Reto Bieri

Reto Bieri is without doubt one of the most promising clarinettists of his generation. His recently released debut CD "Portrait" (Pan Classics) documents this most convincingly. Bieri can be heard in works by Copland, Bernstein, Carter and Benny Goodman, accompanied by the Prague Chamber Orchestra and the pianist Riccardo Bovino.

"Here is a master of his instrument at work ... the most delicate pasteltones, oscillating changes between light and shade, between advance and retreat ... Every imaginable color of tone seems to be at Reto Bieri's disposal."
Musik & Theater, April 2002

Born in Zug, Switzerland in 1975, Reto Bieri grew up listening to Swiss folk music before discovering the classical music. He studied the clarinet with Francois Benda in Basel, and at the Juilliard School in New York with Charles Neidich. But his most marking experience were the chamber music lessons given by composer György Kurtag and pianist Krystian Zimerman in Basel. In 2001 he won the International Rostrum for Young Performers, a contest organized by the European broadcasting coporations together with the UNESCO. Since then he has been invited to play all over the world, as soloist and chamber musician. He plays with various orchestras, such as the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra (Moscow Radio), the Prague Chamber Orchestra, Zurich Chamber Orchestra, Hungarian Philharmonic, Tibor Varga Festival Orchestra, the Basel Symphony Orchestra, the Basel Chamber Orchestra, Kremerata Baltica, Camerata Schweiz, Orchestra Pablo Sarasate Pamplon, with conducors such as Vladimir Fedoseyev, Kurt Masur, Roger Norrington, Tibor Varga and Howard Griffiths.

Reto Bieri works closely together with violonist Patricia Kopatchinskaja, cellist Sol Gabetta, Pianists Mihaela Ursuleasa, Riccardo Bovino and Henri Sigfridsson, the Quatuor Casal (Zürich) and the Tecchler Trio (Zürich). He also plays chamber music with such partners as Gidon Kremer, Heinz Holliger, Jacques Zoon, Dénes Varjon, Gautier Capuçon, Raphael Oleg, Carolin Widmann, Gérard Wyss, Peter Sadlo, with the following quartets: Carmina (Zürich), Casals (Barcelona), Johannes (Lyon), Petersen (Berlin), as well as with the Basler Steichquartett and the Altenberg Trio (Vienna).

Beside the "normal" repertoire of his instrument, Reto Bieri particularly enjoys incursions into New Music. He has studied various works with such eminent composers as Elliott Carter, Millton Babbitt, György Kurtag, Franco Donatoni, Jürg Wyttenbach, Thomas Larchner, Otto Zykan and many others, and makes time to regularily collaborate with younger composers as well.

Reto Bieri has been a regular guest at various festivals, such as the "Young Artist in Concert" in Davos, the Lucerne Festival, the New York FOCUS Festival, Bratislava Music Festival, the International Chamber Music Festival in Leipzig, Gidon Kremer's "les muséiques" in Basel, the Boswiler Sommer, Eckelshausen Musiktage, Malaga Festival, Salzburg Aspekte Festival, and upon recommendation of concuctor Herbert Blomstedt, International ORPHEUM Music Festival in Zurich.

Reto Bieri has already recorded three CDs: a "Portrait" for Pan Classics where he plays Copland, Bernstein, Carter and Goodman with the Prague Chamber Orchestra, a Recital CD for Claves where he plays Music by Schubert with Pianist Gérard Wyss.