Stefan Dohr

Stefan Dohr is widely regarded as an iconic figure of his instrument and one of the world’s leading horn players. A soloist, chamber musician and principal horn of the Berlin Philharmonic, he has been praised both for the power of his sound and his extraordinary expressive refinement. His performances, spanning both the core repertoire and contemporary music, are considered a benchmark for musicians and audiences alike.

A recent highlight is the premiere of Esa-Pekka Salonen’s new Horn Concerto at the Lucerne Festival with the Orchestre de Paris under the composer’s direction. He will also appear in venues such as Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie and the Musikfest Berlin, and will make debuts with orchestras including the Boston Symphony, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the Filarmonica della Scala and the Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra.

As a soloist, he has collaborated with ensembles such as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Sydney Symphony and the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, under the baton of conductors including Claudio Abbado, Daniel Barenboim, Sir Simon Rattle and Bernard Haitink.

His artistic curiosity has inspired numerous composers to write for him, expanding the horn repertoire with works by Toshio Hosokawa, Wolfgang Rihm, Hans Abrahamsen and Jörg Widmann, among others.

As a chamber musician, he collaborates with artists such as Mark Padmore and Maurizio Pollini, and is a member of the Ensemble Wien-Berlin and the Philharmonic Octet Berlin.

He studied in Essen and Cologne and held leading positions before joining the Berlin Philharmonic in 1993. Alongside his performing career, he is actively engaged in teaching as a guest professor at international institutions.