Michael Sieg

Michael Sieg’s musical training began in his hometown of Baden-Baden, where he studied with Helmut Koch, former English hornist of the SWR Symphony Orchestra. He later studied at the Freiburg University of Music with professors Hans Elhorst and Heinz Holliger.

During his studies Michael Sieg was a member of the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie. His first engagement, as solo English hornist with the Bergen Symphony Orchestra, brought him to Norway, and he has been living and working in Frankfurt am Main since 1987 as oboist and English hornist with the hr Symphony Orchestra, Frankfurt.

He has often appeared with this orchestra as a soloist, performing the English horn concertos of Reicha and Donizetti. Sieg has also made guest appearances as solo oboist with many leading orchestras, including the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Tonhalle Orchestra Zürich, WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, SWR Symphony Orchestra, Munich Chamber Orchestra, and Württemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn.

As a chamber musician, Michael Sieg has won prizes at several international competitions, and on behalf of the Goethe Institute he has made several concert tours to South Korea, Scandinavia, and the Middle East.

He gained extensive experience as an interpreter of new music during his long-time partnership with the Ensemble Modern; noteworthy recordings include Heinz Holliger’s Scardanelli Cycle in collaboration with Pierre Boulez and the Ensemble Modern Orchestra.

Bruno Maderna’s double concertos for flute and oboe with Michael Sieg, Thaddeus Watson, and the hr Symphony Orchestra were released in 2010, a recording that won the Supersonic Award 03/2011.

Michael Sieg is a founding member of the hr Symphony Orchestra’s Antares Ensemble, consisting mainly of woodwinds, which has won acclaim for its performances at the Rheingau Music Festival, Niedersächsische Musiktage, and Mozart Festival Würzburg. In 2006 this collaboration bore fruit in the CD Fledermaus trifft Unterwelt, featuring arrangements for Harmoniemusik.

As a soloist and chamber musician, Michael Sieg has often performed with well-known musicians, including Albrecht Mayer, Reinhold Friedrich, and Sebastian Wittiber.

Since 2010 he has taught English horn at the music universities in Cologne (2010–2015) and Detmold.