Daniel Palmizio
Born in 1986, he began his studies at the S. Cecilia Conservatoire of Rome; in 2000 he won a scholarship to study at the Purcell School of Music in London with Ian Jewel, he then furthered his studies also in conducting in the Royal College of Music. Daniel has studied in Cremona and Siena under the guidance of Bruno Giuranna with whom he has performed extensively throughout Italy with other renowned musicians such as Accardo and Meneses. With the same formation, in 2007 he performed quintets in a tour of South America, playing in halls of Buenos Aires, Montevideo and Mendoza. He also collaborated in chamber music concerts with Helmerson, Neubauer, Schmitt, Schellenberger, Vengerov. Since 2000 he has performed throughout Great Britain (highlights include Walton Concerto in St. John’s Smith Square, recital at the Royal Festival hall and recital at the Wigmore hall) and America (Boston and New York). As a soloist he toured Italy, Malta and Estonia with the World Youth Orchestra in 2005 and in 2008 he returned to perform Paganini’s Sonata for Viola and Orchestra in the Piacenza theatre. He has performed in Duo performances in festivals in Switzerland (Bellinzona) and in many Italian cities (Brescia, Lecco, Milan, Siena, Rome, Pescara, Bari, Palermo). In 2008 he was the youngest winner for principal viola post in the San Carlo theatre of Naples. In 2009 he collaborated with the Orchestra of Udine and Bruno Giuranna in performances of Britten Lachrymae, in Trieste and Udine. He retains prizes and scholarships from the Solti Foundation, Hattori foundation, Martin musical scholarship and Rotary club. Chosen for a program for rising solo artists Cidim, Daniel gave Concerto performance with Roma Sinfonietta and has toured throughout Italy. He won Second prize in the Brahms Viola Competition in Portschach, Austria, and the First prize and Audience prize in the Watson Forbes Viola Competition and the Valentino Bucchi of Rome. In 2012 he took the top Viola prize in the Budapest International Competition. In the next season he will perform with the National Youth orchestras in Scotland with performances in Edinburgh and Glasgow and will give a recital in the Purcell Room in the London Southbank. Since 2012 he is professor of Viola at the Rome Conservatoire. He plays on a viola made in 1800 kindly loaned by the Accademia Chigiana.

Nicolas van Poucke
Born in 1992 in Baarn, The Netherlands, into a family of professional musicians: his father is a trumpet player and his mother a violist. The piano, which he took up at age six, quickly became the faithful companion for expressing a love of music that, until today, thrives as much on opera, orchestra, and chamber music as on the piano repertoire. After a highly acclaimed recital in a sold-out Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Dutch music magazine De Nieuwe Muze dubbed Nicolas “the young freethinker among Dutch pianists”.

Nicolas has performed at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Royal Festival Hall London, Philharmonie Berlin, Philharmonie Essen. In addition, other tours have taken him to Cuba, Korea, Italy and France. He has performed with various orchestras under conductors including Jurjen Hempel, Conrad van Alphen, Roderick Cox and Roberto Beltran-Zavala.

In 2013 Nicolas released his debut album with works by Bach, Beethoven and Brahms which was favorably reviewed. 2019 saw the release of Nicolas’ second album, Chopin Sonatas No. 2 & 3, released on vinyl and digital platforms. “Van Poucke brings out Chopin’s strong – sometimes even demonic – side, in both virtuoso and sensitive manner” wrote NRC.

Trouw: “He plays these works with great dedication. and with powerful playing, he brings out the grandeur of the works. This is aristocratic music, even in lyrical passages, which Van Poucke makes convincing. He gives space to poetry, without falling into weakness or inappropriate rubato. “

An accomplished chamber musician he has worked with Colin Carr, Christiaan Bor, Claudio Bohorquez, Marie-Elisabeth Hecker, Godfried Hoogeveen, Gil Sharon, Andreas Reiner, Igor Roma and Pavel Vernikov. With violist Daniel Palmizio he recorded Bach’s complete Gamba sonatas and Brahms Opus 120 which will be released on Zefir Records. Nicolas has been making music together with his sister, cellist Ella van Poucke, for about as long as he can remember. In season 2018/19 they undertook their most ambitious project to date and performed Beethoven’s complete music for piano & cello in Het Concertgebouw Amsterdam and in Berlin.

In the middle of lockdown, Nicolas embarked on a Schumann project resulting in a series of (social distanced)recitals and an album for TRPTK “Nicolas van Poucke – The Schumann Collection vol. l” released in November 2020 and was met with glowing reviews.

The Volkskrant wrote: “Eager, sizzling and astonishing was Robert Schumann’s Carnival by pianist Nicolas van Poucke. As if he had stepped into the shoes of Schumann’s imaginary friends and alter egos, both musically depicted in the work, the dreamy Eusebius and the spirited Florestan; Van Poucke was both.”

In October 2020 Nicolas made his London debut with Chineke! Orchestra and Roderick Cox, performing Beethoven’s third piano concerto in the Royal Festival Hall. The Guardian wrote: “Chineke! gave a secure if stately account of Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No 3 with Nicolas van Poucke an assured soloist.”

In December Nicolas made his debut with the Nederlands Kamerorkest playing Beethoven’s piano concerto No. 4. “His elegant dexterity is impressive, but what resonates the most is how he lets the instrument speak meaningfully. A true poetic musician.” wrote the Volkskrant in the midst of the tour of socially distanced concerts.

Nicolas studied with David Kuyken and Jan Wijn (Conservatory of Amsterdam). Furthermore, he has received the advice of Murray Perahia, Alfred Brendel and Martha Argerich.