Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet

BIOGRPAHY

The Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet (Philharmonisches Bläserquintett Berlin) was founded in 1988, during the era of Herbert von Karajan, the first permanently established wind quintet in the famous orchestra's rich tradition of chamber music.

Having maintained their original membership right from inception, they are living musical witnesses to the hugely productive and influential musical partnerships of the Berlin Philharmonic not only with Karajan, but also with its two most recent Musical Directors: Claudio Abbado and Sir Simon Rattle. Naturally, as members of the Berlin Philharmonic, they have also enjoyed important collaborations with every other major conductor of their times, whether Leonard Bernstein, Carlos Kleiber, Sir John Barbirolli, Günter Wand, Carlo Maria Giulini, Bernard Haitink, Riccardo Muti, James Levine or Daniel Barenboim, to name only a few.

The Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet continues to astonish audiences worldwide with their range of expression, their tonal spectrum and their conceptual unity. Indeed many listeners and critics agree that the ensemble has succeeded in virtually redefining the sound of the classic wind quintet. Their repertoire covers not only the entire spectrum of the wind quintet literature but also includes works for enlarged ensemble, i.e. the Sextets of Janácek and Reinicke or the Septets of Hindemith and Koechlin. In addition, collaboration with pianists such as Lars Vogt, Stephen Hough, Jon Nakamatsu and Lilya Zilberstein have intensified in recent years.

The ensemble's commitment to the wind quintet repertoire is passionate and in 1991 they found the perfect partner for their recording plans, the Swedish company BIS Records, already well known in its own right for its uncompromising standards. The results of this long and exclusive collaboration have received critical accolades worldwide - indeed many of these recordings are already widely held to be "definitive" or "reference" performances.

In addition to their concert appearances throughout Europe, North and South America, Israel, Australia and the Far East, the Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet are also popular guests at international festivals such as the Berliner Festwochen, the Edinburgh Festival, the London Proms, the Quintette-Biennale Marseille, the Rheingau Festival and the Salzburg Festival. Their television productions and radio broadcasts are seen and heard throughout Europe, Asia and North America.

In recent years the members of the Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet have intensified their teaching and coaching roles with youth; they give chamber music workshops and instrumental instruction in many countries, with a particular commitment, for example, to the youth orchestra program of Venezuela.

September, 2006 – please discard any previously or undated materia l

 

 

INDIVIDUAL BIOGRAPHIES

WALTER SEYFARTH, clarinet, hails from Dusseldorf and made his mark early as first prize winner at the 1968 "Deutsche Tonkunstler Verband" competition. He studied with Peter Rieckhoff at the Freiburg "Music Hochschule", and later, as a member of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra-Academy, with Karl Leister. From 1975 to 1985 he was a member of the Saarland Radio Symphony Orchestra, after which he was appointed to the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. He has been on the teaching faculty of the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival and his solo and chamber music appearances have taken him to many countries around the world.

MICHAEL HASEL, flute, a native of Hofheim in the Taunus region, originally studied piano and organ, completing a degree in Church Music. He studied the flute, his first love, with Herbert Grimm in Mainz, Willy Schmidt in Frankfurt and Aurele Nicolet in Freiburg. From 1982 to 1984 he was a member of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra as well as its Wind Quintet. He appears with the Bayreuth Wagner Festival Orchestra, and is active as a chamber musician and soloist throughout Europe and Japan. He has been a member of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra since 1984. He is also Professor of Wind Chamber Music at the Heidelberg-Mannheim Hochschule of Music.

ANDREAS WITTMANN, oboe, was born in Munich. He won first prize at the "Jugend Musiziert" in 1977. Subsequently, he studied at the Munich "Music Hochschule" with Manfred Clement and at the Berlin "Hochschule" with Hansjorg Schellenberger. Directly upon graduation in 1985 he was accepted into the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra-Academy and, only a year later, was appointed to membership in the orchestra itself. He is also a member of the "Winds of the Berlin Philharmonic" and is internationally active as a soloist and chamber musician.

FERGUS McWILLIAM, horn, was born in the Scottish Highlands and studied principally in Canada, Holland and Sweden. After a solo concert at the age of 15 with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra under Seiji Ozawa, he
later played, during and after his studies, with many Canadian orchestras and chamber ensembles. He has also taught at two Canadian universities. A former member of the Detroit Symphony and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestras before his 1985 engagement by the Berlin Philharmonic, his chamber music, solo, and teaching activities have taken him throughout Europe, North America and the Far East.

HENNING TROG, bassoon, was born in Peine, Lower Saxony. He studied church music initially, later taking up bassoon studies with Herbert Tauscher in Hanover and Albert Hennige in Detmold. While still a student he made many tours and recordings with the renowned ensembles "Deutsche Bachsolisten" and "Detmold Blaserkreis". Since joining the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra in 1965, he has maintained his extensive chamber music and solo activities, with, for example, membership in the "Winds of the Berlin Philharmonic". He has taught at Japan's Kusatsu International Summer Music Festival, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival and the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra Academy.