Teachers
Our team of internationally renowned teachers guarantees musical education at the highest level.
Margit Klaushofer | Voice Vienna/mdw
Margit Klaushofer, full university professor, studied at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich and at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (mdw). She received an Award of Excellence from the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research.
She has had international performances as a lyric soprano in Germany, England, Spain, USA, Greece, Holland and Italy with concert and opera repertoire, numerous recitals and concerts with contemporary music (world premieres). Since 1988, she has been teaching at the mdw - since 1993, she has been a full professor of singing.
Professor Klaushofer has given master classes for Lied and oratorio interpretation and opera singing. She lectures on a great variety of singing styles, youth voice training, voice subjects and repertoire studies. She has been on the jury at Competizione dell'Opera, Prima la Musica, Beijing State Competition and many more.
Since 2013, she has been a member of the mdw senate and since October 2017 has been Head of the Department of Vocal Studies and Music Theatre at the mdw.
Graduates of the Klaushofer class are engaged at the state opera houses Vienna State Opera, Scala in Milan, Leipzig, Cologne, Düsseldorf, Braunschweig, Prague, Stockholm etc. Margit Klaushofer's students have won prizes at renowned international competitions such as the Mirijam Helin Competition, Operalia, Belvedere Competition, NYIOP New York and the International Antonin Dvořák Singing Competition.
Since his solo debut of the Brahms Violin Concerto at the Wiener Konzerthaus, the Viennese violinist Johannes Fleischmann has been appointed by the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs as ambassador for the NASOM New Austrian Sound of Music program and as the artistic director of the renowned Palais Coburg.
His versatility and passion for chamber music are evident in multiple collaborations with celebrated musicians like Julius Berger, Andrej Bielow, Andreas Brantelid, André Cazalet, Akira Eguchi, José Gallardo, Eszter Haffner, Mariko Haselsteiner, André Heller, Christopher Hinterhuber, Hyung-ki Joo, Sophie Pacini, Michael Schade, Norman Shetler, Ryoma Takagi, Roger Vignoles and members of the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.
Fleischmann has performed in famous concert halls such as Wiener Musikverein, Wiener Konzerthaus, the great hall of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow, Philharmonie im Gasteig Munich, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Carnegie Hall in New York, Suntory Hall in Tokio and the Flagey in Brussels. Since 2019, he has curated his own series of chamber music concerts at the MuTh in Vienna.
Fleischmann is a member of the „NWCS - Neue Wiener Concert Schrammeln“ and a founding member of the „Symphoniacs“.
In 2021, Johannes Fleischmann released his CD „EXODUS - The Men Who Shaped Hollywood“ (Odradek Records) with music by E.W. Korngold and E. Zeisl, recorded with pianist Magda Amara and singer Günter Haumer. The critically acclaimed CD has since been nominated for the „Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik“ 2021 and most recently for the „International Classical Music Awards (ICMA)“ 2022.
Fleischmann currently teaches violin as an assistant to Univ.Prof. Elisabeth Kropfitsch at the mdw.
Johannes Fleischmann | Violin Vienna/mdw
Elisabeth Plank | Harfe Vienna/mdw
„an exceptional player, great command of her instrument, so much character & colour in her playing“ (BBC Radio Scotland) Power and fragility, virtuosity and emotion, creativity and tradition– Elisabeth Plank combines contrasts into a homogenous, brilliant sound experience in her one-of-a-kind performances.
The Austrian harpist has established herself as an internationally sought-after soloist and ambassador for her instrument. She presents the harp as a versatile and exciting instrument: rich in colours and textures, with its unusual repertoire and a broad stylistic spectrum. It is Elisabeth Plank’s ambition to redefine the harp’s repertoire, by performing and recording newly rediscovered pieces from the past, documented by many world premiere recordings, as well as collaborating with contemporary composers. Additionally she is an advocate of the historical double action harp. Her own arrangements have been published by Universal Edition and others.
