Jan Vogler German cellist, artistic director of the Moritzburg Music Festival near Dresden Country: Germany

Biography of Jan Vogler

Jan Vogler is a renowned German cellist and the artistic director of the music festival in Moritzburg, near Dresden. He is known for his collaborations with famous contemporary composers and performers, approaching his work with great passion and risk-taking. Vogler is widely recognized as one of the most prominent German cellists, praised by The New York Times for his "lyrical sensibility" and by Gramophone for his "dizzying virtuosity." Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung has also commended his ability to make the cello sing like a human voice.

At present, Jan Vogler performs alongside esteemed orchestras such as the Dresden Philharmonic, Singapore Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, and Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. He has been the artistic director of the music festival in Moritzburg since October 2008 and also serves as the director of the Dresden Music Festival. In February 2010, Vogler accompanied President Horst Köhler as a cultural ambassador during his state visit to Korea. During the 2009-2010 season, he continues his collaboration with pianist Martin Stadtfeld and frequently performs with pianist Hélène Grimaud.

Jan Vogler frequently showcases works by contemporary composers and has participated in the premiere of Udo Zimmermann's cello concerto "Songs from the Island" with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra. In 2010, he performed Tigran Mansurian's Cello Concerto with the West German Radio Symphony Orchestra at the opening of the Cologne Music Triennale. He also premiered John Harbison's cello concerto with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.

Vogler began his career as the principal cellist of the Dresden State Chapel Orchestra. In 1997, he left the position to focus entirely on his solo performances. One of the highlights of his career was performing with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra in New York and Dresden during the opening of the Frauenkirche in November 2005, where the musicians presented a piece by Colin Matthews.

In 2003, Jan Vogler started a successful collaboration with Sony Classical, recording Richard Strauss' symphonic poem "Don Quixote" and "Romanze" with the Staatskapelle Dresden conducted by Fabio Luisi. This partnership also resulted in recordings of Antonín Dvořák's Cello Concerto with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by David Robertson, two albums of Mozart compositions featuring musicians from the Moritzburg Festival, and cello concertos by Samuel Barber, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Robert Schumann, and Jörg Widmann. Vogler plays the Ex-Hekking 1721 cello crafted by Domenico Montagnana. He resides with his wife and two children in Dresden and New York.