Artistic Director prof. Alessandra Schettino

Stefano Zanchetta, Venetian, began studying the violin with Sirio Piovesan at the Conservatory of Venice, where he obtained a diploma in violin and viola with honors, cultivating at the same time the study of piano and composition. Later, at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, he specialized with Sandor Vegh and in chamber music with Antonio Janigro. In Trio with Mario Brunello and Massimo Somenzi he obtained important prizes such as at the chamber music competition in Paris and at the prestigious Colmar chamber competition for trio. He was the only violinist chosen among numerous national selections at the 1978 Auditorium competition organized by RAI and was awarded with a recital broadcast live on the radio from the Auditorium of Turin. In the meantime he obtained several first prizes at the Vittorio Veneto violin reviews for 5 consecutive years. Alongside the teaching of the violin, which he began when he was very young at the Conservatory of Venice, he has an extensive concert schedule that has led him to perform all over the world and in the most prestigious halls and theaters such as Carnegie Hall in New York, Tchaikovsky Hall in Moscow, Japan, Australia, China, South America, United States, New Zealand and throughout Europe and the Middle East. He has collaborated as first violin with the orchestra of the Teatro La Fenice, the RAI orchestra of Rome, the Abruzzese symphonic orchestra of L’Aquila, the orchestra of the theater of Treviso, the regional orchestra of Udine, the orchestra of the Italian-Slovenian musical youth, the Italian string orchestra directed by Mario Brunello with which he had the role of soloist. His interest in the music of the 20th century led him to perform works by A. Berg, K. Weill, R. Zandonai, the concert by A. Schnittke, etc.. In the field of baroque music he has collaborated with I Virtuosi di Roma, the orchestra A.Vivaldi of Venice, founded by his master Sirio Piovesan, the Sonatori della Gioiosa Marca with Cecilia Bartoli at the Musikverein in Vienna. He has made numerous recordings for the Erato label together with Claudio Scimone and the Solisti Veneti, Decca, Cpo of Berlin, Divox, Phone, Denon etc.. Claudio Abbado wanted him in the first violin stands in his prestigious orchestra of the Lucerne Festival for a series of concerts at the Musikverein in Vienna with Maurizio Pollini as soloist. He is part of juries in violin competitions such as the Postacchini of Fermo, Vittorio Veneto, Treviso etc.. Recently he has published 12 studies for violin and 4 pieces for violin and piano from Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities and soon will be published a Paganiniana written for solo violin. In 1980 he began his teaching activity at the conservatory B. Marcello and many students who have graduated under his guidance cover important roles in prestigious symphonic institutions and chamber groups. Faithful and heir to the violin tradition of his teacher Sirio Piovesan (who combines the Venetian school with the Hungarian school of J. Hubay and E. Zathureszki), he is considered the sole heir to his school and wants to perpetuate its precious teachings.

Helfried Fister, born in 1952 in Carinthia / Austria, received his first musical education at the Carinthian State Conservatory with prof. Gustav Mayer. After graduating with distinction he went on to continue his studies with prof. Igor Ozim at the Hochschule in Cologne, where he was his assistant from 1978 to 1989. From 1989 to 2018 he was Professor at the Carinthian State Conservatory / Austria and from 1999 to 2017 he teached at the “Johann Joseph Fux” Conservatory in Graz. In both Conservatories he hold the office of the Head of strings Departments. He was also chairman of the board of the “Carinthian music schools” being responsible for the development of the music school system in the years 1992 – 1998.
Helfried Fister conducts violin and chamber music masterclasses in many countries of the world and sits on the panel of judges at many national and international violin, viola and chamber music competitions. Helfried Fister performs as a soloist and chamber musician in many countries of the world. In 2017-2018 he was Member of the development team of the newly founded “Gustav Mahler Private Music University Klagenfurt /Austria”, being responsible for the conception and  implementation of all curriculums and study regulations.

