Matthias Goerne is one of the most internationally sought-after vocalists and a frequent guest at the world’s renowned festivals and concert halls. He has collaborated with leading orchestras on every continent. Conductors of the first rank as well as eminent pianists are among his musical partners. Goerne’s artistry has been documented on numerous recordings, many of which have received prestigious awards, including four Grammy nominations, an ICMA award, and only recently the Diapason d’or arte. After his legendary recordings with Vladimir Ashkenazy and Alfred Brendel for Universal Music, he has recently recorded a series of selected Schubert songs on 11 CDs for Harmonia Mundi (The Goerne Schubert Edition) with pianists including Christoph Eschenbach and Elisabeth Leonskaja.

A regular recital partner of Matthias Goerne since 2004, Alexander Schmalcz began his musical studies as a chorister in the Dresden Kreuzchor, later continuing them at the Dresden Conservatoire, the Utrecht Conservatoire, and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where he studied both with Iain Burnside and Graham Johnson. His numerous prizes include the Gerald Moore Award (1996) and the Megan Foster Accompanist Prize. He performs regularly in the most important cultural centres of Europe, the Americas and Japan, among them the Wigmore Hall in London, the Schubertiade in Schwarzenberg, the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Kennedy Center in Washington, and the Frauenkirche Dresden. His work in Lieder has involved him in collaborations with international singers such as Matthias Goerne, Peter Schreier, Grace Bumbry, Konrad Jarnot, Stephan Genz, Christoph Genz, Marcus Ullmann, Stephan Loges and Doris Soffel.