Christoph von Dohnányi, one of the world's pre-eminent orchestral and opera conductors, regularly appears as a guest with the major opera houses and orchestras of Europe and North America. His appointments have included opera directorships in Frankfurt and Hamburg; principal orchestral conducting posts in Germany, London, and Paris; and his 20-year tenure as music director of The Cleveland Orchestra. During his years in Cleveland, he led the orchestra in 1,000 concerts, 15 international tours, 24 premieres, and the recording of more than 100 works.

Mr. Dohnányi's longstanding partnership with the Philharmonia Orchestra in London — where he is honorary conductor for life — began in 1994, when he was appointed principal guest conductor and, from 1997 onwards, served as principal conductor and artistic adviser. Together they developed a successful collaboration with the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, where their many performances have included productions of operas by Richard Strauss, Schoenberg, Stravinsky, and Humperdinck's.

In the 2011–2012 season, he returns to North America to lead subscription concerts with the Boston and Kansas City Symphony Orchestras and The Cleveland Orchestra. Highlights of recent seasons include concerts with New York and Israel Philharmonic orchestras, Cleveland Orchestra, Boston and Chicago Symphony Orchestras, Los Angeles Philharmonic (where he led the four Brahms symphonies over two weeks), Amsterdam's Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and Orchestre de Paris. He frequently leads the Chicago Symphony at Ravinia and the Boston Symphony at Tanglewood, and last season was the music director for the Tanglewood Music Center's production of Ariadne auf Naxos.

Christoph von Dohnányi conducts frequently at the world's great opera houses, including Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Milan's Teatro alla Scala, and Vienna Staatsoper, as well as in Berlin and Paris. He has been a frequent guest conductor with the Vienna Philharmonic at the Salzburg Festival, leading the world premieres of Hans Werner Henze's Die Bassariden and Cerha's Baal. He also regularly appears with the Zurich Opera.

Mr. Dohnányi has made many critically acclaimed recordings for London/Decca with The Cleveland Orchestra and the Vienna Philharmonic. With The Cleveland Orchestra, his large and varied discography includes the complete symphonies of Beethoven, Brahms, and Schumann.

New York Philharmonic Concertmaster Glenn Dicterow has established himself worldwide as one of the most prominent American concert artists of his generation. His extraordinary musical gifts became apparent when, at age 11, he made his solo debut in Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto with the Los Angeles Philharmonic (where his father, Harold Dicterow, served as principal of the second violin section for 52 years). In the following years, Mr. Dicterow became one of the most sought-after young artists, appearing as soloist from coast to coast.

Mr. Dicterow, who has won numerous awards and competitions, is a graduate of The Juilliard School, where he was a student of Ivan Galamian. In 1967, at the age of 18, he performed as soloist with the New York Philharmonic under Andre Kostelanetz in Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto. In 1980 he joined the Orchestra as Concertmaster, and has since performed as soloist every year, both on tour and in New York. Prior to joining the New York Philharmonic, he served as Associate Concertmaster and Concertmaster of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Among his appearances on tour with the Philharmonic was his performance of the Barber Violin Concerto during the Orchestra’s 1998 Asian Tour, in Manila, Korea, and in Beijing, China, where he performed in The Great Hall of the People to an audience of more than 10,000 people. Most recently, he performed Bernstein’s Serenade with the Philharmonic at Carnegie Hall, and Bach’s Brandenburg Concerto No. 1, at Avery Fisher Hall, both in November 2008.

Mr. Dicterow, who frequently appears as a guest soloist with other orchestras, has made numerous recordings. His most recent CD is a solo recital for Cala Records entitled New York Legends, featuring John Corigliano’s Sonata for Violin and Piano, Korngold’s Much Ado About Nothing, the premiere recording of Leonard Bernstein’s Sonata for Violin and Piano, and Martinů’s Three Madrigals for violin and viola, in collaboration with violist Karen Dreyfus and pianist Gerald Robbins. His recording of Bernstein’s Serenade, on Volume 2 of the American Celebration set, is available on the New York Philharmonic’s Website, nyphil.org. Mr. Dicterow can also be heard in the violin solos of the film scores for The Turning Point, The Untouchables, Altered States, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and Interview with the Vampire, among others.

Lisa Kim joined the Philharmonic violin section in 1994 and was named Associate Principal, Second Violin Group (In Memory of Laura Mitchell), in 2003. She teaches in South Korea and the United States, and has performed with the Seoul National Philharmonic Orchestra and the SooWon, North Carolina, Winston-Salem, and Durham symphony orchestras. Ms. Kim's chamber music activities have included the Philharmonic Ensembles series, Hofstra Chamber Ensemble series, Mostly Chamber Festival, Lyric Chamber Music Society, and Brooklyn's Bargemusic; collaborations with the late Lukas Foss, Lynn Harrell, Ani Kavafian, Yo-Yo Ma, and Garrick Ohlsson; European performances under the International Music Program; and Jordan's Jurash Festival at the invitation of King Hussein. Lisa Kim began violin studies at age seven, attended the North Carolina School of the Arts, and earned bachelor's and master's degrees from The Juilliard School. She has won prizes in the Arts Recognition and Talent Search, Bryan Young Artists String Competition, Winston-Salem Young Talent Search, and Durham Symphony Young Artists Competition. She joined the faculty of the Manhattan School of Music in 1999.

