Georg Faust (cellist)

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Georg Faust (born July 9, 1956 in Porz near Cologne ) is a German cellist . From 1985 to 2011 he was first solo cellist with the Berliner Philharmoniker .

Live and act

Georg Faust received his first cello lessons at the age of 7 from Otto Weidermann, a cellist with the Gürzenich Orchestra in Cologne. At the age of 14, in October 1970, he moved to Siegfried Palm at the Cologne University of Music . In 1977 he took the concert exam with Siegfried Palm at the Cologne University of Music "with distinction". 1978/79 he studied with a DAAD scholarship for two semesters at the Manhattan School of Music in New York with Bernhard Greenhouse. From 1979 to 1981 he was a guest at the Rudolf Serkins Music Festival in Marlboro, Vermont, USA. In 1980 he was appointed first solo cellist at the Hamburg State Opera . In 1983 Georg Faust was appointed to the position of solo cellist with the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester in Hamburg . In 1985 Herbert von Karajan and the Berliner Philharmoniker elected him first solo cellist.

As a soloist he played with the Berliner Philharmoniker under Claudio Abbado , Daniel Barenboim , Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos , Bernard Haitink and Simon Rattle . He was a member of the Ensemble Wien-Berlin (1988–1996), which was formed from concert masters and solo winds of the Berlin and Vienna Philharmonic. As artistic director (1990–2008) of the 12 cellists, he led the ensemble through the generation change. From the year 2000 onwards he realized several award-winning CDs together with the ensemble of 12 cellists . As a member of the Philharmonic String Sextet (1990-2004), he performed extensive tours with the great compositions of the string quintets and sextets. With Rainer Kussmaul and Wolfram Christ he founded the Schönberg Trio , (1995–2005), which dedicated itself to the repertoire of the string trio . With Rainer Kussmaul and Wolfram Christ, he was one of the founding members of the Berlin Baroque Soloists , who realized the historical performance practice of the Baroque period on new instruments. With the Berlin Baroque Soloists, to which he belonged from 1995 to 2010, numerous CDs were made. He has given concerts with Leif Ove Andsnes , Emanuel Ax , Yefim Bronfman , Sarah Chang , James Levine , Alexander Lonquich , Albrecht Mayer , Emmanuel Pahud , Maurizio Pollini , Mitsuko Uchida .

Since leaving the Berliner Philharmoniker in 2011 , Georg Faust has dedicated himself to researching and promoting a string instrument with sympathetic strings developed by Helmut Bleffert , the campanula . In order to give young musicians the opportunity to play the Campanula, Georg Faust founded the non-profit association Campanula musica e.V. together with music-loving Berliners . V. , which awards scholarships to highly talented young musicians and makes the new instruments available to them.

At the same time, Georg Faust initiates creative improvisation for students of classical music in order to enliven the young musicians' own creativity in addition to the creative study of the classical repertoire.

Teaching

Georg Faust taught at the Herbert von Karajan Academy from 1986 to 2007. He gave master classes at the Australian Music Academy , the Carl-Flesh-Akademie Baden-Baden and the Geddai University Tokyo.

Prizes and awards

Quote

Georg Faust is described in a portrait in the Swiss cultural magazine "DU" as follows:

At the age of five, after attending a concert by Enrico Mainardi, who played Bach suites, he said: 'I'm going to be a cellist.' Inwardly, he had never considered another profession, at thirteen or fourteen years this was completely clear, despite the skepticism of his father, who as an engineer reminded of the breadlessness of art. Ability rather than disposition spoke against a career as a soloist. 'I need togetherness.' As a soloist you are too busy with yourself and the instrument, always traveling alone, playing, practicing, that would not have suited him.
His current position (with the Berlin Philharmonic) is for him a 'fantastic mix' of solo opportunities, making music in an orchestra and in a chamber music ensemble. At first he had to get used to stepping out of the tutti as a soloist - 'suddenly so alone with his own little voice'. It took him years to get the stage fright under control. 'In everything you do regularly, there is a certain routine.' There are no real alternatives to music for him: 'Music is a drug, an energy that carries you along so that it is difficult to find a replacement. You are a musician with body and soul, with your whole life. '

Discography (selection)

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Web links

Website of the Campanula-Musica Association

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ quoted from DU, Zeitschrift für Kultur , 1993 / issue 53
personal data
SURNAME Faust, Georg
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German cellist
DATE OF BIRTH July 9, 1956
PLACE OF BIRTH Porz near Cologne