Knut Weber

»My most important and perhaps most satisfying experience in this orchestra was the realization that each individual is expected to be able to take musical responsibility for him- or herself. This sense of responsibility is quickly transmitted to every new member and thus comes to characterize the orchestra as a whole, in musical as well as other matters of mutual concern.«

A friend of his older sister played the cello. Knut Weber, then exactly five years old, was especially taken with the low strings and knew at once: »That’s my instrument!« He’d already been searching for a suitable one and, in any event, wanted to learn an instrument where you didn’t have to stand while playing. The cello seemed absolutely ideal. He received his first musical training from the Slovenian cellist Milos Mlejnik. Later he studied in Cologne with the Alban Berg Quartet and Claus Kanngiesser as well as with Wolfgang Boettcher in Berlin, where in 2002 he passed his concert exam with distinction. Further significant encouragement came from Heinrich Schiff, Frans Helmerson, David Geringas, Siegfried Palm and the Beaux Arts Trio.

Knut Weber, winner of numerous competitions, was a scholarship holder and principal cellist of the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra and later a founding member of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra before joining the Berliner Philharmoniker at the age of 23. In addition to his orchestral activities, the cellist also performs as a soloist, including with the Kammerorchester Wien-Berlin, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra and the Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra. Chamber music is also a focal point of his musical activities. He has partnered Nelson Freire, Mitsuko Uchida and many of his orchestra’s soloists such as Daishin Kashimoto, Noah Bendix-Balgley, Emmanuel Pahud and Andreas Ottensammer. As a member of the 12 Cellists of the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Stradivari Soloists and the Philharmonic Piano Quartet Berlin, Knut Weber performs regularly in Europe, Asia and the USA. He also enjoys working with youth orchestras as a teacher and soloist.

From 2015 to 2022, Knut Weber had also been active as an orchestra and foundation board member for the Berliner Philharmoniker. He is co-founder of the “Bronislaw Huberman Forum” and member of the artistic advisory board of the Istanbul Music Festival. His greatest extra-musical interest is his family. In addition, he enjoys sporting activities, and since the beginning of the Corona period he often takes his dog to the forest outside Berlin or to one of the lakes in Brandenburg.

Knut Weber plays on a cello by David Tecchler from 1730.