Matthias Rácz (born 1980) is a German

bassoon The bassoon is a musical instrument in the woodwind family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuosity ...

ist.

Career

Rácz was born in Berlin and began his musical education at the age of 6, first on the piano and at 10 also on the bassoon. During his school days at the Carl-Philipp-Emanuel-Bach-Gymnasium in Berlin, he was taught by Fritz Finsch. During his studies he was a pupil of at the

Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media (, abbreviated to HMTMH) is a university of performing arts and media in Hanover, the capital of Lower Saxony, Germany. Dating to , it has reorganised and changed names as it developed over the years, ...

. He took part in competitions at an early age and won several first national prizes in solo and

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

competitions at the

Jugend musiziert ''Jugend musiziert'' is a music competition for children and adolescents in Germany on regional, federal and national level. ''Jugend musiziert'' in Germany In Germany, the nationwide competition refers to young adults up to 20 years and for t ...

. During his musical education, he was awarded various grants, including scholarships from the "Jürgen Ponto Stiftung", the "Villa Musica", the "PE-Förderkreis für Studierende der Musik" and the "Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes". At the age of 15 he made his debut as a soloist with the Cologne Chamber Orchestra in the television production "Junge Künstler auf dem Podium". Further concerts followed with the Interlochen-World-Youth-Symphony Orchestra (Michigan/USA), the

Ensemble Resonanz The Ensemble Resonanz is a German string instrument, string ensemble that combines the performance and promotion of Neue Musik with the interpretation of classical repertoire. It sees itself at the interface between chamber orchestra and Solo ( ...

, the

Norddeutsche Philharmonie Rostock The Norddeutsche Philharmonie Rostock, based in Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, is the state's largest symphony orchestra and also the orchestra of the Volkstheater Rostock. Founded in 1897, the orchestra grew to 90 musicians by 1991. Th ...

, the

Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana The Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana (OSI; literal translation, Orchestra of Italian Switzerland) is a Swiss orchestra based in Lugano. The orchestra's primary concert venue is the ''Auditorio RSI''. The OSI also gives a concert series at the Sa ...

, the

Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks The Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (, BRSO) is a German radio orchestra. Based in Munich, Germany, it is one of the city's four orchestras. The BRSO is one of two full-size symphony orchestras operated under the auspices of Bayerischer Rundf ...

, the

Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin The Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin (DSO) is a German broadcast orchestra based in Berlin. The orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families ...

, the

Tonhalle Orchester Zürich Tonhalle is a German word meaning "tone hall", a concert hall. It may refer to: *Tonhalle Düsseldorf Tonhalle Düsseldorf is a concert hall in Düsseldorf. It was built by the architect Wilhelm Kreis. The resident orchestra, the ''Düsseldorfer ...

, to name but a few. He has been guest soloist at many

music festival A music festival is a festival, community event with music, performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock music, rock, blues, folk music, folk, jazz, classical music), nation ...

s such as the Mozartfest Schwetzingen, the Rheingau Music Festival, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival and the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. At the 2000 in Bayreuth, he was awarded 3rd prize in the overall ranking of all woodwind instruments. In 2002, he won 1st prize at the International Music Competition "Prague Spring" and in the same year he won 2nd prize in the bassoon category at the

ARD International Music Competition The ARD International Music Competition () is the largest international classical music competition in Germany. It is organised by the Bayerischer Rundfunk and is held once a year in Munich, usually in September. Since its inception in 1952, it h ...

in Munich.

Artistic activity

At the age of 21, he became principal bassoonist in the

Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne The Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne () is a German symphony orchestra based in Cologne. On some recordings, the orchestra goes under the name "Gürzenich-Orchester Kölner Philharmoniker". Its name comes from its past principal concert venue, the G ...

and since 2003 he has held the same position in the Tonhalle Orchester Zürich. He is also principal bassoonist in the

Lucerne Festival Orchestra The Lucerne Festival Orchestra is a European ''ad hoc'' seasonal orchestra based at the annual Lucerne Festival in Switzerland. History The Lucerne Festival had featured a resident orchestra as far back as 1938, with Arturo Toscanini conducting ...

. His CD productions, among others in 2013 with the Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie conducted by Johannes Klumpp, his concert recordings of various radio stations as well as television and radio productions document his artistic work.

Teaching activities

Notwithstanding his young age, Rácz was invited by

Seiji Ozawa was a Japanese conductor known internationally for his work as music director of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, and especially the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO), where he served from 1973 for 29 years. After cond ...

to teach at the Ongaku-juku Opera Project in Japan in 2003. At the age of 24, he gave his first international

master class ''Master Class'' is a 1995 play by American playwright Terrence McNally, presented as a fictional master class by opera singer Maria Callas near the end of her life, in the 1970s. The play features incidental vocal music by Giuseppe Verdi, Giac ...

for bassoon and since then many master classes have taken him around the world. He is also

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogu ...

of the international oboe and bassoon competition "The Muri Competition" in Muri AG/Switzerland. Racz holds a professorship for bassoon at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Zürich.Prof. Matthias Racz
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Recordings

*Robert Schumann: 5 Stücke im Volkston (op. 102) für Violoncello und Klavier, Fantasiestücke für Klarinette und Klavier (op. 73), drei Romanzen für Oboe und Klavier (op. 94), Adagio und Allegro für Violoncello und Klavier (op. 70), Waldszenen für Klavier (op. 82) *''Pictures at an exhibition'', Pieces by Alan Stephenson, Astor Piazzolla, Modest Mussorgsky and Oscar Petersen mit dem Quadriga Bassoon Ensemble, 2004 *Paul Juon, Quintett d-Moll (op. 33), Kammersinfonie (op. 27), coproduction with the Swiss Radio DRS 2 *''Mozart, Hummel, Weber - Bassoon Concertos'', Matthias Racz, Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie conducted by Johannes Klumpp, Ars-Produktion 2013

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Racz, Matthias German classical bassoonists 1980 births Living people Musicians from Berlin Players of the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne Players of the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich