Pas de deux Linda Guo & Manuel Lipstein

• Iannis Xenakis (1922 - 2001): Dhipli Zyia:
• 1 Xenakis: Dhipli Zyia 04:26
• Maurice Ravel (1875 - 1937): Sonata for Violin and Cello:
• 2 Ravel: Sonata for Violin and Cello: I. Allegro 05:10
• 3 Ravel: Sonata for Violin and Cello: II. Très vif 03:31
• 4 Ravel: Sonata for Violin and Cello: III. Lent 06:06
• 5 Ravel: Sonata for Violin and Cello: Vif, avec entrain 06:25
• Arthur Honegger (1892 - 1955): Sonatina for Violin and Cello, H. 80:
• 6 Honegger: Sonatina for Violin and Cello, H. 80: I. Allegro non tanto 05:41
• 7 Honegger: Sonatina for Violin and Cello, H. 80: II. Andante 05:33
• 8 Honegger: Sonatina for Violin and Cello, H. 80: III. Allegro 04:43
• Erwin Schulhoff (1894 - 1942): Duo for Violin and Cello, WV 74:
• 9 Schulhoff: Duo for Violin & Cello, WV 74: I. Moderato 06:01
• 10 Schulhoff: Duo for Violin & Cello, WV 74: II. Allegro giocoso 03:19
• 11 Schulhoff: Duo for Violin & Cello, WV 74: III. Andantino 04:45
• 12 Schulhoff: Duo for Violin & Cello, WV 74: IV. Moderato 03:58
• Johan Halvorsen (1864 - 1935): Passacaglia for Violin and Cello after Georg Friedrich Händel:
• 13 Halvorsen: Passacaglia for Violin and Cello after Georg Friedrich Händel 07:13
• Total Runtime 01:06:51

Info for Pas de deux

Linda Guo and Manuel Lipstein make their duo debut on this new release. Titled Pas de deux, the programme features five significant 20th-century compositions for violin and cello. Works by Xenakis, Ravel and Honegger reflect the composers’ French roots, while a diverse, forward-looking harmonic language contrasts with such traditional forms as the sonata and passacaglia, the latter in Norwegian Johan Halvorsen’s Passacaglia for Violin and Cello after Georg Friedrich Händel; Austro-Czech composer Erwin Schulhoff’s Duo for Violin and Cello completes the programme.

Linda Guo, violin
Manuel Lipstein, cello

Linda Guo
Born in Cologne in October 1999, Linda Guo began her musical studies at the age of five, playing the violin and piano. At just nine years old, she became a junior student with Prof. Ute Hasenauer, majoring in violin, at the Pre-College Cologne of the Cologne University of Music and Dance, followed by a junior study in piano with Prof. Nina Tichman. In January 2023, she completed her Bachelor of Music with Prof. Mihaela Martin at the Cologne University of Music and Performing Arts and is currently pursuing her Master's degree with Prof. Erik Schumann at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts.

At just ten years old, Linda Guo won the Premier Grand Prix of the international Flame Concours in Paris, followed by first prizes at the Concours international Arthur Grumiaux in Belgium and the international Max Bruch Music Competition in Cologne. She has received top marks multiple times at the national Jugend musiziert competition, both as a soloist and in chamber music. Her other successes include prizes at the International Johannes Brahms Competition, the Hindemith Competition, the Szymon Goldberg Award, and the Debut Hamburg International Concert Competition.

In 2016, she received the NRW Young Talent Award in the music category and won the WDR 3 Classical Prize of the City of Münster with her piano trio. A special highlight of her career was her debut at the age of 18 at Carnegie Hall in New York.

Since September 2024, Linda Guo has been a permanent member of the First Violins of the WDR Symphony Orchestra, where she was also an academic from 2022 to 2024.

As a soloist, she has performed with numerous renowned orchestras, including the WDR Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Chief Conductor Cristian Macelaru, the Neue Philharmonie Westfalen, the Kammerphilharmonie Rhein-Erft, the Hagen Philharmonic Orchestra, the Philharmonie Südwestfalen, the Düsseldorf State Government Orchestra, and the Flora Symphony Orchestra Cologne.

