Rainer Zepperitz
Encyclopedia
Rainer Zepperitz was a German double bass
ist.
with his family, moving in 1940 to Düsseldorf
where he studied at the Robert Schumann Conservatory of Music. At age eighteen, he became a member of the Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra. Between 1949 and 1951 Rainer Zepperitz was soloist of the Bonn State Orchestra. In 1951 he became the youngest member of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
and since 1957 he was principal double bass player of the orchestra as successor of Linus Wilhelm. In 1954, he joined the chamber music
ensemble of the Berlin Philharmonic, which later changed its name to Philharmonisches Oktett. At the end of the fifties, he was named professor of the Berlin Hochschule für Musik. In 1977 he founded the chamber music ensemble Philharmonische Virtuosen obtaining great international renown.
He was a member of the presidency of such orchestra for over a decade. He also was a founding member of the Orchester-Akademie of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, where he also taught. Many of his students are members of the major orchestras the world over.
He retired from his professional activity with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and since the 2001-02 academic year
Rainer Zepperitz is Head Professor of the Double Bass Chair at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía
(Queen Sofía College of Music) in Madrid
. Professor Zepperitz had collaborated in the Spanish internet project Magister Musicae
where its possible to see his Master Classes conducted online.
Double bass
The double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
ist.
Background
In his childhood he first learned the violin before moving to the relocation of his family to Germany at the Dusseldorf Conservatory at Arthur Däwel and he learned the double bass . In 1937 he returned to GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
with his family, moving in 1940 to Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
where he studied at the Robert Schumann Conservatory of Music. At age eighteen, he became a member of the Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra. Between 1949 and 1951 Rainer Zepperitz was soloist of the Bonn State Orchestra. In 1951 he became the youngest member of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
The Berlin Philharmonic, German: , formerly Berliner Philharmonisches Orchester , is an orchestra based in Berlin, Germany. In 2006, a group of ten European media outlets voted the Berlin Philharmonic number three on a list of "top ten European Orchestras", after the Vienna Philharmonic and the...
and since 1957 he was principal double bass player of the orchestra as successor of Linus Wilhelm. In 1954, he joined the chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
ensemble of the Berlin Philharmonic, which later changed its name to Philharmonisches Oktett. At the end of the fifties, he was named professor of the Berlin Hochschule für Musik. In 1977 he founded the chamber music ensemble Philharmonische Virtuosen obtaining great international renown.
He was a member of the presidency of such orchestra for over a decade. He also was a founding member of the Orchester-Akademie of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, where he also taught. Many of his students are members of the major orchestras the world over.
He retired from his professional activity with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and since the 2001-02 academic year
Academic term
An academic term is a division of an academic year, the time during which a school, college or university holds classes. These divisions may be called terms...
Rainer Zepperitz is Head Professor of the Double Bass Chair at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía
Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía
The Queen Sofía College of Music is a private music college founded in Madrid, Spain, in 1991 by Paloma O'Shea...
(Queen Sofía College of Music) in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
. Professor Zepperitz had collaborated in the Spanish internet project Magister Musicae
Magister Musicae
Magister Musicae is an internet portal which hosts a digital catalogue of more than 3,000 hours of music classes, given by more than 200 of the world’s most renowned musicians.-Project:...
where its possible to see his Master Classes conducted online.