17-20 March 2026

Chamber Music Festival 2026

Concert Classical Masterclass

Conservatorium Maastricht Bonnefantenstraat 15

17-20 March 2026

- The festival is free of charge. No Reservation required. -

Step into the world of chamber music at the Chamber Music Festival of Conservatorium Maastricht.

Get inspired by concerts, masterclasses, lectures and more...

From 17 to 20 March 2026, chamber music ensembles from Conservatorium Maastricht will work intensively with internationally renowned musicians: Lisa Jacobs (violin), Matthew Hunt (clarinet), Razvan Popovici (viola) and Catalin Serban (piano).

Experience how students collaborate with these inspiring guest artists and feel the energy of masterclasses and special concert moments.

Everyone is welcome, whether you are a chamber music enthusiast, an aspiring musician, or simply curious to discover a new musical experience.

For more information, please find the program overview and detailed program per day underneath.

Guest Lecturers

Lisa Jacobs

Dutch violin virtuoso Lisa Jacobs is known for her passionate performances, interesting programs and communicative qualities on stage. At the age of 17, Lisa has made her successful debut with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under the baton of Riccardo Chailly. She has played all around the world ever since, both as a soloist with renowned orchestras and conductors, and a recitalist and vivid chamber musician.
Lisa Jacobs collaborated with amongst others the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Amsterdam Sinfonietta, Brussels Philharmonic, Bremer Philharmoniker, Wuppertal Sinfonieorchester, Lithuanian Chamber Orchestra and respected conductors such as Neeme Järvi, Riccardo Chailly, Mariss Jansons, Jurjen Hempel, Otto Tausk, Julia Jones, Dirk Brossé and Carlos Miguel Prieto. Miss Jacobs has made numerous international acclaimed recordings: Ysaye & Franck (2013, Challenge Records), Locatelli violin concertos (2016, Cobra Records), Haydn violin Concertos (2017, Cobra Records), Paganini Caprices (2018, Cobra Records), Nielsen violin concerto (2019, Challenge Records).
In the next couple of years Lisa is thoroughly researching the origin of the Belgian/Dutch violin tradition, which will conclude in several solos, chamber music and symphonic recordings. Besides her concert career Lisa Jacobs greatly enjoys teaching and is a professor of violin at the Royal Conservatory of Ghent, Belgium and The Royal Conservatory in The Hague, The Netherlands.
In 2015, she founded The String Soloists, a dynamic successful international string ensemble that distinguishes itself with flexibility and musical approach from mainstream chamber orchestras by playing without a conductor.
Miss Jacobs is a proud Pirastro Promotional Artist since 2017. She plays a Ruggieri violin from 1683 and a Henry bow.
Next season includes soloistic performances in the UK, Germany, Belgium, Austria, The Netherlands and South America.
As artistic leader, Lisa Jacobs is responsible for the programming of Festival Zeeland Klassiek.

Matthew Hunt

One of Europe's leading clarinettists, Matthew Hunt is a distinctive musician, renowned for the vocal quality of his playing and his ability to communicate with audiences.
Matthew holds the posts of Solo Clarinettist of the Deutsche Kammerphil-Harmonie Bremen, and Professor at the Folkwang Universität der Künste in Essen, Germany. He is also a member of the British ensemble ‘Orsino’, and artistic director of Hellens Music in Herefordshire. His musical activities are diverse; performing with composers Thomas Adès and Huw Watkins, on historical instruments with Alina Ibragimova and the Chiaroscura quartet, to working with young musicians from South America at the Ilumina festival in Brazil, and planning and performing works for children with the outreach department of the Bochum Symphoniker.
Matthew's recording for ASV of Mozart's Clarinet Quintet with the Elias quartet was met with critical acclaim, with the BBC Music Magazine hailing it as "the Benchmark recording of this much recorded work"