As a recitalist or as a soloist with orchestra: Elisabeth Plank has performed in renowned concert halls and festivals in Europa, Japan and Latin America - such as Musikverein Wien, Wiener Konzerthaus, Harpa Reykjavík, Konzerthaus Berlin, Grafenegg and NOSPR, as well as international festivals, MDR Musiksommmer, moselmusikfestival, Bogotá International Music Festival, Dubai Opera or Festival de Música de Morelia Mexico. The harpist performs with orchestras such as ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien, Barockensemble der
Wiener Symphoniker, WienerKammerOrchester, NFM Leopoldinum Orchestra, Iasi Philharmonic Orchestra or Thüringer Symphoniker.
Elisabeth Plank is a prizewinner in a number of international competitions and was honoured with the "Young Celebrity Master"-award of "HarpMasters". From 2019 to 2021 Elisabeth Plank has been artist-in-residence of Wiener Konzerthaus as part of the "Great Talent"-series. Besides being an selected artist for „Classical Futures Europe”, Elisabeth Plank has been chosenas musical ambassador for the “New Austrian Sound of Music” for 2023 and 2024 as first harpist ever.
Elisabeth Planks versatility also shows in her discography: her solo albums „L‘arpa notturna“, „1825– Echoes of Vienna on Historical Harp“ and “musings” are critically acclaimed „a thoughtful and beautifully played disc [...] Plank has a real command of light and shade. She‘s adept at creatingmusical perspective“ (Gramophone). In 2023 Mozart's double concerto with ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien under the baton of Howard Griffiths for “Next Generation MozartSoloists” was released (alpha classics).
Elisabeth Plank was born in Vienna in 1991, and had her first lesson at age seven. She studied atthe University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna under the tuition of Adelheid Blovsky-Millerand Mirjam Schröder. In further studies she worked with Fabrice Pierre in Brescia.
The harpist also teaches as a lecturer at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna andat international masterclasses and workshops, and is founder and artistic director of Vienna Harp Days.
Acclaimed Danish cellist Toke Møldrup has performed at prestigious concert halls around the world through two decades. He is known for his versatility in both traditional cello repertoire and contemporary compositions, having premiered many solo and chamber pieces by modern composers, and as a soloist with prestigious orchestras such as the Danish Radio Symphony Orchestra and New Taiwan Symphony Orchestra.
Møldrup is also known for his experimental approach to classical music, including the Bach Ultra Marathon - a performance of all 36 movements of Bach's six cello suites played in between 36 kilometers of running, which was premiered in 2022 at the Bergen Festival as well as Frederiksberg Festival, Copenhagen and Artlink Festival, Belgrade. He has received numerous awards and accolades for his achievements in music, including the Queen Ingrid’s Honorary Award and the Augustinus Foundation’s Anniversary Grant. Møldrup is currently an associate professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Music and leads two annual music events, Svanekegaarden Cello Masterclass and Fynposium Festival.
He is a sought-after masterclass teacher, having taught at institutions such as the Manhattan School, the Royal Academy of Music, London and the Shanghai Conservatory of Music. He was principal cellist of the Copenhagen Philharmonic orchestra and a member of the acclaimed Paizo Quartet and the Danish Piano Trio and he has recorded extensively for various labels, including Dacapo Records, Bridge and BIS Records. He plays a 1697 David Tecchler cello, kindly lend to him by Augustinus Fonden.
Dominik Wagner | Double bass
hfm Würzburg
"Born in 1997 in Vienna, Dominik Wagner takes Bottesini's tonal beauty, vocal and melodic attractiveness so passionately seriously, and masters the required artistry with such breathy lightness that one would think the double bass is the softest-sounding and most virtuosic string instrument."
Dominik Wagner aims to liberate his instrument from its existence in the shadow of the cello andpresent new facets of the double bass. He succeeds not only with an engaging stage presence,impressive virtuosity, and vocal melodic delivery but also through his tireless efforts to expand therepertoire, whether through commissions or the search for rarities, he makes the double basssound in a new variety. For example, together with his father, the composer Wolfram Wagner, he arranged Dvořák's fragments of the Cello Concerto in A major into the Double Bass Concerto in D major, which he premiered at the KKL Lucerne in the summer of 2023.
