Seven plus one

Enrico Palascino, born in 1982 in Turin, has been a member of the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra since 2011. He regularly performs as a chamber musician and soloist, and also works as a substitute with the Hessian Radio, Bavarian Radio, West German Radio, and the Konzerthausorchester Berlin. He began his violin studies at the age of 8 and later studied with Giacomo Agazzini at the Conservatorio Giuseppe Verdi di Torino. He then continued his studies with Valeri Gradow in Mannheim and Stephan Picard in Berlin, supported by the Claudio Abbado Music Foundation DESONO.

In parallel, he completed a supplementary chamber music program with Susanne Rabenschlag in Mannheim and became a prizewinner at the Federal Competition with the Yuval Quartet. This led to performances at the Schwetzinger Festspiele, live recordings with Deutschlandradio, and tours in Spain and Italy.

In 2016, he followed his family to Namibia. There, he co-founded a music school for disadvantaged children in Windhoek (YONA) with singer Gretel Coetzee. He also contributed to the re-establishment of the Namibian National Symphony Orchestra (NNSO), organized concerts, composed and arranged Namibian folk songs, and worked publicly to foster a better understanding of classical music in Namibia.

Since returning to Berlin in August 2018, he has continued his involvement with YONA and the NNSO. In his free time, he is passionate about training for triathlons.

Martin Eßmann, born in 1971 in Dresden, began playing the violin at the age of 6, inspired by the musical traditions in his family.

After attending the specialized school for music, he went on to study violin at the Berlin University of the Arts “Hanns Eisler.”

During his studies, Martin Eßmann gained chamber music experience as a member of the Schill Quartet. With this ensemble, he participated in his first chamber music radio productions for DS-Kultur, RIAS, and WNYC (New York). In 1993, the Schill Quartet undertook a tour of the United States, and in 1995, it became a prizewinner at the International Mozart Competition in Salzburg. As a member of the Berlin Chamber Orchestra, Martin Eßmann was able to further pursue his chamber music ambitions.

Since 1996, he has been a member of the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, playing in the second violin section.