Razvan Popovici

Born into a family of musicians in Bucharest, Razvan Popovici is one of the most sought-after violists of his generation. He is the founder and executive director of the Chiemgauer Musikfrühling Festival (D) and the SoNoRo Festival (RO).
As a soloist Razvan has appeared in the Théatre-dés-Champs-Elysées in Paris, the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden and the Prinzregententheater in Munich with orchestras such as the Kobe and Cologne Chamber Orchestras, the Orchestra Comunale del Teatro di Bologna or the George Enescu Philharmonic under Shlomo Mintz, Roberto Abbado, Christian Badea or John Axelrod.
As a chamber musician, he has performed in Carnegie Hall New York, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Wigmore Hall London, Suntory Hall Tokyo and Musikverein Vienna. He is a regular guest of some of the Lucerne Festival, Wiener Festwochen, George Enescu Festival, Spoleto Festival, and the festivals in Kuhmo, Delft, Jerusalem, or Stavanger. He has performed extensively with Enrico Pace, Giovanni Sollima, Radovan Vlatkovic, Louis Lortie, Daishin Kashimoto, Gilles Apap, Mihaela Martin, Frans Helmerson, Elena Bashkirova, or Nobuko Imai.
Razvan is a member of the Ensemble Raro, with which he tours regularly in Europe, Japan, and North America. In 2023 he was appointed viola professor at the Royal Conservatory in Antwerp.

Catalin Serban

Catalin Serban is a pianist whose playing combines expressive depth with technical brilliance and a refined clarity of sound. Born in Bucharest and shaped by an early affinity for vocal music, he is now based in Berlin, where he has established an active international career as a soloist, chamber musician and artistic curator. He has performed throughout Europe and Asia in major venues including the Konzerthaus Berlin, Berlin Philharmonie, Bucharest Athenaeum, Bremer Glocke and Stadtcasino Basel, as well as at festivals such as Beethovenfest Bonn, the Brahms Festival Lübeck and Oberstdorfer Musiksommer.
Acclaimed for the emotional nuance and structural insight of his interpretations, Serban has been described as “outstandingly equipped technically … with enormous brilliance and unpretentious virtuosity” (Badische Zeitung), and praised for the “delicate and clear phrasing” and “complex expressiveness” of his playing. Gramophone highlighted the “rapturous, mesmerising quality” of his performances.
Alongside his solo career, Serban is a dedicated chamber musician and curator. With cellist Andrei Ioniță, he founded Spielende Insel, a Berlin-based chamber music series known for its interdisciplinary concepts and collaborations with visual artists and writers. The festival brings together leading international artists and outstanding young musicians, combining artistic excellence with a strong educational and mentoring focus.
His recordings reflect a fascination with poetic and structural connections between composers, pairing Schubert with Enescu and Scriabin, and Chopin with Scriabin. In 2024, he released Mélodies infinies (Naxos), featuring piano quartets by Fauré and Enescu. A new solo album with works by Ravel and Rachmaninov is scheduled for release in 2026.
A committed educator, Serban has taught for many years at the Lübeck Academy of Music and the Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin, and regularly gives masterclasses across Europe and Asia. He studied in Bucharest, Berlin and Lübeck, and is a prizewinner of several national and international competitions.

Programme overview all days

Tuesday 17 March 2026

15:30–16:00: Welcome and Opening Concert 1 — Willem Hijstek Hall
16:00–17:00: Masterclass Round 1 — Willem Hijstek Hall, Jeker Room, Matty Niël Hall and Room 408
17:00–18:00: Masterclass Round 2 — Willem Hijstek Hall, Jeker Room, Matty Niël Hall and Room 408

Wednesday 18 March 2026

10:00–11:00: Masterclass Round 3 — Willem Hijstek Hall, Jeker Room, Matty Niël Hall and Room 408
11:15–12:15: Concert 2 — Willem Hijstek Hall
14:00–15:00: Masterclass Round 4 — Willem Hijstek Hall, Jeker Room, Matty Niël Hall and Room 408
15:00–16:00: Masterclass Round 5 — Willem Hijstek Hall, Jeker Room, Matty Niël Hall and Room 408
16:00–17:30: Lecture by Razvan Popovici: How to Organise a Festival? — Matty Niël Hall
19:00–20:00: Concert 3 — Willem Hijstek Hall
20:00–21:30: Open Rehearsal – Guest lecturers — Willem Hijstek Hall / Matty Niël Hall

