Nicolai Pfeffer

Born in Fulda, Pfeffer began playing the clarinet at the age of 12.[2][3] In 2004, he began clarinet studies at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln, where he was accepted into the master class of Ralph Manno.[4][2] In 2009, he passed the artistic matriculation exam, and two years later he completed his studies and was awarded a Master of Music "with distinction" in Solo and Chamber Music. Further education included a guest study at the Indiana University Bloomington in the US with Howard Klug,[2] as well as numerous other international master and chamber music courses, such as with Sabine Meyer, Sharon Kam, Anthony Spiri, Karl Leister, Alfred Prinz, Sir Alan Hacker, and Charles Neidich.[1][5][6]

Pfeffer has performed with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, the Oper Köln, the Radio-Sinfonie-Orchester Frankfurt, the Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, and the Bamberger Symphonikers. In the summer of 2018, he made his solo debut with Rossini's Clarinet Concerto in a specially produced Urtext edition with the La Scala Orchestra under Maestro Fabio Luisi. He has performed at Munich's Herkulessaal, the Berlin Philharmonie, the Gewandhaus, and the Kölner Philharmonie, and has appeared at numerous festivals in Europe, the United States, South America, and the Middle East.[1][5]

Pfeffer has notable collaborations as a soloist with the Florence Orchestra della Toscana and with Markus Stenz. Two CDs have resulted from joint concerts.

As a passionate chamber musician, Pfeffer regularly performs chamber concerts with prominent colleagues.[1][5]

Pfeffer devotes himself to a broad repertoire, primarily from the classical and romantic periods. Where possible, his performances are based on historical performance practice, using historical instruments or replicas.

Pfeffer is a lecturer for clarinet, partly also for didactics and methodology, among others at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln, the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover and the Hochschule für Künste Bremen.[5][4] Since October 2022, he holds a clarinet professorship at the Talent Music Master Courses University of Music in Brescia, mainly for the Artist Diploma and University Degree Programmes[1] He also gives national and international master classes and lectures on musicology. Furthermore, he is a juror for national and international clarinet competitions. Pfeffer's publications can be found in international journals such as "The Clarinet" and "Rohrblatt".[1]

Another area of Pfeffer's activity is the creation of new editions of chamber music and concertante clarinet works. The previous editions are regarded as reference editions in international comparison. These editions, as well as his own arrangements, have been published by G. Henle Verlag,[7] Breitkopf & Härtel and Edition Peters.[4] He and many other prominent colleagues have used these versions in their CD and radio productions. Pfeffer also makes special arrangements for prominent colleagues such as Ralph Manno, Jonathan Cohler, Andrew Marriner, Gabor Varga, Pavel Vinnitsky, Sérgio Fernandes Pires, Anette Maiburg, Sebastian Manz, Guido Schiefen, Sabine Meyer, Andreas Ottensamer, and the Signum Saxophone Quartet.[1][5][8]

In the 2019/2020 season, Pfeffer-crafted orchestrations of Italian opera fantasias were premiered by the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra, the Israel Chamber Orchestra, and the Israeli Raanana Symphonette. Further performances by other orchestras followed.[5]

Pfeffer assists Henle Verlag in publishing their clarinet repertoire, and also assists F. Arthur Uebel in the development and improvement of German-designed clarinets.

• Official website in English
• Deutschlandfunk Kultur, Interview from 23 November 2018: „Die Klarinette gehört zu meinem Leben wie Frühstück und Mittagessen“. Der Klarinettist Nicolai Pfeffer ["The clarinet belongs to my life like breakfast and lunch". The clarinettist Nicolai Pfeffer]
• "Der "hochvirtuose Bläser" Nicolai Pfeffer über seine Lieblingsmusik" [The "highly virtuoso wind player" Nicolai Pfeffer on his favourite music]. ARD Audiothek (in German). 3 October 2021. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
• Cech, Oliver (4 May 2021). "Im Gespräch: der Klarinettist Nicolai Pfeffer". Mediathek (in German). Retrieved 25 April 2022.