Albrecht Mayer Author

Born in Erlangen on 3 June 1965 Albrecht Mayer is an internationally known oboist and conductor and has made numerous recordings for Deutsche Grammophon. His recordings have remained in the classical charts for many weeks at a time.

He took piano, recorder and singing lessons before he began playing the oboe at the age of ten. His teachers were Gerhard Scheuer, Georg Meerwein, Maurice Bourgue and Ingo Goritzki. While still in his teens, he was invited to work with various orchestras, among them the European Community Youth Orchestra. The recipient of several awards and grants, Mayer became principal oboe of the Bamberg Symphonic Orchestra in 1990, and joined the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra two years later in the same position.

Albrecht Mayer appears regularly as a concerto soloist and chamber musician and teaches in conjunction with major international festivals. He was awarded the ECHO-Klassik prize as 'Instrumentalist of the Year' in 2004 and 2010 and in the category of 'Music DVD Recording of the Year' in 2008. He was awarded the Opus Classic prize in 2018. He also founded his own Ensemble 'New Seasons'.

Heidi Friedrich, co-author, is a journalist and the author of numerous books. Her articles have appeared in Spiegel online, Zeit online, Welt am Sonntag, Berliner Zeitung among others. She has studied, lived and worked in London, Aix-en-Province, Dublin, Zurich and New York.