Andrey Boreyko, music director of the Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra since the 2009–10 season, was born in St. Petersburg and studied at his home town's conservatory, where he studied conducting and composition with Elisaveta Kudriavzeva and Alexander Dmitriev. He is principal guest conductor of the Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra and Orquesta Sinfónica de Euskadi San Sebastian, Spain. He will become chief conductor of the Orchestre National de Belgique beginning in September 2012. Previous posts include chief conductor of the Bern Symphony Orchestra, Poznan Philharmonic Orchestra, Jenaer Philharmonie (of which he is now honorary conductor), Hamburger Symphony, and Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, as well as principal guest conductor of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.

Mr. Boreyko has conducted almost all the internationally renowned orchestras. He has led such European and American orchestras as the New York, Berlin, Los Angeles, Munich, and Rotterdam philharmonic orchestras; Cleveland and Philadelphia Orchestras; Boston, Chicago, London, and Vienna symphony orchestras; and Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden, Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra, Russian National Orchestra, Amsterdam's Royal Concertgebouw, Orchestra Sinfonica Nazionale della RAI, Filharmonica della Scala, Zurich's Tonhalle Orchestra, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Philharmonia Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, and Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio Franc.

Highlights of Mr. Ax's 2011-12 season include returns to the New York and Los Angeles Philharmonic orchestras; the Boston, Houston, Toronto, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Cincinnati symphony orchestras; and the San Francisco Symphony, where he is collaborating in the "American Mavericks" festival, which is to be repeated in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and New York's Carnegie Hall. As curator and participant with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in a two-week "Keys to the City" residency, he will perform in multiple roles in a festival that is celebrating the many varied facets of the piano and its repertoire.

Mr. Ax's European appearances this season include returns to the Berlin Philharmonic, Amsterdam's Royal Concertgebouw, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, London Philharmonic, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, and the Orchestre National de France. Recent tours have included the New York Philharmonic's Asian Horizons tour — the Orchestra's first with Alan Gilbert as Music Director — and with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in Europe.

Emanuel Ax has been an exclusive Sony Classical recording artist since 1987. He received Grammy Awards for the second and third volumes of his cycle of Haydn piano sonatas, and made a series of Grammy Award-winning recordings of the Beethoven and Brahms sonatas for cello and piano with Yo-Yo Ma. Mr. Ax resides in New York City with his wife, pianist Yoko Nozaki. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and holds honorary doctorates of music from Yale and Columbia Universities. In May 2011 the New York Philharmonic named him an Honorary Member of the Society on the occasion of his 100th performance with the Orchestra.

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.

Violinist Sheryl Staples joined the New York Philharmonic as Principal Associate Concertmaster (The Elizabeth G. Beinecke Chair) in 1998, and made her solo debut with the Orchestra in 1999. Previously she was the associate concertmaster of The Cleveland Orchestra and concertmaster of the Pacific Symphony and Santa Barbara Chamber orchestras. She has appeared as soloist with more than 40 orchestras, including The Cleveland Orchestra and Los Angeles Philharmonic; participated in the Santa Fe, La Jolla, Brightstar, Martha’s Vineyard, and Seattle chamber music festivals; and been a faculty artist at the Aspen, Bowdoin, and Sarasota music festivals. She is a former member of The Cleveland Orchestra Piano Trio, and currently performs with the New York Philharmonic Ensembles and the Lyric Chamber Music Society. Ms. Staples was a scholarship student at the Crossroads School for Arts and Sciences, Young Musicians Foundation Scholar, and W.M. Keck Scholar at the Colburn School of Performing Arts, spending summers at the Encore School for Strings. She earned an artist diploma from the University of Southern California. Ms. Staples performs on the "Kartman" Guarnerius del Gesù, ca. 1728.

Cynthia Phelps is the Philharmonic’s Principal Viola (The Mr. and Mrs. Frederick P. Rose Chair). Her solo appearances with the Orchestra have included performances on the 2006 Tour of Italy, sponsored by Generali, and the 1999 premiere of Sofia Gubaidulina’s which the Orchestra commissioned for her and Philharmonic Associate Principal Viola Rebecca Young. Other solo engagements have included the Minnesota Orchestra, San Diego Symphony, Hong Kong Philharmonic, and Orquesta Sinfónica de Bilbao. Ms. Phelps performs with The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Boston Chamber Music Society, and Bargemusic. She has toured internationally with the Zukerman and Friends Ensemble; appeared with The Kalichstein-Laredo-Robinson Trio and the Guarneri, American, Brentano, and Prague string quartets; and has given recitals in the music capitals of Europe and the U.S. Her honors include the Pro Musicis International Award and first prize in the Lionel Tertis International Viola and Washington International String competitions. Her most recent album, for flute, viola, and harp, on Telarc, was nominated for a Grammy Award.She has released a solo CD on Cala Records. Ms. Phelps has performed on PBS’s NPR, Radio France, and RAI in Italy.

Carter Brey was appointed Principal Cello, The Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Chair, of the New York Philharmonic in 1996. He made his official subscription debut with the Orchestra in May 1997 performing Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations under the direction of then Music Director Kurt Masur, and has since performed as soloist each season.

From the time of Mr. Brey’s New York and Kennedy Center debuts in 1982, he has been regularly hailed by audiences and critics for his virtuosity, flawless technique, and complete musicianship. He rose to international attention in 1981 as a prizewinner in the Rostropovich International Cello Competition. The winner of the Gregor Piatigorsky Memorial Prize, Avery Fisher Career Grant, Young Concert Artists’ Michaels Award, and other honors, he also was the first musician to win the Arts Council of America’s Performing Arts Prize.

Mr. Brey has appeared as soloist with virtually all the major orchestras in the United States, and performed under the batons of prominent conductors including Claudio Abbado, Semyon Bychkov, Sergiu Comissiona, and Christoph von Dohnányi. His chamber music career is equally distinguished; he has made regular appearances with the Tokyo and Emerson string quartets as well as The Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and at festivals such as Spoleto (both in the United States and Italy), and the Santa Fe and La Jolla Chamber Music festivals. He presents an ongoing series of duo recitals with pianist Christopher O’Riley; together they recorded Le Grand Tango: Music of Latin America, a disc of compositions from South America and Mexico released on Helicon Records. On another CD he collaborated with violinist Pamela Frank and violist Paul Neubauer in Aaron Jay Kernis’s Still Movement with Hymn (on Decca’s Argo label). He also recorded all of Chopin’s works for cello and piano with pianist Garrick Ohlssen (currently available on Hyperion).

Mr. Brey was educated at the Peabody Institute, where he studied with Laurence Lesser and Stephen Kates, and at Yale University, where he studied with Aldo Parisot and was a Wardwell Fellow and a Houpt Scholar. His violoncello is a rare J. B. Guadagnini made in Milan in 1754.