Matthias Rácz, Bassoon
Matthias Rácz began his first musical training during his school days in Berlin. At the musical Carl-Philipp-Emanuel-Bach-Gymnasium he had the opportunity to study with Fritz Finsch, in these days professor for bassoon at the Conservatory Hanns Eisler.
After graduation and numerous first prizes at the federal competition ‘Jugend musiziert’, he continued his studies with Prof. Dag Jensen at the University of Music and Theatre in Hanover and received various grants, such as scholarships by the ‘Jürgen Ponto Foundation’, the ‘Villa Musica’, the ‘PE Promotion for Students of Music’ and the ‘Study Foundation of the German people’. At the International Bayreuth Music Competition ‘Pacem in Terris’ in 2000 he received the 3rd prize in the overall ranking of all woodwind instruments. In 2002, the 1st prize at the International Music Betting competition "Prague Spring" followed and the same year he won also the International ARD Music Competition in Munich.
Matthias Rácz made his debut as a soloist at the age of 15 with the Cologne Chamber Orchestra in the German television production "Young Artists on the podium".
Until today numerous concerts as soloist with renowned orchestras followed, among these the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, the Orchestra della Svizzera Italiana, the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra and the Ensemble Resonanz. As soloist with various ensembles and as well for solo recitals he was guest soloist at many important music festivals such as the Rheingau Music Festival, the Schleswig Holstein Music Festival, the Mozart Festival Schwetzingen and the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
His CD productions - including the Northwest German Philharmonic Orchestra and the major bassoon concertos by Mozart, Hummel and Weber and most recently with the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra and mainly French works for bassoon and small orchestra (both under the baton of Johannes Klumpp) - document his work, as well as the recordings of various TV- and radio broadcasters.
Since the start of his career Matthias Rácz is highly engaged in the advancement of young talents. Despite his young age, he was invited in 2003 by Maestro Seiji Ozawa to Japan as a lecturer to his academy project ‘Ongaku-juku Opera’. Since then numerous master classes are leading him around the globe. Moreover he is artistic director for bassoon at ‘The Muri Competition’ in Switzerland and holds the chair for bassoon at the Zurich University of the Arts.
At 21, he was already principal bassoonist of the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne. Since 2003 he is in the same position in the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra and in the Lucerne Festival Orchestra under Riccardo Chailly.
As official ‘Fox Artist’ Matthias Rácz is brand ambassador for the leading US-American bassoon manufacturer ‘Fox Products Corporation’.