Informations
Facts
Born in Düsseldorf, Germany
Member since 01.04.1989
Biography
Christoph Igelbrink was already playing the piano at the age of three and began learning the cello when he was eleven in order to fill out a family string quartet. Inspired by rapid successes in the Jugend musiziert competitions, by the fun he had playing in diverse youth orchestras and from reading biographies of great cellists, he soon realized he wanted to become a professional cellist. At 16 he entered Düsseldorf’s Robert Schumann Hochschule as a pupil of Wolfgang Mehlhorn, later studying at the Hamburg Musikhochschule and attending master classes with Antonio Janigro and Paul Tortelier. After completing his studies he was engaged in 1986 by the Hamburg Philharmonic (Philharmonische Staatsorchester).
Since 1989 he has been a member of not only the Berliner Philharmoniker but the 12 Cellists as well, and he also plays in the Athenaeum Quartet, the Philharmonic Piano Trio of Berlin and the Philharmonic Octet. His free time is devoted to his wife and three daughters, to the house and garden, and cycling. A tense football match can often distract him from such domestic hobbies as reading or playing the piano.
Awards
Winner of several prizes at national and international competitions
Ensembles of the Berliner Philharmoniker
The 12 Cellists of the Berliner Philharmoniker
Philharmonic Octett
