TMM2015 - The Muri Masterclasses

Albrecht Mayer
is principal oboist for the prestigious Berlin Philharmonic but he is also a very active soloist and recitalist not only on the oboe, but also on its relatives, the English horn and the oboe d'amore. His first position was with the Bamberg Symphony, which he joined in 1990, before going to Berlin in 1992. Having performed much of the existing repertoire for his instruments -- be it concerto, chamber music, or featured solo in an orchestral or vocal work -- he is always looking for ways to expand what is available. This includes newly written compositions and collaborations. It also means transcribing and arranging music originally for other instruments, or frequently, for voice, which Mayer often does himself. He has arranged and worked with other arrangers on the music of Bach, Handel, Vivaldi, Debussy, Ravel, Fauré, to name but a few. His recordings have received numerous awards in Europe. Oboists of his caliber are rare, and with his lush tone, smooth control, and engaging expression it's easy to understand why he is a much sought-after musician. albrechtmayer.com  albrecht-mayer-stiftung.de

Emanuel Abbühl
born in Berne Switzerland - studied with André Lardrot and Heinz Holliger and received many major awards for wind instruments. He was principal oboe and/or soloist with the major orchestras such as the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Symphony, Concertgebouw Orkest Amsterdam, Bayerischer Rundfunk, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Mariinski Orchestra, Orchestra, Queensland Philharmonic under V. Gergiev, Sir C. Davis and performed chamber concerts with Heinz Holliger, Andras Schiff, Mitsuko Uchida and others. He was principal oboe of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and 2006 till 2013 principal oboe with the London Symphony Orchestra. Since 2011 he has been Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music London. He is a professor for Oboe at the academies of music at Basel and Mannheim.

Jean-Louis Capezzali
studied at the Versailles Conservatory in France, where he received a gold medal and an honour prize. In 1979, after receiving the National Certificate of Aptitude to become an oboe professor, he was awarded the position of principal oboe with the Concert Lamoureux Orchestra in Paris. He was a prizewinner at the Geneva (silver medal, 1982) and Prague (1986) international competitions. In 1984 he was appointed principal oboist of the Radio France Philharmonic Orchestra based in Paris. In 1988 he was named oboe professor at the Paris National Conservatory of Music, and was also appointed oboe professor at the Lyon National Conservatory of Music where he currently teaches. In 2009, he was appointed oboe professor at the Haute Ecole of Music in Lausanne. Jean-Louis Capezzali enjoys a career as a soloist and chamber musician, appearing with leading ensembles and performing at music festivals throughout the world. In his master classes he represents the French School of oboe playing.

Matthias Racz
is professor of bassoon at the Zurich University of the Arts. He was born in Berlin in 1980 and began his musical education at the age of six, first on the piano and four years later also on bassoon. He was a student of Professor Dag Jensen at the Hochschule for Music and Theatre in Hanover. He began to take part in competitions early on with great success. During his music studies he received various scholarships. In 2002 he won first prize at the International Music Competition "Prague Spring" and at the ARD International Music Competition in Munich. He has been solo bassoonist at the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra since 2003. He performed as solo bassoonist in the Lucerne Festival Orchestra under the direction of Claudio Abbado. matthiasracz.de

Carlo Colombo
Born in Padua, Italy, Carlo Colombo studied in Milano (E. Dall’Oca), Geneva (R. Birnstingl) and Amsterdam (B. Pollard). He has served as principal bassoonist of the Lyon National Opera Orchestra since its inception in 1983. From 1978 to 1981 he was Principal Bassoonist of the ensemble "I Solisti Veneti" and has performed as guest principal bassoonist with many major European orchestras under the baton of conductors such as L. Bernstein, R. Muti, R. Chailly, A. Dorati, P. Herrewege, Sir N. Marriner, M. Corboz, etc.. His interest in original instruments led him to start playing with the Orchestre Révolutionnaire et Romantique conducted by Sir J. E. Gardiner. He has been a member of the "Maurice Bourgue" Wind Ensemble, faculty member of the Conservatoire National Superieur de Musique de Lyon since 2001. C. Colombo joined the faculty at the Lausanne Conservatory in Switzerland in 2005 and he was a guest professor at Indiana University and the Oberlin Conservatory. He has been editing neglected pieces of the bassoon repertoire for Billaudot and Accolade.

Stefano Canuti
was born in Parma, Italy in 1961 and started learning classical guitar aged 9, switching to the bassoon at 17 when he was taught by Ovidio Danzi. He joined the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Orchestra as first bassoonist, later moving to the RAI Orchestra of Torino. He has subsequently played with many orchestras worldwide, including playing solo bassoon with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra directed by Claudio Abbado and principal bassoon with the Symphonica Toscanini with M° Lorin Maazel. Stefano teaches all over Europe, the USA, South America and China and currently holds the title of Bassoon Chair at the Conservatorio di Musica "Campiani" di Mantova. Many of his students are now working with major orchestras. In June 2004, he was invited to permanently collaborate with the Fundaciòn del Estado para el Sistema Nacional de las Orquestas Juveniles e Infantiles de Venezuela. Since 2006 he teachs as professor at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester.