Florian & Christoph Berner in Concert: An Evening of Chamber Music
Images: Akvile Sileikaite & Magda Olivieira
March 24, 2026 | 6:30 PM
TICKETS AVAILABLE IN DUE COURSE
Join us for an intimate evening of chamber music as brothers Florian Berner (cello) and Christoph Berner (piano) lead audiences through the rich and evolving sound world of Chamber Music. Long connected to this repertoire since their youth, the two musicians illuminate the profound musical dialogue between cello and piano: From classical roots to bold, expressive independence.
About the Concert
The program traces the remarkable emancipation of the cello from its former role as a Baroque basso continuo instrument to a virtuosic melodic voice and equal partner to the piano. Beginning with early variations on a theme from The Magic Flute by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the evening continues with the dramatic Sonata Op. 5 No. 2 and culminates in the lyrical and exuberant Sonata in A major, written around the same time as Beethoven’s Violin Concerto and Fourth Piano Concerto. Beethoven’s enduring influence is further highlighted through Ephemeral Secrets II by Austrian composer Julia Purgina (*1980), a contemporary work written for the Berner brothers that explicitly engages with Beethoven’s musical language, demonstrating its lasting relevance more than two centuries later.
Music Program
About the Artists
Florian Berner
Vienna-born cellist Florian Berner has been a sought-after performer for over two decades, appearing in major music centers across Europe, the United States, Asia, and South America. His concert career has taken him to renowned venues including Carnegie Hall or Suntory Hall in Tokyo. A recipient of honors such as the Special Prize of the Vienna Philharmonic and the European Chamber Music Prize, Berner has recorded extensively for labels including DG, DECCA, and Gramola. He is a founding member of the Hugo Wolf Quartet and the Alban Berg Ensemble Wien, and since 2024, cellist of TrioVanBeethoven. Berner is Professor of Cello and Chamber Music at the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna.
Christoph Berner
Regarded as one of Austria’s leading pianists, Christoph Berner is acclaimed for his exceptional stylistic range and musical versatility. Born in Vienna, he studied at the University of Music in Vienna and with Maria Tipo in Fiesole, graduating summa cum laude. He has appeared as a soloist with orchestras such as the Dresden Philharmonie, Mahler Chamber Orchestra, and Moscow Tchaikovsky Orchestra under distinguished conductors including Neeme Järvi and Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos. An avid chamber musician, Berner collaborates with leading instrumentalists and singers and maintains a long-standing partnership with tenor Werner Güra, documented in acclaimed recordings for harmonia mundi. Since 2014, he has served as Professor of Lied Interpretation and Chamber Music at the Zurich University of the Arts.