Viola
Biographie
Jürg Dähler, born in Zurich, he studied violin with Sándor Végh and Heribert Lauer, and viola with Christoph Schiller and Fjodor Druschinin. He continued his studies with Pinchas Zukerman and Kim Kashkashian. After his debut at the Tonhalle Zurich with the world premiere of Daniel Schnyder's viola concerto dedicated to him, Jürg Dähler has been a guest performer with many renowned orchestras under conductors such as Giorgio Bernasconi, Douglas Boyd, Friedrich Cerha, Thierry Fischer, Beat Furrer, Reinhard Goebel, Heinz Holliger, Brenton Langbein, Petri Sakari, Stefan Sanderling, Heinrich Schiff, Jac van Steen, Marcello Viotti and Thomas Zehetmair. Concert tours as a soloist and sought-after chamber musician have taken him to Australia, the USA and throughout Europe, with performances at Wigmore Hall in London, the Salzburg Festival and the Vienna Festival, the City of London Festival, the Lucerne Festival, the Venice Biennale and the Montreux Jazz Festival, among others. From 1984 to 2000, he was a member and first violinist of the legendary Zurich Chamber Musicians. In 1993, he was one of the co-founders of the Collegium Novum Zurich. From 1995 to 2008, he was artistic director of the Kultur Herbst Bündner Herrschaft festival. Since 1993, he has been principal violist in the Musikkollegium Winterthur orchestra and a member of the Winterthur String Quartet. In 1999, he co-founded Swiss Chamber Concerts and has held the same position at the Pfingstfestival Schloss Brunegg since 2015.
Around 30 CD productions on labels such as ECM, NEOS, Accord, Cantando, Claves, GENUIN, Grammont and Jecklin testify to his wide-ranging work in early music, classical music, modern music and jazz. He has premiered countless solo and chamber music works, many of which are dedicated to him. He has worked with composers such as Harrison Birtwistle, William Blank, Ursina Maria Braun, Charles Bodman-Rae, Friedrich Cerha, Wilfried Maria Danner, Xavier Dayer, Fjodor Druschinin, Richard Dubugnon, Pascal Dusapin, Beat Furrer, Eric Gaudibert, Stefano Gervasoni, Hermann Haller, David Philip Hefti, Hans Werner Henze, Heinz Holliger, Christian Jost, Mischa Käser, Rudolf Kelterborn, Gerd Kühr, Hans Ulrich Lehmann, György Ligeti, Roland Moser, Arvo Pärt, John Polglase, Daniel Schnyder, Nadir Vassena, Jürg Wyttenbach and Alfred Zimmerlin. He teaches violin, viola and chamber music at Kalaidos University and gives masterclasses at many renowned educational institutions such as the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and the National Academy of Music in Melbourne.
In 2007, he received an Executive Master of Arts Administration (EMAA) with summa cum laude honours from the Faculty of Arts and Economics at the University of Zurich. In 2008, he was awarded the Zolliker Culture Prize for his artistic work and services to Swiss culture. In 2020, he received the Swiss Music Prize for his many years of commitment to Swiss Chamber Concerts. He plays a violin by Antonio Stradivarius (Cremona 1714) and a viola by Raffaele Fiorini (Bologna 1893).
Alben
Jürg Dähler · Viola Concertos / Signatures of Life – LIVE!
Happy Birthday, Elliott Carter!
Johann Sebastian Bach: Goldberg-Variationen (Version für Streichtrio)