In just his mid-20s, Wagner is a scholarship recipient of the Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation and an ECHO Klassik winner. In 2022, he was awarded the Opus Klassik as Young Talent of the Year. He has also won prizes in almost all double bass competitions, including the Bradetich Foundation International Double Bass Solo Competition, the ARD International Music Competition, and the Eurovision Young Musicians Competition.
Dominik Wagner has already performed with renowned orchestras such as the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the WDR Symphony Orchestra, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, and the Camarata Salzburg in concert halls in Berlin (Konzerthaus and Philharmonie), Vienna (Musikverein and Konzerthaus), Munich (Herkulessaal and Gasteig), Hamburg (Elbphilharmonie), and New York (Carnegie Hall), among others. He is associated with the Württemberg Chamber Orchestra as a WKO Young Artist.
In 2021, Wagner's first solo CD "Giovanni Bottesini - Revolution of Bass" was released by Berlin Classics. It was followed by two more albums, "Chapters - A Double Bass Story," duo repertoire with Lauma Skride, and "Double Bass Rhapsody," a set of his own arrangements for double bass solo and ensemble.
In addition to his solo activities, Dominik is a passionate chamber musician. He has played with musicians like the Emerson String Quartet, the Danish String Quartet, Isabel Faust, Tabea Zimmermann, Gerhard Schulz, and Elisabeth Leonskaja. He is also constantly searching for new timbres through new constellations. This has resulted in a duo with jazz double bassist Georg Breinschmid, as well as a clarinet trio with Vera Karner and Aurelia Visovan. With the latter, he won, among others, the Fanny Mendelssohn Förderpreis.
Wagner is also a sought-after pedagogue. Since 2023, he has held a professorship for doublebass at the University of Music Würzburg. Also, he regularly gives masterclasses in Europe and the US, which have led him to institutions like the Juilliard School New York, the Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, and the UNT Texas.
Dominik Wagner first learned the cello before switching to the double bass in 2007. His four years in the concert choir of the Vienna Boys Choir were a formative musical influence. From 2009 to 2015, he studied at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, and from 2015 to 2022, he studied with Prof. Dorin Marc at the University of Music Nürnberg. Since 2023, he has been part of the Professional Studies program of the Kronberg Academy.
Aida-Carmen Soanea, first prize winner of the Valentino Bucchi Competition in Rome in 2005, has established herself as a charismatic and versatile violist of her generation in both solo and chamber music. She won second prize at the Yuri Bashmet Competition (Moscow 2000) and was a scholarship holder of the German Foundation for Musical Life, the German Academic Exchange Service and the German National Academic Foundation.
As a soloist she performed alongside Tabea Zimmermann at the Cité de la Musique Paris, with Renaud Capuçon in Lucerne at the Easter Festival, with Tanja Becker-Bender at the Berlin Philharmonie or with Tasmin Little in various halls in Great Britain. In sonata recitals, Aida-Carmen Soanea regularly performs with pianists such as Lorenzo
Cossi or José Gallego and has been invited to many important festivals in Europe. Aida-Carmen Soanea was a founding member of the delian::quartet in 2007.
After a short period in the Swiss Amar quartet she joined the Minguet Quartett in 2021. The famous ensemble concentrates on classical-romantic literature as well as on contemporary music in equal measure and is involved in numerous world premieres of compositions of the 21st century. Aida-Carmen Soanea feels very strongly connected to contemporary music in general and besides her regular participation in the Ensemble Modern Frankfurt and her current work in the Minguet Quartet or editing new solo works for viola at the Berlin editor Neue Musik Verlag, she encourages the creation or performance of new works for her instrument.
Since October 2019, Aida-Carmen Soanea has been teaching at the Gustav Mahler Private University in Klagenfurt (GMPU).
Born into a Romanian family of singers from Iasi, Romania, Aida-Carmen Soanea moved to Germany in 1987. She became a junior student at the Lübeck Academy of Music in the class of Barbara Westphal. From 1995 to 1999 she studied at the Freiburg and at the
"Hanns Eisler" Academy Berlin with Kim Kashkashian and found new inspiration in Paris when she completed her soloist studies at the CNSM de Paris with Gérard Caussé. She took part in masterclasses with Wolfram Christ, Thomas Riebl and Juri Bashmet but
one of the greatest musical influences in her life was Claudio Abbado who she met as principal violist in the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra, later also as a member of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra and as a substitute with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.
