Tanja Tetzlaff (born 1973) is a German

cellist The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

. She played first as an orchestra member, but then as a soloist, a founding member of the Tetzlaff Quartet, a

string quartet The term string quartet refers to either a type of musical composition or a group of four people who play them. Many composers from the mid-18th century onwards wrote string quartets. The associated musical ensemble consists of two Violin, violini ...

led by her brother

Christian Tetzlaff Christian Tetzlaff (born 29 April 1966) is a German violinist who has performed internationally, with a focus on chamber music. Biography Tetzlaff was born in Hamburg. His parents were amateur musicians and met in a church choir. He began playi ...

, and as a

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 ...

ian. She has recorded cello concertos and chamber music, including

contemporary music Contemporary music is whatever music is produced at the current time. Specifically, it could refer to: Genres or audiences * Adult contemporary music * British contemporary R&B * Christian adult contemporary * Christian contemporary hit radio * Con ...

, and has appeared internationally.

Life

Born in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, Tetzlaff grew up in a

pastor A pastor (abbreviated to "Ps","Pr", "Pstr.", "Ptr." or "Psa" (both singular), or "Ps" (plural)) is the leader of a Christianity, Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutherani ...

's household with three siblings. Tetzlaff studied cello with

Bernhard Gmelin Bernhard is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar (1604–1639), Duke of Saxe-Weimar * Bernhard, Prince of Saxe-Meiningen (1901–1984), head of the House of Saxe-Meiningen 194 ...

at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in her hometown from 1985 to 1991, and studied further at the Salzburg

Mozarteum Mozarteum University Salzburg ( German: ''Universität Mozarteum Salzburg'') is one of three affiliated but separate (it is actually a state university) entities under the "Mozarteum" name in Salzburg municipality; the International Mozarteu ...

with

Heinrich Schiff Heinrich Schiff (; 18 November 1951 – 23 December 2016) was an Austrian cellist and conductor. Early life Heinrich Schiff was born on 18 November 1951 in Gmunden, Austria. His parents, Helga (née Riemann) and Helmut Schiff, were composers. H ...

until 1996. In 1994, she won third prize 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 ...

. She played as principal cellist of the

Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen The Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen (''unofficial English translation'': Bremen German Chamber Philharmonic) is a chamber orchestra based in Bremen (Germany), with place of residence in the historical building Stadtwaage. History A group of ...

. She has performed as a soloist with orchestras including the

Vienna Chamber Orchestra The Vienna Chamber Orchestra (Wiener Kammer Orchester, or WKO) is an Austrian chamber orchestra based at the Vienna Konzerthaus. History The WKO was founded in 1946, and its first artistic directors were Franz Litschauer, Heinrich Hollreiser, P ...

conducted by

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi Menuhin, Baron Menuhin (22 April 191612 March 1999), was an American-born British violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in Britain. He is widely considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. ...

, with the

Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra The Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra is a Russian classical music radio orchestra established in 1930. It was founded as the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra, and served as the official symphony for the Soviet All-Union Radio network. History Foll ...

conducted by

Vladimir Fedoseyev Vladimir Ivanovich Fedoseyev (; born 5 August 1932, in Leningrad, Soviet Union) is a Soviet and Russian conductor, accordionist, teacher. People's Artist of the USSR (1980). Laureate of the USSR State Prize (1989) and the Glinka State Prize of ...

, and the Tonhalle Orchestra Zürich. She appeared with the

Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra 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

Konzerthausorchester Berlin The Konzerthausorchester Berlin is a German Orchestra, symphony orchestra based in Berlin. The orchestra is resident at the Konzerthaus Berlin, designed by the architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel. The building was destroyed during World War II, and ...

, the

Orchestre de Paris The Orchestre de Paris () is a French orchestra based in Paris. The orchestra currently performs most of its concerts at the Philharmonie de Paris. History In 1967, following the dissolution of the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du ...

and the

Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its primary concert venue is Music Hall. In addition to its symphony concerts, the orchestra gives pops concerts as the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. The Cinc ...

. More recently, she played with the

Philharmonia Orchestra The Philharmonia Orchestra is a British orchestra based in London. It was founded in 1945 by Walter Legge, a classical music record producer for EMI Classics, EMI. Among the conductors who worked with the orchestra in its early years were Rich ...

in London, the

Iceland Symphony Orchestra Sinfóníuhljómsveit Íslands (Iceland Symphony Orchestra) (ISO) is an Icelandic orchestra based in Reykjavík. Its primary concert venue is the Harpa (concert hall), Harpa Concert Hall. The Iceland Symphony is an autonomous public institution u ...

, the

Royal Northern Sinfonia Royal Northern Sinfonia is a British chamber orchestra, founded in Newcastle upon Tyne and currently based in Gateshead. For the first 46 years of its history the orchestra gave most of its concerts at the Newcastle City Hall. It also gave mont ...

, the

Scottish Chamber Orchestra The Scottish Chamber Orchestra (SCO) is an Edinburgh-based UK chamber orchestra. One of Scotland's five National Performing Arts Companies, the SCO performs throughout Scotland, including annual tours of the Scottish Highlands and Islands and So ...

