
CELLO

Olsi Leka
He started studying the cello at the age of 6. During his studies, he twice obtained the first prize at the ‘Young Virtuosi’ competition (junior and senior categories), the first prize at the ‘Lyons Club Interpretation Competition’ in Belgium and the second prize at the ‘International Music Competition’ in Cyprus.
Aged 24, during his last year at the conservatory, he was appointed Cello Solo – First Cellist at the National Orchestra of Belgium. This allowed him to work with a multitude of conductors and soloists of international renown like Valery Gergiev, Walter Weller, Hugh Wolf, Pinchas Zukerman, Vadim Repin, Misha Maisky, Hélène Grimaud and others.
Since then, he performed in chamber music appearances in numerous places and festivals such as ‘Schiermonnikoog Festival’ in Netherlands, the ‘Different trains Festival’ in Albania, the ‘Gjövig Musicfest’ in Norway , the ‘Excellent Concerts’ in the Netherlands and others. He performed in recitals with the pianists Daniel Blumenthal, Alexandar Madzar, François-René Duchable, Adam Laloum, Liebrecht Vanbeckevoort, Desar Sulejmani and Peter Caelen.
As a soloist, he played the concertos of P.I. Tchaikovsky, A. Dvorak, R. Schumann, E.Lalo, M. Bruch, W. Bargiel. J.Brahms and more.
The interpretation of the concerto ‘Tout un monde lointain …’ by the French composer Henri Dutilleux was another career highlight. After preparation of the oeuvre with the composer in his Parisian Ile Saint-Louis studio, the work was played and recorded live in Brussels in his presence. The composer said it was one of the best interpretations he had ever heard.
He is regularly invited for cello master classes in Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Italy and France.
He plays an exceptional cello of the famous Italian violin maker Raffaele Gagliano, generously made available to him by the Eric Feldbusch Foundation. This instrument was given to Eric Feldbush in 1965 by Queen Elisabeth of Belgium for the occasion of the creation of the “Queen Elisabeth” piano trio.
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Jeroen Reuling
Born into a family of musicians from Amsterdam, Jeroen Reuling began his cello studies with Jean Decroos. He went on to study with André Navarra at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik in Detmold, Germany, and soon became his assistant. In 1981, Reuling passed the Konzertexamen and completed his studies with Pierre Fournier in Geneva.
He made numerous recordings for radio and television, and in 1983 received the ‘Audience Award’ from the Sonesta Koepelzaal in Amsterdam.
From 1983 to 2004, Jeroen Reuling was principal cellist with the Arnhem Philharmonic Orchestra, and now divides his passion for the cello between teaching and chamber music. He is Professor of Cello at the Royal Conservatoire of Brussels and the ARTEZ Institute of the Arts in the Netherlands. Jeroen Reuling is also professor at the Queen Elisabeth Music Chapel since 2011
He regularly holds masterclasses worldwide.
Since 1995, Jeroen Reuling has given annual masterclasses and concerts at the Rencontres Musicales Internationales in Enghien, near Brussels, Lancut, Przemysl(Poland) and Riga.
He is Artistic Director of the Schiermonnikoog International Chamber Music Festival in the Netherlands, and is frequently invited to participate in various chamber music projects.
Jeroen has made recordings for Naxos, Ottavio, and Cobra. He plays an Italian cello attributed to Antonio Gagliano, Napoli 1757
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Viviane Spanoghe
Internationally renowned, Viviane Spanoghe is an outstanding cellist who expresses her ideals with passion and determination. She studied with André Messens, Maria Kliegel and János Starker.
She performs as a soloist and chamber musician in both domestic and foreign venues. Her principal duo with pianist André De Groote has been a landmark of Belgian musical life between 1981-2011. Since then, she played with other great artists such as Jean-Claude Vanden Eynden, Denis Pascal and Jan Michiels to name but a few.
In addition to her extensive Classical repertoire, Viviane Spanoghe has mastered many unjustly neglected or unknown works of the past. Since her twenties, she has also promoted contemporary music in general and inspired composers to write for her, thus gradually opening new worlds of sound and cello technique.
Her numerous recordings, all reflecting a powerfully sensitive personality, have been widely acclaimed in both national and international press.
Professor at the Brussels Conservatoire, Viviane Spanoghe persues her art and her pedagogy within a holistic framework, based on a broad view of humanity, music and society.
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Any question?
For more information on this programme you can contact the student administration via secretariaat.kcb@ehb.be.