Aida-Carmen Soanea speaks German, English, French, Italian and Spanish in addition to her mother tongue.
Aida-Carmen Soanea | Viola
GMPU Klagenfurt
Florian Reiners | Stage presence Vienna/mdw
Professor for speech design at the Max Reinhardt Seminar, Institute of the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. He is an expert in the field of language, voice and expression; actor and performer.
Florian Rainers studied acting at the Max Reinhardt Seminar Vienna and at the Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy University of Music and Performing Arts in Leipzig.
His theatre engagements have taken him to the Schauspielhaus Leipzig, Stadttheater Augsburg, Hersfelder Festspiele, Schlossparktheater Berlin and the Cologne Opera.
He played in various classics such as Amphitryon (Kleist), Tellheim (Lessing), Macbeth and Lysander (Shakespeare), in comedies and interpreted musical roles such as Clifford Bradshaw in "Cabaret", Yves Montand in "Piaf" and Dr. Otto Siedler in "Im weissen Rössl".
Collaborations followed with Konstanze Lauterbach, Michael Sturminger and Carlus Padrissa/ La Fura del Baus, among others.
His work as a speaker includes staged readings and text performances, among others with Per Olov Enquist and Juli Zeh, as well as the premiere of the music theater project "Osiris - talking to the dead" at the Munich Music Biennale.
In addition, film and television work.
He taught speaking and language design at the Folkwang University in Essen and has been Professor of Language Design at the Max Reinhardt Seminar in Vienna since 2016. For many years he has taught artists of all disciplines in theaters, seminars and festivals throughout the German-speaking world.
Pianists
Manfred Schiebel
Born in Vienna, Manfred Schiebel received his first musical education at the age of 7 as he joined the "Mozart-Sängerknaben, Vienna". After his graduation, he studied piano with Thomas Kreuzberger, conducting with Karl Österreicher and accompaniment with Dr. Harald Goertz at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (mdw).
Since 1991, Manfred Schiebel has been teaching at the MUK Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna (former conservatory), where he holds his title Univ.-Prof since 2017, and since 2002 also at the mdw.
A regular accompanist at masterclasses, Manfred Schiebel has worked with famous singing-teachers like Martha Eggerth, Helena Łazarska, Jewgenij Nesterenko, Krassimira Stoyanova, Leo Nucci, Walter Berry, Hilde Zadek, as well as given masterclasses himself for singers and pianists all over Europe, for example at The Ignacy Jan Paderewski Academy of Music in Poznan, at the Metropolia University in Helsinki, at the Music Academy in Tallinn, the Ionian University in Korfu as well as in Teheran, Havanna and Moskow.
He has repeatedly worked as an accompanist and coach with famous artists such as Edita Gruberova, Elina Garanča, Grace Bumbry, Mara Zampieri, Eva Lind, Mojca Erdmann, Daniela Fally, Ferruccio Furlanetto, Leo Nucci, Jewegenij Nesterenko, Samual Ramey, Peter and Paul Edelmann, Rainer Trost, the Viennese Boys Choir and many others, performing all over the world.
From 1994 to 2008 he enjoyed great success as the art director of the choral society „Young-Vienna“, performing worldwide in renowned concert halls and for the Royal Family in Thailand. He has since worked with different choirs, currently leading the choir of singing students at the mdw.
Since 2011, he has been the musical director of he chamber music festival „Klassik im Advent“ in Carinthia in Austria, where he regularly performs with his duo-partner Marcin Kozieł.
His interest in theater music, chansons and Wiener Lied resulted in numerous collaborations with actress Elfriede Ott. Concerts, CD-recordings as choir director, pianist and organist, as well as appearances on TV and radio broadcasting in several continents are rounding off his activities as pianist and conductor.
