Klaus Arp studied piano, composition, and conducting at the Staatliche Musikhochschule near his birthplace of Hamburg. An accomplished instrumentalist, Maestro Arp plays many instruments such as harpsichord, organ, trumpet, flute, double bass, and sitar, among others. He enjoys the classical, jazz, Asian, and minimalist genres. As pianist and assistant conductor at the Hamburg Staatsoper, he made his debut conducting Bernstein's West Side Story. For 30 years he has conducted throughout Germany's opera houses and as the Chief Conductor of the South West German Radio Orchestra, Kaiserslautern (SWR). In 1981, Maestro Arp was appointed Principal Conductor of the Rheinische Philharmonie and the Koblenz Opera House, which performed his opera Ogygia for its 200th anniversary. In 1993, he was appointed conducting chair at the Staatliche Musikhochschule, Heidelberg-Mannheim. His chamber opera for Berlin's "Neuköllner Oper" premiered in September 2004. Maestro Arp conducts regularly in Croatia, Bulgaria, South Korea, and worldwide. He first appeared with Salute to Vienna in 2001 in New York and Philadelphia, and has since conducted Salute to Vienna performances in Toronto, Chicago, Montreal, and Washington, DC.

After studying at the Staatliche Musikhochschule in Munich with Otmar Suitner and Franco Ferrara, Daniel Beyer immediately received engagements at houses in Würzburg, Oldenburg, Brünn, Macerata and Buenos Aires. He became Resident Conductor first at Brandenburgische Staatstheater and, in 2004-2005, at Theater Ulm in Germany. He collaborated with renowned singers such as Peter Seiffert, Edith Wiens and Wolfgang Brendel as well as international orchestras including the Czech State Philharmonic Brno, the Munich Radio Orchestra, and the Sao Paolo Symphony Orchestra. Beyer has won critical acclaim for his interpretations of Bruckner and Mahler symphonies, and is a premiere operetta conductor. He has toured extensively and recorded for radio and television. Daniel Beyer has been Artistic Consultant and Conductor of the Vienna Johann Strauss Gala since 1999 as well as Musical Director of the Vienna Franz Lehár Gala, which makes Maestro Beyer an excellent conductor for Salute to Vienna.

Though he is not an artist for Salute to Vienna 2011, we are proud of Daniel Beyer's past performances and the many high caliber artists we currently present.

The musical talent of the born Viennese was discovered at the age of 5, when he was accepted as a student of the University of Music in Vienna in Violin and piano. Aged 12 he won the first prize at the Austrian Youth Competition "Jugend musiziert" and was accepted to the concert class of Hans Graf in the same year.
Fletzberger won top prizes at international piano competitions, including the "Busoni" (Bolzano 1984), "Rubinstein" (Tel Aviv), and "Bösendorfer" (Vienna 1988) competitions. His career took him to all continents as soloist playing more than 1.000 concerts in only five years.
By recommendation of Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Rolf Liebermann - the legendary Intendant of the opera houses in Hamburg and Paris - and with the support of his teachers Ferdinand Leitner und Carl Melles Fletzberger started a second career as a conductor. Within a short period of time he acquired a huge repertoire in Salzburg ("Figaro" with Peter Ustinov), the Prague State Opera, the Vienna Festival and the Stadttheater St. Gallen (Switzerland) until 1999.
Following a ten-year time-out he decided to return to the classical music scene in 2009, when Fletzberger started his comeback as a classical pianist and conductor.



Né à Vienne, Matthias Fletzberger a été enseigné à l'âge de 5 ans à l'Université de Musique de Vienne en piano et violon. À l'âge de 12 ans, il a gagné les nationaux de musique de la concurrence "Jeunes Musiciens» et a étudié dans la classe de concert de professeur Hans Graf.
Matthias Fletzberger a remporté d'importants concours internationaux de piano ("Busoni" à Bolzano, " Rubinstein " à Tel-Aviv, " Bösendorfer " à Vienne) - en tant que soliste, il a joué dans 5 ans un total d'environ 1.000 concerts sur tous les continents.
Motivé par Elisabeth Schwarzkopf et Rolf Liebermann, le légendaire réalisateur des opéras de Hambourg et Paris, il se tourna vers le théâtre. Parmi ses professeurs, entre autres Ferdinand Leitner et Carl Melles.
Il a débuté en 1986 à Salzbourg ("Figaro ", réalisé par Peter Ustinov). Il était directeur musical du „Jugenstiltheater" à Vienne (1989-1992), il a dirigé au Festival de Vienne, à l'Opéra d'Etat de Prague et au Théâtre Municipal de St. Gallen (Suisse). Il a également été directeur musical du Festival de Klosterneuburg de 1995 à 1999. D'autres apparitions ont été faites en Autriche, Allemagne, Italie, Canada et la Géorgie.
Après une interruption de dix ans Fletzberger à fait son retours à la musique classique en 2009 et a de nouveau du grand succès sur les scènes du monde entier en tant que pianiste et chef d'orchestre.