Thursday 19 March 2026

10:00–11:00: Masterclass Round 6 — Willem Hijstek Hall, Jeker Room, Matty Niël Hall and Room 408
11:15–12:15: Concert 4 — Willem Hijstek Hall
13:00–14:00: Open Rehearsal – Guest lecturers — Matty Niël Hall
14:00–15:00: Masterclass Round 7 — Willem Hijstek Hall, Jeker Room, Matty Niël Hall and Room 408
15:00–16:00: Masterclass Round 8 — Willem Hijstek Hall, Jeker Room, Matty Niël Hall and Room 408
16:00–17:00: Masterclass Round 9 — Willem Hijstek Hall, Jeker Room, Matty Niël Hall and Room 408
18:00–19:00: Open Rehearsal – Guest lecturers — Matty Niël Hall
19:00–21:00: Concert 5 – Tops of the Props — Willem Hijstek Hall

Friday 20 March 2026

08:30–10:00: Open Rehearsal – Guest lecturers — Willem Hijstek Hall
10:00–11:00: Masterclass Round 10 — Willem Hijstek Hall, Jeker Room, Matty Niël Hall and Room 408
11:15–12:15: Concert 6 — Willem Hijstek Hall
14:00–15:00: Open Rehearsal – Guest lecturers — Willem Hijstek Hall
15:00–16:00: Masterclass Round 11 — Willem Hijstek Hall, Jeker Room, Matty Niël Hall and Room 408
16:00–17:00: Masterclass Round 12 — Willem Hijstek Hall, Jeker Room, Matty Niël Hall and Room 408
17:00–18:00: Open Rehearsal – Guest lecturers — Willem Hijstek Hall / Matty Niël Hall
19:00–21:00: Concert 7 – Guest lecturers ’ Concert — Willem Hijstek Hall

