the musicians

After studying in Graz with Prof. H. Himmel and in Vienna with Prof. F. Samohyl, Demetrius Polyzoides furthered his studies at international master classes with Christian Ferras, Max Rostal, Wolfgang Marschner and Arthur Grumiaux. Additionally he studied viola with Hatto Beyerle. He plays concerts regularly as a soloist and as a chamber musician in well-known concert halls throughout Europe. He has given international instrumental and chamber music courses for many years in Austria and in Greece. He also recently recorded Eugène Ysayse’s six solo sonatas.

Elisabeth Polyzoides-Baich received her first violin lessons when she was six, and was accepted at age fourteen into Professor Christos Polyzoides’ violin class at the Graz Conservatory. A multiple national winner of Germany’s “Jugend Musiziert”, she finished her concert diploma - only one year after finishing high school – unanimously with “highest honors”. She then studied with Franz Samohyl in Vienna as well as at master classes with Max Rostal, Ramy Shevelov, Arthur Grumiaux and with Wolfgang Marschner. She was a soloist, a chamber musician and concertmaster of the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, and has been a member of the Gürzenich Orchestra in Köln since 1989.

Bernhard Oll studied violin at the Würzburg Conservatory with Prof. C. von der Goltz and then viola with Prof. A. Weigert. After playing principal viola with the Nuremberg Philharmonic Orchestra and in the Frankfurt Opera- and Museums Orchestra, he became the principal violist of the Gürzenich Orchestra in Cologne. He played viola for ten years with the Märkl Quartet as well as principal viola and chamber music with many well-known symphony and chamber orchestras in Germany and in other countries. Bernhard Oll teaches viola at the Robert-Schumann Conservatory in Düsseldorf.

Gerhard Dierig studied viola in Essen and Düsseldorf and passed his concert exam with Jürgen Kussmaul. With his siblings, he formed the Dierig Quartet. He is also interested in singing: In recent years, Gerhard Dierig has performed roles such as the "Tamino" in Mozart's „Zauberflöte“ and the "Alfred" in Johann Strauss's „Fledermaus“. In various ensembles, he also likes to play the music from the first decades of the 20th century, especially classical and Hungarian operettas and sound films. He has been a member of the Gürzenich Orchestra since 1991 and also performs as a soloist.

Uta Schlichtig studied with Angelica May, Johannes Goritzki, Erling-Blöndal Bengtsson and Zara Nelsova. In 1976 she won the Schmolz-Bickenback Prize. She was principal cellist of the Deutsche Kammerakademie, with which she traveled around the world and played in every important concert venue, also as a soloist. She played chamber music concerts with different ensembles in Southeast Asia, Japan, England, Scotland, Brazil, Sweden and Australia. She has played chamber music with Sandor Vegh, David Levine, Philip Hirschhorn and Bruno Giurana.

Birgit Heinemann studied at the Folkwang Conservatory in Essen with Reiner Hochmut and with Prof. Yang-Chang Cho and attended master classes with Heinrich Schiff and Joan Dickson. She has played concerts in Germany and internationally with the Ensemble Il Cigno, Trio Divertimento and with Cambiata Köln. The artist is a sought-after soloist with diverse ensembles and has played on numerous CD, radio and TV productions.