MATTHIAS RACZ

Matthias Rácz was born in Berlin in 1980. He first studied with Prof. Fritz Finsch and later with Prof. Dag Jensen. At an early age he began to take part successfully in music competitions, and has won first prize in Germany’s nationwide Jugend musiziert music competition. In 2002 Matthias Racz was awarded first prize at the International “Prague Spring” Music Competition and in the same year won the prestigious ARD International Music Competition in Munich. At the age of 15 he gave his debut as soloist with the Cologne Chamber Orchestra for the TV production “Young Artists on Stage.” Since then he has appeared as soloist with various orchestras including the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin, and the Tonhalle Orchestra in Zurich. He has been a guest soloist at the Rheingau Music Festival, the Schleswig Holstein Musik Festival, the Festival Mecklenburg Vorpommern and the Mozartfestival Schwetzingen. Despite his young age, in 2003 Matthias Rácz was invited by Seiji Ozawa to teach at the Ongaku-juku Opera Project. He was also invited by Villa Musica to teach as a junior lecturer and in 2004 he gave his first bassoon master classes. At the age of 21 he was chosen to be the principal bassoon of the Gürzenich Orchester and since 2003 has been principal bassoon at the Tonhalle Orchester in Zurich.