Herwig Tachezi

Born in 1963 into a family of musicians, he took his first cello lessons with his uncle, the cellist Wilfried Tachezi, when he was seven years old. Later he studied with Tobias Kühne at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. He finished his studies gaining his diploma with distinction.

At the same time he got the prize of appreciation from the Austrian Ministry of Science and Art. In 1985 he became solo cellist of the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, which he left in 1991 to devote most of his time to chamber music. In 1984 he joined Nikolaus Harnoncourt´s emsemble »Concentus Musicus Wien«, where he is solo cellist until today. Lately Tachezi has dedicated himself mainly to playing duo. His constant partner is the German pianist Iwan König, with whom in the last two years he has repeatedly performed Beethoven´s complete works for piano and cello. A CD recording of this cycle is in preparation at the moment. Together with his father, the harpsichordist and organist Herbert Tachezi, he mainly performs the baroque cello repertoire, repeatedly including Bach´s viola da gamba sonatas.

He has performed with players like the violinists Benjamin Schmidt, Annette Bik, Christian Altenburger, Erich Höbarth, Ernst Kovacic, Patricia Kopatchinskaja and the pianists Chia Chou, Konstantin Lifschitz and Robert Levin. In the last years Tachezi has appeared as chamber musician at numerous music festivals, among others the Hong Kong Arts Festival, Forum Moscow, Musical Summer Ostfriesland, Styriarte Graz, Salzburg Festival, International Mozart Week Salzburg, Schubertiade Feldkirch and the Rüttihubeliade (Switzerland). Besides the baroque and romantic repertoire Tachezi dedicates himself also to contemporary music.

He has been invited from the ensemble »Klangforum Wien« to participate in many special chamber music projects, performing as their soloist at the Salzburg Festival, the Guggenheim Museum in New York and other occasions. He has been dedicated a sonata for cello solo by composer Georg Heike (Cologne), which he has also recorded on CD.

For seven years Tachezi was teaching historical performance practice for cellists at the University of Music Mozarteum Salzburg. In 1999 he was appointed professor at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. In addition Tachezi regularly presents discussion and workshop concerts on different topics and also teaches at courses and seminars.