Rainer Zepperitz (August 25, 1930 - December 23, 2009) was a German

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...

ist.

Background

Zepperitz was born in Bandung (

Java Java (; id, Jawa, ; jv, ꦗꦮ; su, ) is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea to the north. With a population of 151.6 million people, Java is the world's mos ...

). In his childhood he first learned the violin before moving to the relocation of his family to Germany at the Düsseldorf Conservatory at Arthur Däwel and he learned the double bass . In 1937 he returned to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

with his family, moving in 1940 to

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second- ...

where he studied at the Robert Schumann Conservatory of Music. At age eighteen, he became a member of the Düsseldorf Symphony Orchestra. Between 1949 and 1951 Rainer Zepperitz was soloist of the Bonn State Orchestra. In 1951 he became the youngest member of the

Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. History The Berlin Philharmonic was f ...

and since 1957 he was principal double bass player of the orchestra as successor of Linus Wilhelm. In 1954, he joined the chamber music ensemble of the

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. History The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...

, which later changed its name to Philharmonisches Oktett. At the end of the fifties, he was named professor of the

Berlin Hochschule für Musik The Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK; also known in English as the Berlin University of the Arts), situated in Berlin, Germany, is the largest art school in Europe. It is a public art and design school, and one of the four research universiti ...

. In 1977 he founded the chamber music ensemble Philharmonische Virtuosen obtaining great international renown. He was a member of the presidency of such orchestra for over a decade. He also was a founding member of the Orchester-Akademie of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, where he also taught. Many of his students are members of the major orchestras the world over. He retired from his professional activity with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and from the 2001-02 academic year Rainer Zepperitz was Head Professor of the Double Bass Chair at the Escuela Superior de Música Reina Sofía (Queen Sofía College of Music) in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

. Professor Zepperitz collaborated in the Spanish internet project Magister Musicae where it is possible to see his Master Classes conducted online. He died in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

External links

Magister Musicae
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zepperitz, Rainer 1930 births 2009 deaths Academic staff of the Reina Sofía School of Music German double-bassists Male double-bassists German music educators People from Bandung Players of the Berlin Philharmonic Musicians from West Java 20th-century German musicians 20th-century double-bassists 20th-century German male musicians