, the Orchestre Nationale des Pays de la Loire, and the NHK Orchestra Tokyo. She has toured internationally in Europe, the U.S. and in Japan. She founded the Tetzlaff Quartet in 1994, a

with her brother

as the first violinist, Elisabeth Kufferath and Hanna Weinmeister. She has also performed

regularly with pianists including

Leif Ove Andsnes Leif Ove Andsnes (; born 7 April 1970) is a Norwegian pianist and chamber musician. Andsnes has made several recordings for Virgin and EMI. In 2012, he signed with Sony Classical, and recorded for the label the "Beethoven Journey" project, whi ...

Alexander Lonquich Alexander Lonquich (born 28 August 1960 in Trier) is a German classical pianist and conductor. Biography Lonquich studied with Paul Badura-Skoda, Andrzej Jasiński, and Ilonka Deckers-Küszler. He won the first prize at the Alessandro Casag ...

, Lauma Skride,

Gunilla Süssmann Gunilla Süssmann (born 22 June 1977 in Bergen, is a Norwegian classical pianist. Career Having played the piano since the age of six, Süssmann graduated from the Norwegian Academy of Music in 2002, and got her soloist diploma from the Music ...

and with

Lars Vogt Lars Vogt (8 September 1970 – 5 September 2022) was a German classical pianist, conductor and academic teacher. Noted by ''The New York Times'' for his interpretations of Johannes Brahms, Brahms, Vogt performed as a soloist with major orchestr ...

who founded the

Spannungen Spannungen ("Tensions" or "Voltages") is an annual summer festival for chamber music in Heimbach, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, founded by pianist Lars Vogt in 1998. It is subtitled Musik im Kraftwerk Heimbach (Music in the Heimbach power pla ...

chamber music festival in

Heimbach Heimbach is a town in the district of Düren of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the river Rur, in the Eifel hills, approx. 20 km south of Düren. Heimbach has the smallest population of any town in North Rhin ...

. She has played with violinists including

Baiba Skride Baiba Skride (born 19 February 1981) is a Latvian classical violinist. She was the winner of the Queen Elisabeth Violin Contest in 2001. Background and studies Baiba Skride comes from a very musical Latvian family: her love of music comes from h ...

and

Antje Weithaas Antje Weithaas (born 1966) is a German classical violinist. Apart from solo recitals and chamber music performances, she has played with leading orchestras in Europe, Asia and the United States. Career Born in Guben, Weithaas studied at the ...

. Tetzlaff's repertoire is wide-ranging and also includes

of the 20th and 21st centuries, such as a CD with the

cello concerto A cello concerto (sometimes called a violoncello concerto) is a concerto for solo cello with orchestra or, very occasionally, smaller groups of instruments. These pieces have been written since the Baroque era if not earlier. However, unlike instru ...

s by

Wolfgang Rihm Wolfgang Rihm (; 13 March 1952 – 27 July 2024) was a German composer of contemporary classical music and an academic teacher based in Karlsruhe. He was an influential post-war European composer, as "one of the most original and independent mus ...

and

Ernst Toch Ernst Toch (; 7 December 1887 – 1 October 1964) was an Austrian composer of European classical music and film scores, who from 1933 worked as an émigré in Paris, London and New York. He sought throughout his life to introduce new approaches t ...

. Since April 2024, Tetzlaff has been professor of cello and chamber music at the

University of the Arts Bremen The University of the Arts Bremen (German: Hochschule für Künste Bremen, HfK Bremen) is a public university in Bremen, Germany. It is one of the most successful arts institutions, and its origins date back to 1873. The University of the Arts B ...

. Tetzlaff is married to the violinist

Florian Donderer Florian Donderer (born 1969
retrieved ...

. She plays an instrument by

Giovanni Battista Guadagnini Giovanni Battista Guadagnini (often shortened to G. B. Guadagnini; 23 June 1711 – 18 September 1786) was an Italian luthier, regarded as one of the finest craftsmen of string instruments in history. Reprint with new introduction by Stewart Po ...

from 1776.

Recordings

* Rautavaara: Works for Cello and Piano, with Gunilla Süssman, Ondine 2019 * Dvořák: Piano Trios No. 3 and 4, with Christian Tetzlaff and Lars Vogt, 2018Dvorak: Piano Trios No. 3 and 4
prestomusic.com 2019 * Schubert: String Quartet No. 15 / Haydn: String Quartet Op. 20, No. 3 * Brahms: The Piano Trios, with Christian Tetzlaff and Lars Vogt, Ondine 2015 * ''Mendelssohn / Berg'': Tetzlaff Quartet, CAvi 2013 * Brahms: Cello Sonatas, with Süssmann, CAvi 2013Felix Mendelssohn / Alban Berg / Quartet Op. 13 / Lyric Suite
Challenge Records * ''Rihm / Toch: Cello Concertos'', NEOS 2011

References

External links

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Tanja Tetzlaff
KD Schmid
Tanja Tetzlaff
hfmt-hamburg.de {{DEFAULTSORT:Tetzlaff, Tanja German women classical cellists 1973 births Living people Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg alumni Musicians from Hamburg