Yuna Hotozuka
Japanese pianist Yuna Hotozuka began her first piano lessons at the age of five with Miyuki Daicho, then with Ryoko Watanabe. She graduated with honor in 2018 with a Bachelor’s degree in Piano Concert Performance from the Toho Gakuen College of Music in Tokyo with Iku Miwa.
In October 2019 she graduated from the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna with a Master’s degree in piano concert diploma with Wolfgang Watzinger, chamber music with Stefan Mendl and special focus on accompaniment with Meinhard Prinz and Srebra Gelleva.
Since October 2022 she has been enrolled in a postgraduate university course in piano at the mdw and graduated in June 2023.
Yuna Hotozuka is a prize winner of several Japanese piano competitions, including 3rd prize at the 1st K Piano Solo Competition, 4th prize at the 9th Tokyo Piano Competition and 5th prize at the 11th Beten Music Competition, as well as a finalist at the Dr.-Josef- Dichler-Competition 2023 in Vienna.
She has performed as a soloist and chamber musician in concerts at the Wiener Musikverein, the Wiener Konzerthaus, the Alte Rathaus, the Gesellschaft für Musiktheater, among others.
She attended master classes with Matti Raekallio, Elisabeth Leonskaja, Pascal Devoyon, Christoper Hinterhuber, Mikhail Voskresensky, Frantisěk Malý, among others.
Since 2023 she has been accompanist at the Allegro Vivo Summer Academy and since
2024 at the Vienna Master Classes and at the Showa University of Music.
Lorenzo Cossi
Born in Trieste, Italy, Lorenzo Cossi completed his studies at the "Giuseppe Tartini" Conservatory in his hometown under Giuliana Gulli, the sister of the renowned violinist Franco Gulli. He continued his studies with renowned musicians such as Nino Gardi, Elisso Virsaladze, Joaquin Achùcarro, William Grant Naboré, and Jerome Lowenthal. Additionally, Lorenzo Cossi had the opportunity to study at the "International Piano Academy Lake Como" and the "Accademia Chigiana" in Siena.
He was one of the five finalists in the "E. Honens International Piano Competition" in Calgary, Canada, where he impressed with his interpretation of Brahms' Piano Concerto No. 1 in D minor with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Roberto Minczuk. "Cossi's technique and command of sonority were simply stunning. He produced lush, orchestral sounds and performed amazing feats, but always with a refined touch" ("Cincinnati Enquirer").
In 2011, he was one of the ten pianists selected worldwide to participate in the "Music Academy of the West Summer Festival" in Santa Barbara, California.
His repertoire spans from Baroque to contemporary music, with a strong interest in jazz and improvisation. Moreover, Lorenzo Cossi is also a gifted chamber musician who has collaborated with artists such as cellist Johannes Moser, violinists Federico Agostini and Geoff Nuttal, clarinetist Massimiliano Miani, and flutist Walter Auer.
The "Sinossi Duo" won third prize at the "Vittorio Gui Chamber Music Competition" in Florence, one of the most important competitions in this field. Lorenzo Cossi has been a prize winner at the "Concorso Rina Sala Gallo" in Monza, the "Concorso Giuliano Pecar" in Gorizia, and a two-time finalist at the prestigious international piano competition "Ferruccio Busoni" in Bolzano.
Since 2009, he has regularly performed with cellist Marianna Sinagra. As a soloist, he has appeared with renowned orchestras such as the Philharmonie Luxembourg, the Haydn Orchestra Bolzano, the Solisti Veneti, and many others.
Lorenzo Cossi teaches piano at the Gustav Mahler Private University in Klagenfurt.
Ryuzo Seko
Ryuzo Seko was born in Japan in 1988 and had his first piano lessons at the age of five with Miyako Inoue. Before pursuing music, he studied economics at the University of Tokyo.
In the fall of 2013, he started his piano bachelor's studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich with Professor Thomas Böckheler. Ryuzo Seko completed both his Master's degree in Piano with Prof. Thomas Böckheler and an additional Master's degree in Liedgestaltung with honors under Rudi Spring. He actively participated in masterclasses with Elisso Virsaladze, Anna Barutti, Markus Bellheim, Matthias Kirschnereit, Herbert Schuh, and Oliver Kern.
