Concertmasters

Michael Dauth: Concertmaster

Of English-German origin, Michael Dauth began violin studies under the direction of his father, later studying with Franz Josef Maier and the Amadeus Quartet in Cologne and with Yfrah Neaman at the Guildhall School in London. Soon after, he became Concertmaster of Hanover’s North German Radio Orchestra and successfully auditioned for the Berlin Philharmonic under Herbert von Karajan.

Michael Dauth was invited to lead the Berlin Philharmonic Octet, Berlin Piano Trio and Chamber Virtuosi. In 1988 he moved to Australia, became Concertmaster of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and was a founding member, Special Concertmaster and Artistic Director of the Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa, Japan, a position he still holds today.

Michael Dauth has appeared as a soloist with major orchestras in Japan, Australia, New Zealand and Europe. His array of chamber music partners includes Wenzel Fuchs, Pavel Gillilov, Phillip Moll, Karl Leister, Gerhard Oppitz, Leif Ove Andsnes, Cyprien Katsaris, Hiroku Nakamura, Vadim Sakarov, Geoffrey Tozer and Piers Lane, and he has appeared at all the major festivals including Salzburg, Lucerne, Berlin and Tokyo.

His recordings include the Beethoven, Tchaikovsky and Mendelssohn violin concertos, Beethoven Romances, works by Saint-Saëns, Massenet, Kreisler and Drdla, Schnittke’s Concerto Grosso (which received the Deutsche Grammophon prize in Japan) and the world premiere recording of Takemitsu’s Nostalghia. An all-Johann Strauss recording featuring Michael Dauth directing the Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa and a recording of the Mozart and Brahms Clarinet Quintets with his Japan-based Sunrise String Quartet and Wenzel Fuchs were released in 2003.

Michael Dauth is frequently a guest professor and a juror at international violin competitions. In 2003 he received the Centenary medal awarded by the Governor-General for service to Australian society and the advancement of music. In 2005 Macquarie Trio Australia welcomed Michael Dauth, as its new violinist.

As Concertmaster, Michael Dauth is sponsored by the Board and Council of the Sydney Symphony as part of the Orchestra’s Directors’ Chairs program.

Dene Olding: Concertmaster

Dene Olding, recognized as one of Australia's most outstanding instrumentalists, has already achieved a distinguished career in many aspects of musical life. As a soloist, he has won many awards and he has performed over thirty-five concertos including many premieres, with some of the world's leading conductors and orchestras.

Dene is regularly heard as soloist with all the major Australian orchestras and has worked with, amongst others, Edo de Waart, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, Stuart Challender, Sir Charles Mackerras, Jorge Mester, Gunther Herbig, Werner Andreas Albert and David Porcelijn. He has given the Australian premieres of Lutoslawski's Chain 2 with the composer conducting, Elliott Carter's Violin Concerto and the Violin Concerto of Philip Glass. In addition, he has performed world premieres of violin concertos by Ross Edwards and Bozidar Kos and the Double Concerto for violin and viola by Richard Mills, written for himself and his wife, Irina Morozova.

He attended the Juilliard School In New York from the age of fourteen as a scholarship student of Ivan Galamian and Margaret Pardee. He graduated in 1978 with the Master of Music Degree and was awarded the Morris Loeb Prize. Other studies included master classes with Nathan Milstein and further lessons with Herman Krebbers and Gyorgy Pauk. In 1985, he was awarded the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship to further his musical studies and during that year, became a Laureate of the Queen Elisabeth of Belgium International Violin Competition.

As a chamber musician, Dene Olding is well-known to audiences as first violinist for the Australia Ensemble (resident at the University of New South Wales) and is a founding member of the Goldner String Quartet. His positions as a Concertmaster have included leadership of the Australian Chamber Orchestra and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Melbourne Symphony Orchestra.

Solo recordings include a sonata disc of Brahms, Beethoven and Mozart for ABC Classics with his father, Max Olding, the CD premiere of concertos by Frank Martin and Milhaud and concertos by Samuel Barber and Ross Edwards (Maninyas) - winner of the 1994 A.R.I.A. award for "Best Classical Recording" and the prestigious Cannes award. Most recently, he has recorded the Hindemith violin concerti with the Queensland Symphony Orchestra under Werner Andreas Albert for CPO.

Other varied activities have included Artistic Director of the Mostly Mozart Festival at the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Festval Chamber Music Concerts. Conducting has become an increasingly important part of his musical life with past appearances with the Sydney Symphony and Auckland Philharmonia and further invitations as soloist/conductor with chamber orchestras in Australia and the USA.

He will rejoin the Sydney Symphony Orchestra as Co-Concertmaster in 2002 whilst maintaining his varied solo and chamber music activities. Solo engagements in 2002 include Haydn's Sinfonia Concertante for oboe, bassoon, violin and cello with the Melbourne Symphony and Shostokovich's Violin Concerto No 1 with the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra.

Dene Olding plays a fine Joseph Guarnerius made in Cremona in 1720, which is maintained by Sydney Luthier, Gabor Balogh.