The 2026 Festival

Born in 2004, Carlos Vidal Ballester studies with Julian Steckel at the Hochschule für Musik in Munich. He began his cello studies with professors Salvador Bolón, María Casado, and Asier Polo, and later continued at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris under Jérôme Pernoo and Edgar Moreau.

He has been awarded prizes at several international competitions, including the Brahms Competition in Austria, the Kodály Competition in Hungary, and Juventudes Musicales in Spain, among others. In October 2022, he was awarded the “Prince of Hesse” Prize at the prestigious Kronberg Academy Masterclasses.

Carlos has received masterclasses from professors including Gary Hoffman, Frans Helmerson, Steven Isserlis, Danjulo Ishizaka, Peter Bruns, Xavier Gagnepain, Nicholas Altstaedt, Jens-Peter Mainz and Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt. He has performed in concert with musicians such as Antje Weithaas, Jonathan Brown, Marco Rizzi, Lena Neudauer, Philippe Graffin, and Alexander Kobrin, and has appeared at festivals including the Verbier Festival, Pau Casals Festival, Casalmaggiore Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Festival, and Kronberg Festival.

In February 2025, he released his debut solo cello album with Valaris Music.

Carlos performs on an anonymous English cello made in the 1820s and a Charles Nicolas Bazin bow made in 1875.