Joris van den Berg and Marijn Willers met in 2006 in Amsterdam during the preparations for the first Dutch National Cello Competition of the Amsterdam Cello Biënnale. After Joris van den Berg won the 1st prize in the competition the two young musicians decided to keep working together, as they found they shared a great enthusiasm for playing chamber music at the highest level.

As a duo, Joris van den Berg and Martijn Willers performed in many concert halls in The Netherlands, including the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam and Vredenburg, Utrecht and they performed very successful concerts in the United Kingdom and the United States. The duo was prizewinner of the International Johannes Brahms Chamber Music Competition 2008 in Pörtschach, Austria.

In 2012 Van den Berg and Willers have been selected as laureates for the Dutch Classical Talent Tour and Award, organised by the Concertgebouw and the Concertgebouw Orchestra Amsterdam, which includes a study grant and a big recital tour in the 2013-2014 season with performances in the most important concert halls in The Netherlands, including the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam. The first CD of the duo, which will include sonatas by Prokofiev and Britten and is titled “Dialogues”, is planned for release in October 2013.

The duo is widely acclaimed for its sincere and intense performances of the cello and piano repertoire. In searching for utmost depth and musical truth, Joris van den Berg and MartijnWillers have found ideal colleagues in each other. The intense musical and personal dialogue between the two musicians and between the musicians and their audience is one of the central themes of their performances, which conquered the hearts of many audiences.

Review

"Masterly and with humour, the duo told a romantic story in Prokofiev's Cello Sonata. Every note they played was full of joy, liveliness and spirit."

- EindhovensDagblad