Norbert Anger

For years, German cellist Norbert Anger has distinguished himself as one of the leading and most versatile instrumentalists of his generation. His interpretations are characterised by a deep musical understanding and impress with ‘virtuosity, convincing technique, flawless cleanliness and a rich cello tone’ (Michael Gmasz, Radio Klassik).

Born in 1987 in Freital near Dresden, Norbert Anger received his first musical training at the local Landesgymnasium für Musik Carl Maria von Weber before completing his studies with Prof. W.E. Schmidt at the Berlin University of the Arts. He also received important musical inspiration from Sir Colin Davis, David Geringas and Heinrich Schiff.

Norbert Anger attracted attention as a soloist from an early age: he has won and won prizes at almost all major international competitions, including the German Music Competition in Bonn, the Rostropovich Competition and Vibrarte Competition in Paris, the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, the Gabrielli Cello Competition in Berlin and the PAULO Cello Competition in Helsinki.

As a soloist, he has already worked with the Staatskapelle Dresden, the Orchestre de Paris, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra, the Mariinsky Orchestra and the Moscow State Symphony Orchestra under conductors such as Christian Thielemann, Valeri Gergiev, Vladimir Spivakov, Ton Koopman, Andrea Marcon, John Stôrgards and Emmanuelle Haim.

Norbert Anger is also an enthusiastic chamber musician. In addition to being a founding member of the Arabella Quartet Dresden and the Dresden Octet, he has performed as a guest at chamber music festivals around the world with artists such as Christoph Eschenbach, Daniil Trifonov, Denis Matsuev, Sol Gabetta, David Geringas and Jan Vogler.

His CD recordings include the cello concertos by Haydn and Mozart as well as the established repertoire of sonatas by Brahms, Strauss and Debussy. His latest album with his own transcriptions of Richard Wagner's works (Wagner/Strauss, OEHMS Classics 2019) received particular attention and numerous prizes from music critics.

Since 2013, Norbert Anger has held the prestigious position of 1st concertmaster of the cellos of the Staatskapelle Dresden and has also worked as 1st principal cellist of the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra. He teaches as a professor of cello at both the Landesgymnasium für Musik and the Carl Maria von Weber University of Music in Dresden. Since September 2020, he has also been teaching at the Escuela Superior Musikae Musical Arts in Madrid.

Norbert Anger plays a violoncello by Alessandro Gagliano (Naples, 1720) and is an exclusive artist of LARSEN strings A/S.