JULIUS BERGER
cello
Born in 1954 in Augsburg, he studied at the Musikhochschule München with Walter Reichhard and Fritz Kiskalt, then at the “Mozarteum” in Salzburg with Antonio Janigro (from 1979 to 1982 he worked as his assistant). He continued his studies with Zara Nelsova (Cincinnati/USA) and also participated in a master class with Mstislav Rostropovitsch. At the age of 28 he became a professor at the Musikhochschule Würzburg, thus being the youngest professor in Germany. He then taught in Saarbrücken, Mainz and since 2000 at the Musikhochschule Augsburg and Nürnberg. He is currently professor of cello and chamber music at the Leopold Mozart Zentrum of the University of Augsburg. Since 1992 he has regularly taught master classes at the Internationalen Sommerakademie des Mozarteums in Salzburg.
His recordings of J.S. Bach’s six Suites are praised by critics and audiences, along with unreleased concertos by Luigi Boccherini. He premieres works by M. Bruch, L. Boccherini, R. Strass, M. Wolpe, M. Dupré, G. Tartini, L. Leo, for the Ebs, Orfeo, Wergo, Cpo, and Organ labels. A sensitive and inspired contemporary performer, he has profound relationships with some of the most important composers of our time, such as Olivier Messiaen, Sofia Gubaidulina, Wolfgang Rihm, Toshio Hosokawa, Wilhelm Killmeyer, Bertold Kummel, Viktor Suslin, Adriana Holsky, who dedicate many works premiered by him. He participates in numerous concerts and tours together with distinguished colleagues such as Leonhard Bernstein, Eugen Jochum, Gidon Kremer, Jörg Demus, Norman Shetler, Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Bernd Glemser, Stefan Hussong, Eduard Brunner, Wolfagang Meyer. He is president of the “Leopold Mozart” international competition and a jury member of numerous awards in Salzburg, Kronberg, Munich, Warsaw, as well as artistic director of the Eckelshausener Musiktage and the “Mozart 2006” celebration program of the city of Augsburg.
He is the author of poems and essays such as Irritationskraft (Hindemith Jahrbuch 1992), Einheit in der Vielfalt – Vielfalt in der Einheit (Forschungsmagazin der Universität Mainz, 1998), Zeit und Ewigkeit (preface by Cardinal Karl Kardinal Lehmann, 2001). Since 1997 he has been a member of the Zentralkomitees der deutschen Katholiken, and is a member of the music commission of the Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes. Since 2009 he has been a member of the prestigious Akademie der Wissenschaften und Literatur in Mainz.
In July 2010, following the success of his performance of Schumann’s Concerto for Cello and Orchestra in the prestigious and futuristic Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, designed by Franck Gehry, critic Mark Swed of the Los Angeles Times wrote of him, “Berger gave a remarkably rhapsodic performance. He lost himself in the music, almost embarrassingly so. He even conducted with his bow and, with gaping wide mouth, silently sang along with the strings. He went in for interpretive extremes.” He devoted his free time from artistic commitments to his family and to the pursuit of silence in contemplation of the alpine world. Julius Berger has been artistic director of Asiagofestival for 30 years, from the 1993 edition until the 2022 edition.