Stefan Dohr
Proclaimed by the New York Chronicle as the "king of his instrument", Stefan Dohr's perfect technique, pure intonation and beautifully articulated artistry are steadily making him a talking point internationally.
Stefan Dohr studied in Essen and Cologne and started his professional career at the age of 19 as principal horn of the Opera in Frankfurt. He occupied the same position with the Festival orchestra of Bayreuth, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice and the Deutschen-Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. In 1993 Stefan Dohr was chosen to play principal horn of the Berlin Philharmonic.
As soloist Stefan Dohr has worked with many celebrated conductors, among them Daniel Barenboim, Bernhard Haitink, Christian Thielemann, Ingo Metzmacher and Daniel Harding as well as Claudio Abbado, who also invited him to appear as principal horn with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra. Besides the solo-repertoire of the classic and romantic period, e.g. the horn concertos of Mozart, Haydn and Strauss Stefan Dohr's interest is focused on contemporary works e.g. by Ligeti, Knussen and Kirchner. In March 2008 he has played the world premiere of a horn concerto especially composed for him by Austrian composer Herbert Willi. More commissioned works are planned to follow.
His engagements as a sought after chamber musician include various ensembles with his philharmonic colleagues as well performances with partners such as Maurizio Pollini, Lars Vogt, Kolja Blacher, Ian Bostridge. He is also a constant member of the Ensemble Wien-Berlin. This Group will celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2008 with a series of concerts, among them one at the Lucerne Festival where the ensemble will be performing the world premiere of a new piece by Australian composer Brett Dean.
Stefan Dohr appears regularly on international chamber music festivals and is invited as a pedagogue to hold master classes throughout the world. In the Berlin Philharmonic live he also devotes a good part of his time to teach at the "Herbert-von-Karajan-Academy".
In July 2007 the CD "Opera" which Stefan Dohr has recorded with his colleagues of the Berlin Philharmonic Horn Section has been released. A solo recording with horn concertos by Mozart will be released in April 2009.
(March 2009)
