On September 1st, 2023, I ended my official duties with the Berlin Philharmonic.
I have had the honor of being a member of this great artistic community since 1984. My audition in January 1984 was the last one at which Herbert von Karajan was personally present. I was allowed to work with him as chief conductor for another five years.

Then I experienced the two full terms of office of his successors Claudio Abbado (1990-2002) and Sir Simon Rattle (2002-2018). With Kirill Petrenko, who is the artistic director of the Philharmonic since 2019, I have worked with four of the seven chief conductors since the orchestra was founded in 1882.

The list of the guest conductors and soloists that I was able to experience during this time, the names of all the great colleagues with whom I worked in the orchestra, is unfortunately too long for this message.

Special thanks go to all members of the flute section over these four decades! It was always a pleasure to make music with them, especially since I was able to perform in all chairs from principle flute to principle piccolo.

A highlight of my philharmonic activities was the period from 1988 to 2019 when I played with Andreas Wittmann, Walter Seyfarth, Fergus McWilliam and Hennig Trog (until 2010) and Marion Reinhard (2010 – 2019) in the Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet. Countless concerts and tours throughout the world, more than 20 CD recordings are an unforgettable treasure trove of memories.

I am particularly pleased that I can continue to be available to the orchestra for some projects until my successor is decided.