Rebecca Young joined the New York Philharmonic in 1986 as its youngest member. In 1991 she won the position of Associate Principal Viola. Two months later she was named principal viola of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. After spending the 1992–93 season in Boston and two summers at Tanglewood, she ultimately decided to return to her family in New York, resuming her Associate Principal position with the Philharmonic in September 1994. As a chamber musician, Ms. Young has performed with many renowned groups, including the Boston Chamber Music Society, Boston Symphony Chamber Players, New York Philharmonic Ensembles, and The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. She can be heard in a recording of Schubert’s Trout Quintet with cellist Yo-Yo Ma, pianist Emanuel Ax, violinist Pamela Frank, and bass player Edgar Meyer on the Sony Classical label. In the spring of 1999 Ms. Young joined Philharmonic Principal Viola Cynthia Phelps in the World Premiere of Sofia Gubaidulina’s Two Paths: Music for Two Solo Violas and Symphony Orchestra with the Philharmonic. The work was commissioned for them by Tomoko Masur, wife of Philharmonic Music Director Emeritus Kurt Masur and herself a former violist. The two performed it at Avery Fisher Hall, in Washington, D.C., and again during the Orchestra’s subsequent tour of the Canary Islands, Spain, and Portugal, as well as the Europe 2000 Tour, and again in April 2011, at Avery Fisher Hall. Ms. Young is a graduate of The Juilliard School.

A former Naumburg Scholarship winner and graduate of The Juilliard School, Irene Breslaw joined the viola section of the New York Philharmonic in August 1976. She was named Assistant Principal Viola in 1989. Prior to joining the Orchestra, Ms. Breslaw was a member of both the St. Louis Symphony Ochestra and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. In May 2001 Ms. Breslaw celebrated 25 years as a member of the New York Philharmonic.

An active chamber musician, Ms. Breslaw appears regularly with the New York Philharmonic Ensembles. In the summers of 1993 and 1995, she traveled to Finland to perform chamber music with several of her Philharmonic colleagues and to coach members of the VIVO Youth Orchestra, an experience she found extremely rewarding. She has also recorded the Mozart Clarinet Trio, "Kegelstatt," with Principal Clarinet Stanley Drucker and pianist Lukas Foss for Elysium Records. Since 1998 Ms. Breslaw has been on the orchestral performance faculty at the Manhattan School of Music, and is an adjunct at Queens College.

Ms. Breslaw is married to Dr. Daniel Grapel and is the mother of a son and daughter.

Cellist Maria Kitsopoulos joined the Philharmonic in 1996. Her solo engagements have included the CONTINUUM ensemble in Alice Tully Hall; the Phoenix Symphony; the Westfield Symphony, Graz, and Athens State orchestras; and recitals. She performs contemporary music with groups such as Music Mobile and the Guild of Composers, and she has toured Europe with the Ensemble Intercontemporain. She is a member of the cello quartet CELLO, which performs music it has commissioned throughout the United States, and she has appeared at the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, and Merkin Concert Hall. She received bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees from The Juilliard School; upon graduation she was awarded the Peter Mennin Prize for Outstanding Leadership, and later served on the school’s faculty. A finalist in the first Emanuel Feuermann Cello Competition and a prizewinner in the National Society of Arts and Letters Cello Cmpetition, Ms. Kitsopoulos received fellowships from the Aspen and Tanglewood music festivals. She can be heard on recordings on the Musical Heritage Society, Angel, DG, and Columbia labels, among others.

A member of the New York Philharmonic cello section beginning September 2007, Wei Yu has appeared regularly as a substitute cellist with the New York Philharmonic and The Cleveland Orchestra. Most recently, he was invited to join the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra’s USA 70th Anniversary tour led by Zubin Mehta and Lorin Maazel. He has participated in open master classes conducted by pianist Leon Fleisher, violist Kim Kashkashian, and cellists Lynn Harrell, Ralph Kirshbaum, Joel Krosnick, and Janos Starker, and was invited to play for Mstislav Rostropovich at the Seventh American Cello Congress in 2003.

Born in Shanghai, China, Mr. Yu has been the top prize winner of many competitions, including the Hudson Valley Philharmonic String Competition, Holland American Music Society Cello, Music Teacher National Association (MTNA National Collegiate Strings), Canada’s National Music Festival, Calgary’s Kiwanis Festival, and China’s National Cello competitions. He was also invited to participate in the XII International Tchaikovsky Competition 2002 in Moscow.

An active chamber musician, Mr. Yu has been invited to the Marlboro and Ravinia music festivals, and has recently collaborated with musicians such as cellist David Soyer, pianist Richard Goode, violinists Midori and Pinchas Zukerman, and members of the Guarneri and Juilliard Quartets. Mr. Yu gave a recital on the Catherine & Mary Roth concert series in Washington D.C., with pianist Francis Conlon.

Wei Yu toured Japan as principal cellist of the Pacific Music Festival Orchestra under Bernard Haitink, Edo de Waart, Wei-Pin Chien, and Yutaka Sado. His performances have been live and in recording on Chicago’s 98.7 WFMT, Finnish Radio Broadcasting Company, and the CBC’s “Our Music” in Canada.

Mr. Yu began studying the cello at age four and made his concerto debut with the Shanghai Symphony Orchestra at age 11 playing the Elgar Cello Concerto. He came to the United States in 2000 to work with Hans Jensen of Northwestern University. He received his master’s degree from The Juilliard School, studying with David Soyer on a full scholarship, with the support of the Irene Diamond Graduate Fellowship.