Decca Classics has signed the Balanas Sisters, violinist Kristīne and cellist-conductor Margarita. Raised in Dobele, Latvia, the sisters began by busking in town squares, funding their studies and moving to Riga before continuing in London at the Royal Academy of Music. During the pandemic, Margarita turned to conducting, winning a place on Paavo Järvi’s conducting programme, later becoming his assistant at Tonhalle Zürich and founding her own orchestra, Anonimi, in London.
The sisters have since performed at Carnegie Hall, Sydney Opera House and London’s Royal Albert Hall, and they will release their first Decca recording, Castillo Interior. In 2026, they will return to London for a “through the noise” recital, their first UK concert as Decca Classics artists.
KD SCHMID has welcomed Norwegian violinist Eldbjørg Hemsing for general management. Celebrated for her sensitivity, lyricism and breathtaking virtuosity, she is an exclusive Sony Classical artist whose recordings have received multiple Norwegian Grammys and Opus Klassik Awards. Recent releases include Hillborg: Violin Concerto No. 2 / Liquid Marble with Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra. This season, she brings her new album Arctic to major European venues and performs with orchestras including the Oslo Philharmonic, Detroit Symphony, Orchestre symphonique de Québec and Göteborgs Symfoniker. Hemsing is Artistic Director of the Oslo Chamber Music Festival and Co-Founder of the Hemsing Festival.
BIS Records has signed violinist Alina Ibragimova for a solo artist recording project comprising four Beethoven albums, ahead of the composer’s 2027 anniversary. The first three albums will feature the complete violin and piano sonatas on period instruments with long-term duo partner Cédric Tiberghien, coinciding with live performances at Wigmore Hall, Beethoven-Haus and Boulez Saal. The fourth album will pair Beethoven’s Violin Concerto and Romances with Ibragimova play-directing the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, recorded live during their 2027 tour.
Nordic Artists Management has welcomed violinist and violist Yura Lee for general management. Equally accomplished on both instruments, Lee has built a multifaceted career spanning solo and chamber music, from Baroque to contemporary repertoire. She has appeared with major orchestras including New York, Chicago, Baltimore, Cleveland, San Francisco and Los Angeles, and performed recitals at Wigmore Hall, Musikverein, Mozarteum, Brussels’ Palais des Beaux-Arts, and the Concertgebouw. A recipient of the Avery Fisher Career Grant, Lee is also a member of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center and the Boston Chamber Music Society.
The Cliburn Agency has welcomed visionary cellist Joshua Roman for worldwide general management. Launched in 2024, the agency, led by Director of Artistic Planning Sandra Doan and President and CEO Jacques Marquis, will oversee Roman’s artistic activities across concerto, recital and chamber performances, while supporting his creative collaborations and social impact projects in partnership with FRESH Speakers and strategic advisor Meighan Stone.
Intermusica New York has welcomed saxophonist Branford Marsalis for worldwide classical representation. A Grammy-winning musician and Jazz Master of the National Endowment for the Arts, Marsalis’ decades-long career spans jazz, classical, Broadway, and film, collaborating with artists from Wynton Marsalis to Yo-Yo Ma. At the forefront of bringing the saxophone to classical audiences, he has performed with leading orchestras, including the Chicago, New York, Boston, and Los Angeles symphonies, and Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and continues to lead The Branford Marsalis Quartet. In New Orleans, he co-conceived The Musicians’ Village with childhood friend Harry Connick, Jr., providing homes to displaced families of musicians and revitalising his hometown after Hurricane Katrina.
