25.09.21

Lieber Niek de Groot, zufällig fand ich heute auf youtube die wunderbare Aufnahme meiner Dyade, die Sie mit Elina Vähälä eingespielt haben - ich bin restlos begeistert! Noch nie habe ich den Kontrabaß so sehr als warmtönende "hohe Bratsche" wahrnehmen dürfen - und genauso habe ich diesen Klang beim Komponieren empfunden! Zusammen mit Elina V. gelingt Ihnen hier ein wirkliches Psychogramm, das ja auch in diesem " Beziehungsstück" steckt".

"Aber durch Ihre Interpretation wurde mir das Stück eigentlich überhaupt erst wieder " geboren "! Bitte grüßen Sie die herrliche Violine sehr herzlich und dankbar von mir. Und Ihnen, lieber Niek, gilt meine Bewunderung und ebenfalls mein Dank für diese belebende Erfahrung: Der Kontrabass hat für mich ab heute einen konkreten Namen: Ihren!

Sehr herzlich Ihr Wolfgang Rihm"

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04.09.19

Our new CD György Kurtág  SCENES is released!

14.05.19

Master Student Yukyung Kim from South Korea won the audition with the Bergische Symfoniker, Solingen. Bravobravobravo!!

29.04.19

Folkwang Erasmus Student Malte Schmidt from Denmark, won the audition for the Academy of the Hessisches Staatstheater, Wiesbaden. Congrats!!

15.03.19

Folkwang Student success; Jonathan Hoff received the maximum of 25 points at the recent Landeswettbewerb of Jugend Muzisiert and will continue to the Bundeswettbewerb. Benedikt Huber won the audition at Live Music Now and will perform throughout NRW in the coming season. Alumni Marta Fossas got accepted in the Academy of the Concertgebouw Orchestra. Master Student Endika Rodriguez had his first successful trials as bassist with Klangforum Wien and will continue in a second elimination later this season. Congrats!!

12.01.19

The second Rossini-Hoffmeister CD is released at BIS Records

19.01.19

Jonathan Hoff, Jungstudent at Folkwang, won the first round of Jugend Musiziert with the maximum of 25 points and will continue for the Landes Wettbewerb in March

30.11.18

Ulysse Vigreux, Folkwang Alumni, won the solo-position in the Orchestra de Paris!!

16.09.18

After 2 fruitful years Pierre Emmanuel de Maistre will leave his position as Lehrbeauftragte for our class at Folkwang Universität der Künste.

Folkwang Alumni Ömer Faruk Dede will take over from 1 October 2018.

We’re all looking forward to this new cooperation.

Thank you Pierre Emmanuel, welcome Ömer!

16.01.18

New CD for AUDITE with Elina Vähälä will be released Februari 2nd; watch the Trailer!

0.11.17

The first Rossini-Hoffmeister CD is out at BIS Records and eClassical.com!!

 09.11.17
Clara Pertierra, Master Student at Folkwang, won a substitute Audition at the Scala of Milan!! Congrats!

02.10.17

Musica Serena, a wonderful new documentary on Peteris Vasks, where I play part of his Sonata, can be seen HERE

06.07.17

"After 13 years I decided to sell my wonderful Cesare Candi bass. Great former student and RCO member Olivier Thiery will be it’s new player!
In the meantime I’ll be eagerly waiting for a copy of the Montagnana, which will be made by Anneke Degen! "

05.07.17

Giorgi Kvlividze, master Student at Folkwang, won today the audition for a position in the Magdenburg orchestra. Congrats!!

07.03.17

Montagnana provenance and literature now online!

06.10.16

Folkwang graduate Dominique Chabot won the audition for a Praktikum with the Duisburger Symphoniker. Congratulations!!

16.09

January 2017 will be dedicated to 2 CD-recordings which will fulfill some long lasting dreams!

-early January, together with amazing Elina Vähälä, we'll record the main contemporary duo's for violin and double bass by Penderecki, Rihm (both at real pitch!) Yun, Huber, Kuusisto, Tüür and Kurtág for the AUDITE label in the Beethovensaal in Hannover. Release hopefully will take place next summer.

-at the end of that month the new Schauman hall in Jakobstad, Finland will be the venue for the start of a recording project for BIS-records of  the 6 Gioacchino Rossini string sonatas in their original form and the 4 (!) solo quartets by Franz Anton Hoffmeister. Partners here will be Minna Pensola and Antti Tikkanen of the transcendent Meta4 quartet and wonderful cellist Tuomas Lehto.

 14.09

Folkwang alumni Pierre Emmanuel de Maistre -solo bass RCO and Lehrbeauftragte FUdK- yesterday won the position for professor of orchestral studies at MUSIKENE San Sebastian. Congrats!

13.09

December 7-9 2016 are the dates for our 9. Folkwang KontrabassMarathon. A mere concatenation of Highlights!

Grateful for the sponsorship of Pirastro Strings we are proud to offer masterclasses by Matthew McDonald -1. Solobass Berliner Philharmoniker, Pierre Emmanuel de Maistre -newly appointed at Folkwang and Solobass Royal Concertgebouworchestra and Folkwang Professor Niek de Groot.

Concerts all day round. The main evening concerts include:

07.12 19.00 KontraFrau - a Program entirely dedicated to works by female composers for double bass, including Boulanger, Saariaho ( a retake of 'Neiges' in the version for 8 basses approved by her) Gubaidulina, Krausas, Ozaita, Canat de Chizy etc.

08.12 19.00 KontraFrankreich -since everybody goes French we couldn't resist; works by Ravel, Fauré, Massenet and Matthew McDonald in Franck sonata together with Yannick Rafalimanana

09.12 19.00 KontraFinale -2 world premiere's in one evening; Double bass Sonata by Alfred Huber and Penderecki 'Agnus Dei' in the version for 8 basses. We are happy to get the fantastic opportunity to work with Krzysztof  Penderecki himself on this, on his visit at the University in November.

and a lot more.........

02.07.16

Also a good moment to announce that from the coming Wintersemester 2016/2017 Pierre Emmanuel de Maistre -Folkwang alumni and presently solo bass with the Royal Concertgebouworchestra- will take over the Lehrauftrag in our class with Olivier Thiery leaving that position after 3 fruitful years!

01.07.16

Folkwang alumni Ömer Faruk Dede won a position in the Düsseldorfer Symfoniker where earlier this week present student Marta Fossas got accepted into the Academy of the Essen Philharmoniker and newly graduated Giorgi Kvlividze won the audition for a Praktikum with the Aachener Symphonieorchester.

CONGRATULATIONS!!

Amati

Latest news; After an extremely exiting adventure of over 5 years playing the fantastic Amati double bass from 1680, we now decided to make another step and sell the instrument. As from now it will be owned by the Dextra-foundation of Norway, who will give it into the safe hands of Kenneth Ryland, principal solo bass of the Oslo Philharmonic orchestra. For me a touching destination, bringing back contacts and memories of my dear Norwegian years.

Not to worry, we found the by far most thrilling and well known double bass ever as a successor, which presently is getting a final touch and for which I can’t wait to start playing and exploring it in a good month from now. Of course I will get back on this shortly.....

However I already from the bottom of my heart wish to thank everyone involved in this great transaction -putting valuation of double basses at an entire new and well deserved level- for their help, trust and expertise!

Febr 20th 2016