Thomas Kaufmann

Thomas Kaufmann, Cello

When and how did your path cross with CAMERATA BERN?
My first contact with CAMERATA BERN was through an e-mail from our former manager Louis Dupras asking if I could play a tour in summer 2011. After a lot of back and forth I unfortunately had to turn it down because of a change in dates. A little more than a year later I received another invitation from Louis. This time I was able to come, and I travelled to Bern for the first time in my life in summer 2012. I remember well how warmly I was welcomed, the familiar, friendly, open atmosphere. I immediately felt a special connection with Martin Merker. I took a swim in the Aare. I had met Käthi Steuri shortly beforehand at a project in Lucerne and Ankara and with her, as well, it felt like we had been playing together for many years. A sense of closeness. I also remember the always amiable smile of Miša Stefanović, who was concertmaster back then. Only later did I come to realise that most of the ensemble members were not present at that project. I met the rest in autumn 2012, when I started to come to Bern on a regular basis.

What makes your instrument unique?
Its unpredictability. At times my lover, at times a part of me, at times repulsive, at times my comfort…

When was the last time you forgot to bring music to a concert?
This has actually never happened to me. But I did often have dreams (nightmares?) about this happening in my student years.

 

About Thomas Kaufmann
Thomas Kaufmann was born in Graz and grew up in East Styria. Music has been in his life from early on; traditional music was played at home. Thomas Kaufmann studied violoncello in Graz, Vienna and Berlin. His most important teachers were Eberhard Feltz, Heinrich Schiff and Gerhard Gotz. In 2008 he became part of the Trio Image and spent more than a decade working intensively on piano trio literature. In 2013 he became a fixed member of CAMERATA BERN, whose repertoire stretches from the Renaissance to contemporary music. Thomas Kaufmann feels particularly connected to Italian baroque music and to the works of Franz Schubert and Maurice Ravel. He currently lives in Berlin.