Harald Herzl studied in Salzburg with Sándor Végh and with members of the Amadeus Quartet in Cologne. First violinist in the Pro Arte Quartet Salzburg. Won prizes at competitions in Helsinki and Hannover. Extensive concert tours to major centres of music and festivals in Europe and Asia: in Vienna, for instance, in the Great Hall of the Musikverein, Budapest, Bucharest, Paris, London, Berlin, Athens and in many other cities. Tour of Israel in 1989. In 1991 highly acclaimed debut at the Salzburg Festival. Regular participation in the Salzburg Mozart Week. Conductor Raphael Kubelik dedicated his 5^th String Quartet to the Pro Arte Quartet Salzburg. Performances together with artists such as Wolfgang and Sabine Meyer, Olli Mustonen, Dimitris Sgouros, Paul Meyer, Martin Lovett, Jörg Demus, Hansjörg Schellenberger and many others. Exclusive contract with BMG/RCA Viktor to record all the Mozart string quartets. CDs issued by EMI, Preiser Records and Deutsche Harmonia Mundi.  Harald Herzl has been a professor at the Mozarteum in Salzburg since 2000; he has been head of the Department of String Instruments at the Mozarteum University since 2004. He performs as a soloist at the Mozart Week in Salzburg and in the Grosses Festspielhaus with the Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra. In 2007, together with Thomas Riebl and Susanna Ehn-Riebl, he founded the Mozarteum String Trio Salzburg. Harald Herzl is invited as a soloist annually to Japan, Korea and China and is much in demand as a chamber musician. He holds international master-classes and is a jury member at major competitions in Austria, Germany, Italy, Norway, Armenia as well as in Japan and China. His students are extremely successful, as documented by prizes for instance at the Concours Reine Elisabeth in Brussels in 2015;  prize-winners at international competitions such as the Ruggiero Ricci Competition in Salzburg (1^st  prize in 2009), Brahms Competition in Pörtschach/Austria (1^st prize in 2010), “String player of the year”, “Ian Stoutzker Prize  in Memory of Yehudi Menuhin” (2012), Leopold Mozart Competition in Augsburg (3^rd Prize in 2013), International Arthur Grumiaux Competition in Belgium (3^rd Prize in 2014) and at the Remember Enescu International Violin Competition (1^st prize 2015), as well as at the Mozart Competition in Salzburg in 2016 (2^nd prize). Harald Herzl plays a violin made by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini, Turin, dating from around 1770, from the collection of valuable string instruments owned by the Austrian National Bank.

Diana Mustea, born into a family of musical traditions, began studying violin at the age of 5 at the Musical High school C. Porumbescu of Chisinau in Moldova. She attended then the State Academy of music G. Dima of Cluj Napoca (Romania), where she graduated with honors under the guidance of renowned violinist M° Stefan Ruha, with whom she often exhibited in duo, collaborating also with the prestigious Quartet of Romanian State Quartet Transylvania. She performes also as a soloist with major orchestras in Romania and Moldova, playing and recording for Radio and TV Moldova. In 2005 she received from Moldovan Government the Prize for music 2005 for her activity. After moving to Italy, she has improved for four years at the Academy W. Stauffer of Cremona under the guidance of M° S. Accardo and, becoming part of the Italian Chamber Orchestra, she has participated in successful concerts in Italy and abroad, recording also The Concerts at Madama Palace.
She is also performed as a duo and in prestigious chamber ensembles with important musicians such as Bruno Canino, Jan Talich, Gil Scharon, Atar Arad, etc. She recorded also the DVD Amati in concert for the Radio and Television Linburg (Holland). She has worked with the orchestras of the theatres S. Carlo in Naples, Carlo Felice in Genova,Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence and G. Verdi in Trieste. Since 2006, alongside the concert activity, she has been dedicating to teach, holding the chair of violin at the I.S.S.M. G. Puccini of Gallarate, at the Conservatory of music F. Torrefranc of Vibo Valentia, at the Conservatory of music J. Tomadini of Udine. She is currently professor of violin at the Conservatory G. Tartini in Trieste and is part of the Orchestra of the Foundation of the Theatre Verdi in Trieste.

Monika Skalar began her violin studies with her father, Maksimilijan Skalar. In 1976 she graduated from the Conservatory of music in Ljubljana under the guidance of prof. Ciril Veronek. She continued her studies with prof. Igor Ozim at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz in Cologne, where she graduated in 1981. She also completed her postgraduate studies with prof. Ozim and at the same time, she also studied chamber music at the same school under Boris Pergamenschikov and members of the Amadeus Quartet. She was a member of the Rheinischer Kammer Orchestra and appeared several times as a soloist with them. Monika Skalar was concertmaster of the RTV Slovenia Symphony Orchestra from 1982 to 2003, during which time she also performed regularly as a soloist and recorded many works for the archives. She has given solo concerts in Slovenia, Austria, Germany, Finland, Italy, France, Spain, Russia and in the USA.  She has been a member of the string quartet Camerata Slovenica and the chamber ensemble Collegium Musicum. Since 1985 she has been the first violinist of the Ljubljana String Quartet, with whom she received the Bettet Prize. She is a member of the chamber ensemble Camerata Labacensis as concertmaster and soloist. Her programme covers all musical periods. Since 2003 she has been teaching violin at the Academy of Music in Ljubljana, conducting masterclasses and participating in juries at national and international competitions, where her students have also won high prizes.