Linda Guo regularly performs in chamber music ensembles with her brother, pianist Yuhao Guo, and with cellist Manuel Lipstein. She has received important musical inspiration from internationally renowned violinists such as Igor Ozim, Viktor Tretyakov, Pavel Vernikov, Boris Kuschnir, Arabella Steinbacher, Nam Yun Kim, and many others.

Her concert activities have taken her throughout Europe, Asia, and the USA. In Germany, she has performed as a soloist at major concert halls such as the Cologne Philharmonic, the WDR Funkhaus, the Düsseldorf Tonhalle, and the Munich Gasteig. She has been featured on numerous radio broadcasts on WDR 3, NDR, and Deutschlandfunk.

Linda Guo has also performed at renowned music festivals, including the Next Generation Festival in Bad Ragaz, the Cremona Music Festival, the Acht Brücken Festival in Cologne, the Ruhr Piano Festival, the Karwendel Music Festival, and the Bethlehem Music Festival in Pennsylvania, USA.

She holds scholarships from the German Foundation for Music Life and the Werner Richard – Dr. Carl Dörken Foundation. She has also received support from the Yehudi Menuhin Live Music Now Cologne e.V. association and was a member of the German National Youth Orchestra.

Manuel Lipstein
The 23-year-old cellist and composer Manuel Lipstein performs in renowned venues such as the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, the Cologne Philharmonic, the Muziekgebouw Amsterdam, the Herkulessaal Munich, and the Beijing Concert Hall. His concert tours take him not only across Europe but also to countries such as Japan, China, Armenia, and Malaysia. Manuel Lipstein has gained particular artistic experience as a soloist with orchestras such as the WDR Symphony Orchestra and the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen. His debut CD, "roots," was released on Oehms Classics (NAXOS) in July 2024, followed in 2025 by the CD "Pas de deux" with violinist Linda Guo.

In 2011, at the age of just ten, Manuel Lipstein became a junior student under Prof. Katharina Deserno at the Cologne University of Music, where he continued his junior studies with Prof. Maria Kliegel from 2015 to 2019. He then studied Bachelor's, Master's, and Professional Studies at the Kronberg Academy with Prof. Frans Helmerson until 2024, made possible through the patronage of Dr. Rainer and Christel Stoll. He also received composition lessons from Prof. Gerhard Müller-Hornbach and conducting lessons from Prof. Vassilis Christopoulos.

He receives further inspiration from master classes with greats such as Martha Argerich, András Schiff, Kirill Gerstein, Steven Isserlis, Leonid Gorokhov, Wolfgang-Emanuel Schmidt, and Jens-Peter-Maintz.

Manuel Lipstein has impressed international juries: He won the Premier Grand Prix at the "Concours Flame" in Paris, the first prize and special prize at the "Concours de Violoncelle Prix Edmond Baert" in Brussels, and—as the youngest participant ever—third prize at "TONALi" in Hamburg.

He is also an active chamber musician, not only with pianists like his brother Rafael, but also in a duo with Linda Guo (violin) and with his quartet Philimaro. He has been awarded the "WDR 3 Klassikpreis der Stadt Münster" (WDR 3 Classic Prize of the City of Münster) and the Chamber Music Prize of the Polytechnische Gesellschaft (Polytechnic Society). Manuel Lipstein is the only musician ever to have won the "Best of NRW" award twice.

But interpreting existing repertoire isn't enough for the 23-year-old artist: His compositions have been performed on the radio and at festivals worldwide, including AchtBrücken in Cologne, BTHVN in Bonn, Aurora in Sweden, the Amsterdam Cello Biennale, the Karl Thöne Festival in Kuala Lumpur, and as compulsory pieces at the ERPS Competition in Bolzano.

He has received commissions from the Neue Lausitzer Philharmonie, the Kronberg Academy, the NRW State Music Council, and the Amsterdam Cello Biennale. Manuel Lipstein has received numerous national prizes from the "Jugend Komponiert" (Youth Composers) competition; his compositions have been published by Editions Walhall (Magdeburg) and Musica Ferrum (London). He is also a chamber music coach (for example, in Kronberg), gives master classes (for example, in Kuala Lumpur), and leads improvisation workshops (for example, in Görlitz).

Booklet for Pas de deux