Detailed programme per day

Friday 20 March

Tijd	Activiteit	Willem Hijstek Hall	Jekerroom	Matty Niël Hall	Room 408
08:30–10:00	Open Rehearsal	L. van Beethoven (1770-1827) - From: Piano Trio in C Minor Op. 1 no. 3 I. Allegro con brio Oleksandr Kushnarov - violin, Júlia Erra - cello, Catalin Serban - piano
10:00–11:00	Masterclass round 10	Matthew Hunt – Quintessence	Razvan Popovici – OPEN	Catalin Serban – Mühlfeld Trio	Lisa Jacobs – Peiskos Quartet
11:15–12:15	Concert 6	A. Malcom (1921-2006) - Three Shanties for wind quintet I. Allegro con brio II. Allegro semplice III. Allegro vivace J. Medaglia (1938-2008) - Suite Belle-époque in Sud America I. Tango II. Vals Paulista III. Requinto Quintessence Sara Lorenzo González - flute, Amalia Navarro Luis - oboe, Eva Boudreau - bassoon, Uangmo Tenzin Salguero - horn, Lucia Molina Cano - clarinet L. van Beethoven (1770-1827) - From: Piano Trio in C Minor Op. 1 no. 3 I. Allegro con brio Oleksandr Kushnarov - violin, Júlia Erra - cello, Catalin Serban - piano *B. A. Ferrero (1942) - Homenaje a Manuel de FallaK. Beffa (1973) - Feux d’Artifice* I. Avec swing II. Ténébreux III. Immuable G. Giménez (1854-1923) - La Boda de Luis Alonso (Intermezzo) (Arr. B. Masciotta) Soleá Clarinet QuartetMaria Delgado Jimenez - clarinet, Maria José González-Conde Oñate - clarinet, Lucia Molina Cano - clarinet, Javier Ribes Arenzana - clarinet J. Brahms (1833-1897) - From: Sextet no. 2 in G Major Op. 36 I. Allegro non troppo Lisa Jacobs - violin, Gonzalo Galisteo - violin, Razvan Popovici - viola, Helena De Bruyn - viola, Carles Girbau - cello, Fermin García - cello
14:00–15:00	Open Rehearsal	J. Brahms (1833-1897) - Piano Quartet no. 2 in A Major Op. 26 I. Allegro non troppo II. Poco adagio III. Scherzo. Poco allegro IV. Finale. Allegro Lisa Jacobs - violin, Razvan Popovici - viola, Mikayel Voskanyan - cello, Catalin Serban - piano
15:00–16:00	Masterclass round 11	Razvan Popovici – OPEN	Lisa Jacobs – OPEN	Catalin Serban – Duo Líra	Matthew Hunt – Duo Casero & Zhang
16:00–17:00	Masterclass round 12	Razvan Popovici – Ensemble 14	Lisa Jacobs – Duo Líra	Catalin Serban – J²	Matthew Hunt – OPEN
17:00–18:00	Open Rehearsal	R. Nováček (1860-1929) - Sinfonietta Op. 48 I. Allegro molto II. Presto III. Adagio IV. Allegro molto vivace Ana Casero - flute, Livia Glavinović - oboe, Matthew Hunt - clarinet, Javier Ribes - clarinet, Alessandro Lago - french horn, Jork Coenen - french horn, Eva Boudreau - bassoon, Miguel Castro - bassoon		P.I. Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) - From: Souvenir de Florence Op. 70 II. Adagio cantabile e con moto III. Allegretto moderato Lisa Jacobs - violin, Elena Martini - violin, Razvan Popovici - viola, Helena De Bruyn - viola, Carles Girbau - cello, Fermin García - cello J. Brahms (1833-1897) - From: Sextet no. 2 in G Major Op. 36 I. Allegro non troppo Lisa Jacobs - violin, Gonzalo Galisteo - violin, Razvan Popovici - viola, Helena De Bruyn - viola, Carles Girbau - cello, Fermin García - cello
19:00–21:00	Concert 7	Guest teachers' Concert R. Nováček (1860-1929) - Sinfonietta Op. 48 I. Allegro molto II. Presto III. Adagio IV. Allegro molto vivace Ana Casero - flute, Livia Glavinović - oboe, Matthew Hunt - clarinet, Javier Ribes - clarinet, Alessandro Lago - french horn, Jork Coenen - french horn, Eva Boudreau - bassoon, Miguel Castro - bassoon R. Schumann (1810-1856) - Märchenerzählungen Op. 132 I. Lebhaft, nicht zu schnell II. Lebhaft und sehr markirt III. Ruhiges tempo, mit zartem Ausdruck IV. Lebhaft, sehr markirt Matthew Hunt - clarinet, Razvan Popovici - viola, Catalin Serban - piano B. Bartók (1881-1945) - From: Contrasts I. Verbunkos Lisa Jacobs - violin, Matthew Hunt - clarinet, Catalin Serban - piano P.I. Tchaikovsky (1840-1893) - From: Souvenir de Florence Op. 70 II. Adagio cantabile e con moto III. Allegretto moderato Lisa Jacobs - violin, Elena Martini - violin, Razvan Popovici - viola, Helena De Bruyn - viola, Carles Girbau - cello, Fermin García - cello BREAK M. Weinberg (1919-1996) - Nocturne Lisa Jacobs - violin, Catalin Serban - piano J. Brahms (1833-1897) - Piano Quartet no. 2 in A Major Op. 26 I. Allegro non troppo II. Poco adagio III. Scherzo. Poco allegro IV. Finale. Allegro Lisa Jacobs - violin, Razvan Popovici - viola, Mikayel Voskanyan - cello, Catalin Serban - piano