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A versatile soloist, highly sought-after chamber musician and successful cello teacher. He studied under David Geringas and took part in workshops with other great cellists. In 1994, he won first prize in the ARD International Music Competition, which had previously not been awarded to a cellist for 17 years.
As a soloist he has collaborated with conductors such as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Dmitry Kitajenko, Marek Janowski. He has played with the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Leipzig MDR Symphony Orchestra, Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, Den Haag Residenzorchester and Tokyo Symphony Orchestra. His repertoire comprises classical compositions alongside contemporary composers’ opuses. For his Sony Classical CD of solo works by Bach, Dutilleux and Zoltan Kodaly, he was presented with an ECHO Klassik award. His highly acclaimed recording of Haydn’s cello concertos with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen was released on the Berlin Classics label.
Alongside solo performances, he holds the position of the principal cello of the Deutsche Symphonie- Orchester in Berlin. In 2006 he was invited to be the principal cello of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra of Claudio Abbado. As a chamber musician, he is a member of the prestigious “Spectrum Concerts Berlin” concert series and performs with chamber musicians such as Janine Jansen, Boris Brovtsyn, Torleif Thedeen, Helene Grimaud, Kolja Blacher, Isabelle Faust, Antoine Tamestit, and also the Artemis, Carmina and Auryn Quartets. He has been playing in the cello duo “Cello Duello” with another cello artist Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt for 25 years now, performing at the most eminent cello music festivals, such as the Kronberg Festival, the Cello Biennale Amsterdam and the Piatigorsky International Cello Festival (Los Angeles).
Played on tour as a member of the renowned Trio Fontenay.
Since 2004, he has been professor at Berlin University of the Arts, teaching a cello class. Many of his students are prizewinners in important international competitions and hold leading positions in major orchestras.
Plays the “Ex-Servais” cello made by Giovanni Grancino in 1697.
