Four string players are among the orchestra’s six new appointments
The Vienna Philharmonic has welcomed four new string players, including a new concertmaster, Yamen Saadi. The other players are violinists Hannah Cho and Lucas Stratmann (both in the second violin section), and violist Christoph Hammer. The news comes alongside the appointments of clarinetist Alex Ladstätter and oboist Paul Blüml.
Violinist Yamen Saadi was born in Nazareth and studied violin at the Barenboim-Said Conservatory before being mentored by Chaim Taub. At age 17 he became concertmaster of the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra. Saadi completed his bachelor’s at the Barenboim-Said Academy and gained his master’s at the Kronberg Academy where he studied with Mihaela Martin. In 2020, Saadi won first prize at both the Aviv and Paul Ben Haim competitions. He became concertmaster of the Vienna State Opera Orchestra in 2022.
As a soloist, Saadi has performed with orchestras such as Staatskapelle Berlin, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, West-Eastern Divan Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Barcelona Symphony, Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra and Orquestra de València, among others. He has performed in venues and festivals such as Carnegie Hall, Elbphilharmonie, Berlin Philharmonie, Pierre Boulez Saal, Rheingau Festival, Verbier Festival and more.
Saadi plays the 1734 ’Lord Amherst of Hackney’ Stradivari violin, loaned to him by Stephan Jansen on behalf of a member of the Stretton Society.
Korean-American violinist Hannah Cho completed her bachelor’s and master’s at the Juilliard School with Masao Kawasaki, Cho-Liang Lin and Joel Smirnoff. She also studied at the Manhattan School of Music with Sylvia Rosenberg and Nicholas Mann. Cho has performed as a soloist with orchestra across the US and made her solo recital debut at the Berlin Philharmonie in 2020. She is a laureate of the Michael Hill, Schoenfeld, Maurice Ravel Foundation, and Aspen Music Festival competitions.
US violinist Lucas Stratmann is also a graduate of the Julliard School, where he received both bachelor’s and master’s degrees under the tutelage of Sylvia Rosenberg and Masao Kawasaki. He served as concertmaster of the Juilliard Orchestra from 2020 to 2021. Stratmann is a prizewinner of the 2016 Aspen Music Festival Violin Competition. He has performed as soloist and chamber musician at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Alice Tully Hall, and David Geffen Hall, and attended festivals and academies such as the Aspen Music Festival, the Mozarteum Summer Academy in Salzburg and the Taos School of Music.
Violist Christoph Hammer was born in Graz, Austria. He joined the Vienna State Opera Orchestra in 2022 before now joining the Vienna Philharmonic.
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