Robert Oberaigner

Clarinettist Robert Oberaigner was born in Hall in Tyrol, Austria, and studied at the Tyrolean State Conservatory and the Vienna University of Music. He completed his studies with Sabine Meyer at the Musikhochschule Lübeck.

In addition to winning several 1st prizes in competitions for young musicians, he is also a prizewinner of the ‘Musica Juventutis’ foundation of the Vienna Konzerthausgesellschaft. At the age of 17, he was already playing as a substitute in concerts with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra and the Vienna State Opera Orchestra. At the age of 19, he made his debut as a soloist at the Vienna Konzerthaus.

Solo and chamber music appearances have taken him to the Vienna Musikverein, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Mozarteum Salzburg and the Cologne Philharmonic with musicians such as Leonidas Kavakos, Nils Mönkemeyer, Christian Gerhaher, Sol Gabetta and others. He has also performed at festivals such as the BBC Proms, the Lucerne Festival, the Salzburg Festival and ‘Mostly Mozart’ New York.

Robert Oberaigner devotes himself intensively to playing historical clarinet instruments, which he plays himself as a member of ensembles such as ‘Concerto Köln’ or the Dresden Festival Orchestra and teaches in masterclasses worldwide.

He is in demand as a guest with orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Bavarian State Orchestra in Munich and the Super World Orchestra in Japan and has performed in concerts with the Camerata Salzburg for many years.

From 2002 to 2013, he was principal clarinettist of the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne, with whom he performed works by R. Strauss and W. A. Mozart as a soloist.

Since February 2014, he has been principal clarinet of the Staatskapelle Dresden.

In 2016, he released his debut CD with works for clarinet and piano by the composer Max Reger for MDG. A recording of the clarinet sonatas and trio by Johannes Brahms with Norbert Anger, cello, and his long-time piano partner Michael Schöch was also released in 2018.

Most recently, Robert Oberaigner recorded the first complete recording of the clarinet works of M. Weinberg (NAXOS) under the musical direction of Mikhail Jurowski.