Große, Berthold

Berthold Große grew up in a family of musicians, took recorder lessons from the age of five and started his first bassoon lessons at the Musikschule Sondershausen (Thüringen) when he was eleven; his teacher was Wilhelm Barthels (d. 2009), solo bassoonist of the Loh-Orchester Sondershausen.

In 1988 he started his music studies at the University of Music Franz Liszt Weimar with Manfred Beyer, solo bassoonist of the Staatskapelle Weimar. He subsequently undertook further studies there with Georg Klütsch, former solo bassoonist of the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra.

Even as a student, Berthold Große played in numerous orchestras; he was solo bassoonist of the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival Orchestra and then for a long time a member of the Kammerphilharmonie at this festival. At this time he also played temporarily in the Loh-Orchester Sondershausen, Thüringen Philharmonie Suhl, Staatskapelle Weimar, Philharmonie Essen, Sinfonieorchester Wuppertal and Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne.

Berthold Große is a founder member of the Mozart-Sextett Weimar and as such was awarded a scholarship from the Deutscher Musikrat (German Music Council) in 1993. He is an active chamber musician with this ensemble and others, and is keenly interested in interpreting the seldom played soloistic repertoire for bassoon.

From 1991 until its disbandment in 1997 he was solo bassoonist of the Thüringen Philharmonie Suhl, then from 1998 until 2000 he held the same position with the Landestheater/Landeskapelle Eisenach, subsequently becoming solo bassoonist of the Düsseldorfer Symphoniker (Orchester der Deutschen Oper am Rhein).

Since 2002 he has been acting solo bassoonist of the Royal Swedish Orchestra (Kungliga Hovkapellet) in Stockholm. In addition he is a welcome guest with many prestigious Scandinavian orchestras including the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Oslo Opera Orchestra, Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, Norrköping Symphony Orchestra and Norrbottens Kammarorkester in northern Sweden, one of the few orchestras in Europe that gives concerts north of the Arctic Circle!

Berthold Große plays a bassoon by Rudolf Walter, Pleidelsheim (No. 8584).