Georg Faust
1st Principal cello

Georg Faust
Born 1956 in Porz (Cologne)
1st Principal cello
Member since 10.10.1985

»Working in an orchestra is an enthralling type of teamwork which no other profession offers in this form and intensity. The give-and-take occurs on a number of levels simultaneously: emotional, mental and spiritual.«

Georg Faust chose the cello because the instrument’s sound made him happy. At the age of 13 he began studying it with Siegfried Palm at the Cologne Musikhochschule. Later he completed his training with Enrico Mainardi and Gregor Piatigorsky. Rudolf Serkin invited him several times to his summer festival in Vermont. Before Georg Faust joined the Berliner Philharmoniker, he served as principal cellist of the Hamburg State Opera Orchestra (1980-83) and Hamburg Radio (NDR) Symphony Orchestra (1983-85). He appears regularly as a soloist – under such conductors as Claudio Abbado, Daniel Barenboim, Bernard Haitink and Sir Simon Rattle – and as a chamber player – including collaborations with such renowned instrumentalists as Emanuel Ax, Yefim Bronfman, Leif Ove Andsnes and Sarah Chang. Since 1990 he has been artistic director of the »12 Cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic« as well as founding member of the Berlin Baroque Soloists and Schoenberg Trio. His recordings for EMI and Deutsche Grammophon have been awarded the Grand Prix du Disque and Echo Klassik prize in 2001-03 and 2005. As a teacher, Georg Faust gives master classes at the Carl Flesch Academy and in the Berliner Philharmoniker’s Orchestra Academy and education projects. His other interests include literature, film, theatre, philosophy and photography, and he especially enjoys travelling with his two children Niklas and Magdalena.