Henrik Wiese & Natalie Schwaabe | Masterclass Flute & Piccolo

Flautist Henrik Wiese is descended from a merchant family from the city of Hamburg, but he was born in Vienna in 1971. He received his musical education from Ingrid Koch-Dörnbrak and Paul Meisen. Henrik Wiese won prizes in several competitions, including the German National Music Competition (1995) and international competitions in Kobe, Japan (1997), Markneukirchen, Germany (1998), Odense, Denmark (1998), and Munich, Germany (2000).

From 1995 to 2006, he was principal flautist at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich (chief conductor Zubin Mehta). Since 2006, Henrik Wiese has been principal flautist at the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra (chief conductor Mariss Jansons).

Henrik Wiese is a synaesthete; for example, he hears colours. This rare natural gift is an important source of musical inspiration for him. He has performed flute concertos not only with the Bavarian State Opera Orchestra and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra but also with the Radio Symphony Orchestra Berlin, the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra Hannover, the Polish Chamber Philharmonic, the Prague Chamber Orchestra, and the Munich Chamber Orchestra. In addition to the modern Boehm flute, Henrik Wiese also plays the baroque traverso flute.

Henrik Wiese taught at the Mozarteum Salzburg and at several German music universities, including those in Hamburg, Leipzig, and Bremen, for many years, most recently as a professor.
 

Find out more about Henrik Wiese.

© Thomas Schloemann

The Tokyo-born piccolo and flute player Natalie Schwaabe grew up in Hong Kong, where she began her musical training. After completing her secondary education at the Purcell School in London, she obtained her artistic diploma and a master’s degree while studying with Professor Paul Meisen at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich.

At the age of 21, she became principal flute of the Munich Symphony Orchestra. Five years later, she joined the prestigious Symphony Orchestra of Bavarian Radio. In 1998, she was a prizewinner at the 1st International Carl Nielsen Flute Competition in Odense, Denmark.

In addition to her orchestral work, Natalie Schwaabe regularly performs as a soloist, having appeared with the Nürnberger Symphoniker and the Stuttgarter Chamber Orchestra. She has a particular passion for chamber music, with a special focus on repertoire for piccolo. In 2017, she released her first solo CD, Piccoloworks, together with pianist Jan Philip Schulze.

Teaching is a vital part of her musical life. She is a member of the International Piccolo Flute Academy, gives numerous piccolo masterclasses worldwide, and holds the piccolo teaching position at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich. In 2021, she founded the non-profit association Pro Piccolo e.V., which aims to promote this unique instrument through projects such as commissioning new compositions, organising masterclasses, working closely with piccolo makers, and striving to establish an international piccolo competition.

Find out more about Natalie Schwaabe.