Cultural Presentation: Classical Music

Viennese Traditions of Strings and Winds

Join us for a special Cultural Presentation featuring two emerging and established chamber-music ensembles from Vienna: violinists Peter Schuhmayer and Seina Matsuoka, and the clarinet quartet Reedlines.

Bringing together performance, musical insight, and cultural history, this one-hour session will introduce delegates to Vienna’s living classical-music tradition through two contrasting instrumental settings. Each ensemble will give a 20-minute performance followed by a 10-minute talk, offering audiences an opportunity to hear the music and learn more about its repertoire, interpretation, and cultural context directly from the performers.

From the intimacy of the violin duo to the rich and varied sonorities of the clarinet quartet, the presentation will celebrate chamber music as both a historic Viennese tradition and an evolving international art form.

Schuhmayer & Matsuoka: Violin Duo

The first part of the session will feature violinists Peter Schuhmayer and Seina Matsuoka. Their performance brings together two generations of musicians and reflects the importance of mentorship, artistic exchange, and international collaboration within Vienna’s musical culture.

Peter Schuhmayer is the first violinist of the internationally acclaimed Artis Quartet. From 1988 to 2025, the ensemble served as Quartet in Residence at the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna’s Musikverein. He has performed in leading musical centres and at major festivals around the world, recorded more than 40 albums, and received numerous international distinctions. Alongside his performing career, he has taught violin and chamber music at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, Austria, and has worked with students at prominent institutions across Europe, Asia, and North America.

Japanese violinist Seina Matsuoka completed her master’s degree at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, Austria under Peter Schuhmayer, graduating with the university’s Award of Appreciation. An accomplished soloist and chamber musician, she won First Prize at the 2023 International Karol Szymanowski Music Competition and, as a member of the Aka Duo, First Prize at both the International Chamber Music Competition Pinerolo Torino and the International Polish Music Competition. Since November 2025, she has served as Third Concertmaster of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra.

Reedlines: Clarinet Quartet

The second half of the presentation will feature Reedlines, a clarinet quartet comprising Elias Auzinger, Ariella Kouyoumdjian, Raquel Lechner, and Bernadett Pöll. The musicians study with Professor Christoph Moser at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, Austria.

The quartet’s programme crosses musical periods, styles, and national traditions. It includes Luiz Bonfá’s lyrical La Chanson d’Orphée, an aria by George Frideric Handel, Alexis Ciesla’s rhythmically vivid Tarnov Suite, and Johann Strauss II’s spirited Tritsch-Tratsch-Polka. Together, these works reveal the clarinet’s remarkable versatility, moving from songful melodies and Baroque elegance to contemporary chamber writing and one of Vienna’s most recognisable musical traditions.

The members of Reedlines represent a new generation of musicians developing their artistry in Vienna. Collectively, they have received awards in national and international competitions, appeared as soloists and ensemble performers, participated in festivals and masterclasses across Europe, and gained experience with orchestras and musical institutions in Austria and beyond.

Their accompanying talk will offer delegates further insight into the clarinet quartet as an ensemble, the programme’s contrasting musical styles, and the interpretive choices involved in transforming orchestral, vocal, and instrumental works for four clarinets.

Don’t Miss This Celebration of Vienna's Musical Culture

This Cultural Presentation offers an accessible introduction to Vienna’s celebrated chamber-music tradition, combining live performance with insight from the musicians themselves. Whether you are an experienced concertgoer or encountering this repertoire for the first time, the session will provide a rare opportunity to experience classical music at close range and discover how Vienna’s musical heritage continues to develop through new generations of performers.

Join us on Friday, November 13, 2026 for a memorable hour of music, conversation, and cultural exchange.