Biography

Matthias Kläger was born in Rastatt in 1965, began studying guitar in Freiburg in 1984 under Prof. Sonja Prunnbauer and Ihsan Turnagöl and received there, after having a degree in arts, the soloist diploma with distinction (1994). As part of a scholarship he studied between 1990-91 under Alberto Ponce in Paris and attended master classes under many distinguished performers.
He is laureate of international competitions; thus he won guitar competitions in Freiburg (1987), Mettmann (1989) and Bonn (German Music Competition 1992) and was finalist of the Concours International of Radio France in Paris (1991). In guitar duo with Pia Grees he was awarded with the 2. prize at the duo competition in Montélimar, 1993 with the sponsorship prize of the European economy and 1994 with a scholarship of the Kunststiftung Baden-Württemberg. In this duo, soloistic (“Musik aus Renaissance und Moderne”) as well as with tenor Hans Jörg Mammel and the “Take Four Guitar Quartet” highly acclaimed CDs were released (lastly “Tango Perpetuel” 2005/12 and 2013/14 “Orient Express”). The release of his current solo-recording of Bach’s three violin sonatas in his own transcription for guitar came out in fall 2011.
Matthias Kläger has been supported by the Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes and accepted as a scholar of the German Music Competition in the national selection “Konzerte Junger Künstler”. Since then he regularly gives concerts as a soloist and in miscellaneous chamber music formations both nationally and internationally, at present mainly with his Bach program, in the “Guitarra a Seis” sextet and the “Duo Misteriosa Vida”.
1997-2011 he lead a major class for artistic and pedagogic training for the subject guitar at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich. 2012/13 he supervised a guitar class as a substitute for Prof. Jürgen Ruck at the Musikhochschule Würzburg. Furthermore he is a lecturer of multiple seminars, juror, among others, for the national and statewide competition “Jugend Musiziert”, organizer of festivals and workshops and is active in the Bundesmusikleitung des Bundes Deutscher Zupfmusiker.
Currently he is active as a teacher and subject coordinator for guitar at the MKZ Musikschule Konservatorium Zürich and since 2014 a lecturer for guitar at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg i.Br.
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