Peter Damm (born 27 July 1937,

Meiningen Meiningen () is a town in the southern part of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in the region of Franconia and has a population of around 25,000 (2021).

Thüringen Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and larg ...

) is a German

horn Horn most often refers to: *Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound ** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...

player. He began his musical education aged eleven, on the violin, and started playing the horn in 1951 and graduated from the

Franz Liszt Academy The Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music ( hu, Liszt Ferenc Zeneművészeti Egyetem, often abbreviated as ''Zeneakadémia'', "Liszt Academy") is a music university and a concert hall in Budapest, Hungary, founded on November 14, 1875. It is home to the ...

in 1957. In 1959 he was appointed as principal horn of the

Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra (Gewandhausorchester; also previously known in German as the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig) is a German symphony orchestra based in Leipzig, Germany. The orchestra is named after the concert hall in which it is bas ...

, and from 1969 to 2002 he was principal horn at the

Dresden Staatskapelle The Staatskapelle Dresden (known formally as the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden) is a German orchestra based in Dresden, the capital of Saxony. Founded in 1548 by Maurice, Elector of Saxony, it is one of the world's oldest and most highly re ...

. On his retiring, the orchestra made him an honorary member. He is professor of horn at the

Carl Maria von Weber Carl Maria Friedrich Ernst von Weber (18 or 19 November 17865 June 1826) was a German composer, conductor, virtuoso pianist, guitarist, and critic who was one of the first significant composers of the Romantic era. Best known for his opera ...

music conservatoire (Hochschule für Musik) in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

. He was awarded the title "Kammermusiker" in 1969, and "Kammervirtuose" in 1971. His professional career saw him touring extensively in Europe, as well as Japan and North America. He has also given many masterclasses and seminars. Peter Damm performed the Richard Strauss Hornkonzert Op.11 over 150 times. Since 1986, Peter Damm has been president of the International Competition for Wind Instruments in Markneukirchen. He is an honorary member of the

International Horn Society The International Horn Society (IHS) is an international organization dedicated to players of the Brass instrument, horn founded in June 1970 with a goal to promote horn playing, education and fellowship. A community of over 3500 members from 55 ...

. Damm has been described as "legendary"British Horn Society
– he is known for both his exceptional abilities as a player, and for his editions of many of the standard works in the horn repertoire, published by Breitkopf. In particular, his recordings of Strauss with the Staatskapelle Dresden are still in demand.

References

Official website

at the

1937 births Living people German classical horn players Artists from Meiningen Academic staff of the Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber Recipients of the Art Prize of the German Democratic Republic {{Brass-musician-stub