Since 2017, Ryuzo Seko has been supported by the Yehudi Menuhin-Live Music Now Munich Foundation.
Since the fall of 2018, he has been working as a lecturer at the Hochschule für MusikWürzburg.
In 2023, Ryuzo Seko was an official accompanist at the ARD International Music Competition in the category of double bass.
Dunja Robotti
Born in Brussels, to an Italian father and a German mother, Dunja Robotti began her musical studies with Piotr Lachert and then at the Brussels Conservatory. She finished at the University of the Arts in Berlin under the tutelage of Hans Leygraf and Georg Sava. Dunja also attended courses in Art Song (Lied) interpretation by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Aribert Reimann and took master classes with Vitalij Margulis, György Sándor and György Sebök.
Dunja Robotti has won numerous awards at international competitions, including 1st prize at “Claude Kahn” and “U.F.A.M.” in Paris, 3rd prize at the International Meeting of Pianists in Pointoise, France, and 5th prize at the “Città di Marsala”, Sicily; she was also a finalist at the “Franz Schubert und die Musik des 20. Jahrhunderts“ in Graz, Austria.
Dunja Robotti has regularly performed as a soloist and with orchestras since the age of 10. She continues to give concerts in chamber music and Lied with several great musicians, singers and ensembles throughout Europe and the Americas. She has performed in some of the most prestigious concert halls, such as the Berlin Philharmonic Hall, the Konzerthaus Berlin, the Kölner Philharmonie, Munich’s Herkulessaal and the Schubertiade Feldkirch.
She has made several radio recordings for WDR and Radio Bremen and performs on Sender Freies Berlin and Bayerischer Rundfunk.
Dunja Robotti has worked for several years as a collaborative pianist for the cello classes at the University of Arts in Berlin, e.g. with Wolfgang Boettcher and Jens Peter Maintz.
2009 she became head collaborative pianist for strings and 2016 she was given a charge professorship at the University of Music in Nuremberg.
She is also an official accompanist at the renowned master classes given at the Carl Flesch Akademie in Baden-Baden and in Vaduz, Liechtenstein and others. Her services for orchestral auditions are also in great demand.
A part from her pedagogical interest, Dunja is a member of several ensembles, such as the “Ensemble Mediterrain” and the „Duo Viennese“. She is also a founder of the Three-Piano-Ensemble “Xinowa Sej” with Zsuzsa Bàlint and Kyoko Hosono and the Pocket-Operette “Mann trifft Frau” (“A Man Meets A Woman”).
David Hausknecht
David Hausknecht received his first piano and conducting lessons at the Prague Music School. Since the age of 12, he has been invited to renowned piano master classes in the Czech Republic, Germany, Austria and Norway. In 2016, he completed his piano studies with a specialization in piano chamber music at the mdw - University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna.
He made his debut in 2006 with Mozart's last piano concerto KV 595 in Prague's Rudolfinum with the Czech Philharmonic under the direction of conductor Zdenek Macal, followed by a successful collaboration with the Prague Chamber Orchestra. His debut on CD followed in 2018 with works by Leoš Janáček on the composer's original grand piano, restored by the Hecher piano studio, on the Schwechtenstein-Records label.
Hausknecht gives concerts worldwide in a Lied duo and in various chamber music ensembles, for the Austrian Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs (BMEIA), the Federal Ministry for Arts, Culture, Public Service and Sport (BMKÖS), the City of Vienna, Gustav Ignaz Stingl/ Fazioli, Exilarte Center of the mdw - University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, Tonwerk - Forum for New Music and for the AKM/ austro mechana.
Since 2019 he has been working as a répétiteur at the Anton Bruckner Institute (mdw).
Hausknecht is a prizewinner of numerous international competitions, including Prague Junior Note (2004), International Carl Czerny Competition (2005), Virtuosi per musica di pianoforte (Usti nad Labem - 2007), Dresden Anton G. Rubinstein Competition (2009) and Brahms Competition Pörtschach in the categories piano solo and chamber music (2012 & 2013).