Vincent Cortvrint is the piccolo solo from the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, one of the leading orchestras in the world. He has been conducted by a.o. maestros Haitink, Janssons, Mehta, Maazel, Harnoncourt, Masur.
Before joining RCO in 1996 he was a member of the Belgian National Orchestra.
Next to his orchestral commitment, he transmits his passion for the music at the Conservatorium of Amsterdam.
He is frequently invited for master classes and summer school in many European and Asian countries and collaborates to various chamber music festivals.
At the age of four, Vincent Cortvrint discovered his passion for the flute. He studied at the Brussels conservatory with Michel Lefebvre and continued in Paris with Michel Debost and Maurice Bourgues.
In December 2017 he premiered the piccolo concerto Solastalgia from E-S Tüür commissioned for him by the Concertgebouw Orchestra. He recorded it for the label “RCO live”.
Renate Linortner was born in Bad Aussee (Styria, Austria) and commenced flute lessons at the age of seven.
Singing and performing traditional Austrian folk music was an integral part of daily life from a very early age.
It was clear early on that she was striving for a career as a professional musician.
After years of regular train travel between Bad Aussee and Vienna for flute lessons with her professor, Wolfgang Schulz (former Principal Flute of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra), Renate began her formal studies in Flute Performance at the “Hochschule für Musik und darstellende Kunst” in Vienna, again with Prof.Wolfgang Schulz, as well as Hans-Georg Schmeiser and Gisela Mashayeki-Beer.
She graduated with Distinction and was subsequently awarded a Prize for Excellence,presented by Elisabeth Gehrer. A postgraduate Diploma in Music Pedagogy followed (with Prof.Barbara Gisler-Haase), as well as participation in the course for Music and Arts Management at the Music University of Vienna.
In 1995 Renate was engaged as flautist and piccolist in the Orchestra of the Volksoper Vienna,where she later became Principal Flautist. She has been teaching at the Music University of Vienna since 2010,and has been Senior Lecturer, Piccolo,since 2019.
This teaching position motivated her to specialise in piccolo and other flute-related instruments, such as Alto flute and Bass flute. Many of Renate’s students have continued on to win prestigious piccolo positions in leading European orchestras such as the Staatskapelle Berlin, Bruckner Orchestra Linz, Radio Symphony Orchestra Vienna, German Radio Philharmonie, State Orchestra Mainz, Philharmonic of the National Theatre in Prague, to name a few.
Renate has accumulated extensive experience as a regular substitute at the Vienna State Opera and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra,with whom she has performed worldwide under the baton of distinguished conductors including Zubin Mehta,Riccardo Muti, Christian Thielemann, Georges Prêtre, Nikolaus Harnoncourt und Adam Fischer.
She has performed as Principal Flute in the Symphony Orchestra of the Volksoper Vienna and the Vienna Chamber Orchestra for many years. In addition to her orchestral engagements,Renate is an active and enthusiastic chamber musician,performing regularly with many ensembles including the “Wind Quintet Vienna”, “Alban Berg Ensemble Vienna”, “Ensemble of the 20th century” and is the founder of the “Chamber Ensemble of the Vienna Volksoper”. Renate’s lifelong passion for traditional Austrian folk music has been furthered by conducting countless workshops, masterclasses and regular performances with her own ensembles such as “Classic Alpin”, “Austria-Latin Duo” and “Damenwahl”
Her CD recordings cover an expansive horizon of musical styles, ranging from classical chamber music to traditional folk music and crossover. Renate is also a passionate composer and arranger of folk music for flute and ensembles.
In 2024 she was awarded the prestigious “Professor” title, presented by the Austrian President , Alexander van der Bellen and Mag.Werner Kogler.
The Tokyo-born piccolo and flute player Natalie Schwaabe grew up in Hong Kong. She started her musical training there and was a member of the Hong Kong Junior Academy of Performing Arts.
After completing her secondary education at the Purcell School in London, she obtained her artistic diploma with honours and a master degree whilst studying with Professor Paul Meisen at the “Hochschule für Musik und Theater” in Munich.
At the age of 21 she became principal flute of the Munich Symphony Orchestra and two years later joined the Munich Radio Orchestra. In 1996 she fulfilled a dream in becoming a member of the prestigious Symphony Orchestra of the Bavarian Radio.
In 1996 she received the special prize of the jury at the Prague Spring International Music Competition and was a prizewinner at the 1st International Carl Nielsen Flute Competition in 1998 in Odense, Denmark.
