

Her focus is on principles of ensemble work. These principles ripple out into perspectives of holistic practice which sees the body as working as an interrelated system connected through fascial and structural networks, as explored through Feldenkraise and looking into deeper connections of structure and neurology as well as energetics through her 3 year study and qualification as a craniosacral therapist.

It further sees the body as an expression of biography with stories held in physical places and when coupled with voice resonation it can offer a map which can guide one to release of both blocks and imagination.

Emma’s exploration of vocal and physical ensemble also has lead her to working with groups to explore subjects of leadership and followership, and the promotion of fluid communication and creativity through physical tuning, embodiment, seeing and being seen and poly-directional listening.

She works frequently with dancers helping them find their voice and with singers helping them find their body.

Emma has given a TedX about her work called The Power of the Voice, she teaches both nationally and internationally and is based in London and continues to perform.

Swiss-Italian cellist Claude Frochaux began playing the cello at the age of six at the Suzuki Talent Center, then at the Conservatory of Turin. Studies followed in Frankfurt with Michael Sanderling, where he completed his diploma and his concert examination with the highest rating in the soloist class, as well as postgraduate studies with honours in Essen and Madrid. Besides Italy and other European countries, solo and chamber music concerts have brought him to North and South America, India and China with performances in halls such as the Wigmore Hall and King’s Place London, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Konzerthaus Berlin, Kölner Philharmonie, Musikverein Wien, Parco della Musica Roma, Auditorium Sony Madrid, Arvo Pärt Centre Estonia, as well as the NCPA Theatre Mumbai and Teatro del Lago Chile. In 2008 he founded Monte Piano Trio with which he has won numerous international prizes -Maria Canals Barcelona, Schumann Frankfurt, Folkwang Prize Essen, Brahms Austria, European Chamber Music Competition Karlsruhe. He plays in ensembles such as O/Modernt Stockholm, Chamber Orchestra of Europe or Ensemble Midtwest Denmark and he has gained experience through the years with several orchestras such as Bamberger Symphoniker, English Chamber Orchestra, Stuttgarter Kammerorchester, Pomeriggi musicali di Milano, Orchestra Filarmonica di Torino, Spira Mirabilis.Claude Frochaux is the artistic director of Kammermusikfest Sylt, an international chamber music festival that is held on the German island every year since 2012.