Felix Klieser - Inventor of Sounds

HAMBURG - HORN

Franziska Hölscher, violin - Wen-Xio Zheng, viola - Andrei Ionita, cello - Dominik Wagner, double bass - Sebastian Manz, clarinet - Hanno Dönneweg, bassoon

Felix Klieser is a remarkable young man: he has been playing the horn for 29 years - not something every 31-year-old can say - and he does it without arms. At the age of four, he announced to his parents out of nowhere: "I want a horn!" The catch: Felix had about the worst possible starting point for this instrument, having been born without arms. He took lessons anyway and practised with fierce dedication. It paid off. Today he ranks among the world's finest horn players, with performances alongside Sir Simon Rattle and pop star Sting to his name.

The career of this musician, born in 1991, is striking: first the youngest horn player ever at the Göttingen music school, then at 13 a junior student at the Hannover Hochschule, a member of the Federal Youth Orchestra, a touring partner of Sting, a "Life Award" recipient, and a national winner of "Jugend musiziert". "The horn is one of the most tonally versatile instruments - it can stir emotions in a way few others can," he says of his Model 103, made by the Alexander brothers' workshop in Mainz.

Copyright: Nieder-Mooser Konzertsommer