In addition to orchestral playing Natalie Schwaabe performs as a soloist, having been accompanied by the Nürnberger Symphoniker and the Stuttgarter Chamber Orchestra. A great joy for her is to play chamber music with her wind quintet and pianist Jan Philip Schulze.
She is a passionate teacher, giving many piccolo masterclasses worldwide and has the piccolo teaching position at the “Hochschule für Musik und Theater” in Munich. She plays a Jochen Mehnert piccolo and lives in Munich with her husband, the violinist and composer Winfried Grabe and their 3 children.
Nolwenn Bargin, a French-Swiss flutist with Breton roots, developed an early passion for the flute. At the age of eleven, she began her studies in Paris in the class of Sophie Cherrier. At nineteen, she was admitted to the class of Jean-Claude Gérard at the Stuttgart University of Music, where she obtained her Artist Diploma five years later. She continued her studies with Davide Formisano and received her Soloist Diploma with highest honors in 2010.
She began her professional career with the Württemberg Philharmonic Reutlingen. This was followed by engagements with Teatro alla Scala in Milan, where she performed under conductors such as Pierre Boulez, Riccardo Chailly, and Gustavo Dudamel, and with the Berliner Philharmoniker under Mariss Jansons, Bernard Haitink, and Herbert Blomstedt. She is currently principal flutist of the Musikkollegium Winterthur and is regularly invited to perform with the Sinfonieorchester Basel and the Lucerne Symphony Orchestra.
Since 2017, Nolwenn Bargin has been a flute lecturer at the Stella Vorarlberg Private University of Music, and since 2023 she has also been teaching piccolo at the Music Academy Basel. In January 2025, she was appointed Professor of Flute and Chamber Music at the Stella Vorarlberg University of Music in Feldkirch.
In addition to her teaching activities, she performs regularly as a soloist and chamber musician at European festivals and concert series. Her chamber music partners include Lise de la Salle, Kit Armstrong, Nicolas Altstaedt, Ian Bostridge, José Cura, Emmanuel Pahud, and Emmanuel Ceysson. Together with pianist Maki Wiederkehr, she founded the ensemble Le Chant du Vent, which is dedicated to promoting and expanding the chamber music repertoire for wind instruments.
Since 2019, Nolwenn Bargin has been an exclusive recording artist with Claves Records. Her debut album, recorded with the Musikkollegium Winterthur and violinist Roberto González-Monjas, features concertos by C.P.E. Bach. Her most recent recording, made with her ensemble Le Chant du Vent, is a tribute to the French composer Philippe Gaubert and was nominated for the 2024 International Classical Music Awards.
Nolwenn Bargin is also actively involved in educational and outreach projects — for example in Iran, where she supports the association Brücke für die Kunst, and in Colombia, where she regularly gives masterclasses to nurture young talents of the Iberacademy in Medellín.
Marta Rossi is piccolo and flute player at the Rome Opera House. Former First Flute of the Orchestra Giovanile Italiana and Orchestra Regionale del Lazio, cooperated with many Orchestras, such as Teatro Lirico di Cagliari and Maggio Musicale Fiorentino and Accademia Nazionale S. Cecilia.
She regularly performs in recital or chamber music concerts as well as soloist, including the whole Vivaldi Concerts for Piccolo and premieres. In 2003 she gave the italian premiere of the Piccolo Concerto by Lowell Liebermann at the Auditorium Parco della Musica in Rome.
She is invited as guest piccolo player at international Festivals (NFA Flute Convention in Usa, Festival “Flautissimo” in Rome, Festival “Severino Gazzelloni”, “Italian Experience” at the Hofstra University in New York, International Piccolo Festival in Grado and in Marktoberdorf-Germany) and as jury member at national and international Competitions (such as Gazzelloni International Competition, Usa NFA Piccolo Artist Competition).
She played in recording sessions for films soundtracks with Oscar prize winners Ennio Morricone, Louis Bacalov and Nicola Piovani, joining them for international concerts.
Marta, born in Rome, gradueted with the highest honors at Music Conservatory “S.Cecilia”, studied with Angelo Persichilli, Nicola Mazzanti for piccolo, Raimond Guiot (Premier Prix à l’unanimitè) and with Wolfgang Schulz in Vienna. In 2006 she obtained the Bachelor of Arts from the University of Rome “La Sapienza” with highest honors.
She teaches Piccolo at the Accademia Italiana del Flauto in Rome. She is a member of the International Piccolo Flute Academy.