Sascha Göetzel first trained as a violinist, graduating with honors from the University of Graz in Austria. He immediately joined the ranks of the Vienna Philharmonic, working with many of the world's greatest conductors and receiving tutelage from such renowned maestros as Zubin Mehta and Riccardo Muti. His extraordinary talent earned him invitations to the prestigious Tanglewood Music Festival by the acclaimed Seiji Ozawa, and the famous Sibelius Academy. As a conductor, Mr. Göetzel has led the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, the Tonkünstler Orchestra, the Vienna State Opera, and the Vienna Volksoper, as well as famous orchestras in several countries internationally. His conducting has spanned a wide range of repertoire including several world premieres and he has made numerous television and radio broadcasts. Mr. Göetzel has collaborated with notable soloists including Plácido Domingo, José Carreras and Thomas Hampson. Several of his arrangements have been recorded and released by Deutsche Grammophon and BMG.

Though he is not an artist for Salute to Vienna 2011, we are proud of Sascha Göetzel's past performances and the many high caliber artists we currently present.

In May 2006 he conducted Gounod's Roméo et Juliette at the Spoleto Festival in the US with Nicole Cabell, the 2005 winner of Cardiff Singer of the World which followed his his debut in China conducting the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra with cellist Nina Kotova.

Tommaso Placidi has performed with numerous orchestras across Europe, including the London Symphony Orchestra, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Strasbourg, Liège and Luxembourg Philharmonics, the Vienna Chamber Orchestra, the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, RAI Turin, the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse and many others. His conducting of the new productions of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor and l'Elisir d'Amore at the Holland Park Festival in London was widely acclaimed.

Always greatly interested in contemporary works, he conducted the world première of The Creatures Indoors by Stephen Montague with the London Symphony Orchestra and of Cori Spezzati by Michel Fourgon with the Liège Philharmonic. In 2007 he also conducted Le Petit Prince by Fabio Maffei with the Wroclaw Philharmonic.

Tommaso Placidi has recorded with the Münchner Rundfunkorchester and the NDR Hannover with clarinettist Steven Kanoff (ASV label) as well as with the Craïova Symphony Orchestra and the Castagneri Quartet.

Great-grandson of the famous master Hans Richter, conductor of several premieres such as Wagner's Ring Cycle in Bayreuth, Brahms Second Symphony and Third Symphony, nd Bruckner's Fourth Symphony, and Eighth Symphony, Hans Richter studied under Herbert von Karajan, Kurt Masur and Sergiu Celibidache. He went on to receive awards at the International Conductor's Competition of Hungarian television in Budapest, the Prize of Support of Music of Munich, and the Prize of Audience while assisting von Karajan. In 1984 Mr. Richter became a first conductor of the Municipal Theater in Biel while also assistant conducting for The New York Philharmonic Orchestra. He has lead many renowned orchestras such as the Bavarian Broadcasting Orchestra, Symphonic Orchestra NDR Hamburg, Bavarian Symphonists, and the Philharmonic Orchestra of Tokyo. Hans Richter has extensively toured Germany, France, Switzerland, and around the world with orchestras such as the Smetana Philharmonic Orchestra Prague, the West Bohemian Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philharmonic of North Bohemia Teplice, Philharmonic Orchestra Budapest, Hungarian Symphonic Orchestra Miskolc, Pannon Philharmonic Orchestra Pecs, and Hungarian Philharmonic Orchestra. His crowning achievement was conducting the opening concert of the Wiener Festwochen leading Friedrich Gulda.

Though he is not an artist for Salute to Vienna 2011, we are proud of Hans Richter's past performances and the many high caliber artists we currently present.

Austrian conductor Peter Sommerer's wealth of symphonic and conducting acclaim has established him as a premiere maestro of this era. At the age of 12, he was the youngest chorus master at the Austrian choir competition for youth choirs. His studies began in violin and music theory at the Anton Bruckner Conservatory, and continued at the University for Music and Performing Arts in Vienna. Mr. Sommerer has conducted the Junges Orchester Wien through several tours of Europe and Japan, and conducted at the Neue Oper Wien, known for its productions of contemporary operas. Since 2002, Maestro Sommerer has worked as assistant conductor at European opera houses including the Vienna State Opera, German State Opera Berlin, Semperoper Dresden, and the National theatre Munich and since as conductor at the Theatre of Osnabrueck as well as throughout Germany and Austria. His repertoire includes not only symphonic literature and German romantic operas, but also lighter operas and operettas by Johann Strauss, Jr. and Franz Lehár.

Though he is not an artist for Salute to Vienna 2011, we are proud of Peter Sommerer's past performances and the many high caliber artists we currently present.