Czech Chamber Music Society • Dresden Chamber Soloists

The Dresden Chamber Soloists are a chamber formation whose predominantly young members hold solo positions in one of the oldest, most traditional and most sought-after orchestras in the world: the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden. As an exquisite and musically highly motivated ensemble, they bring their famous sound to the chamber music stage. With classical repertoire and their own arrangements, the musicians have made it their mission to play works in smaller ensembles at an extraordinary level and to make the exemplary sound of the “Saxon Miracle Harp” accessible to classical audiences in special formats, including works by contemporary composers. Through selected performance locations with architectural and scenic appeal, they manage to appeal to, inspire and excite a wide audience, even in rural areas.

Since its founding in 2019, the still young chamber ensemble has performer in numerous concert halls, such as the Semperoper, the Dresden Zwinger, the Leipzig Gewandhaus and at the “Sandstein and Music” festival. In May 2023, the musicians made a guest appearance in Ukraine on their own initiative and gave concerts there for peace and hope, which earned them the highest respect and recognition, even from the State Minister for Culture and Media of the Federal Republic of Germany Claudia Roth and the Federal President of the Federal Republic of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who invited this formation to Bellevue Palace in Berlin. In a very short space of time, the musicians have already produced two artistically ambitious, successful and highly acclaimed CDs with a wide variety of works by composers such as Mieczysław Weinberg, Ludwig van Beethoven and the contemporary Italian composer Simone Fontanelli, who composed and arranged works explicitly for the Dresden Chamber Soloists.

In the near future, the musicians will perform at festivals in Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Korea, Japan, again in the Ukraine, in Germany and will premiere a bass version of the Wesendonck songs in Graupa in the “Lohengrin” house together with bassist Georg Zeppenfeld and therefore
perform worldwide. 

Robert Oberaigner, principal clarinettist of the Staatskapelle Dresden, has made his reputation as one of the most distinctive performers of his generation. With his focus primarily on contemporary music and historically informed interpretation, he is invited regularly to renowned international festivals (BBC Proms, Lucerne Festival, Salzburg Easter Festival) and famous concert halls (Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Cologne Philharmonic Hall, Vienna Musikverein, Salzburg Mozarteum etc.).

He also appears in a variety of chamber ensembles with such outstanding musicians as Myung-Whun Chung, Leonidas Kavakos, Nils Mönkemeyer, Christian Gerhaher, and Sol Gabetta. In the field of historically informed interpretation, he collaborates frequently with such renowned ensembles as Concerto Köln, the Dresden Festival Orchestra, and Cappella Coloniensis; he has also appeared as a soloist with the Gürzenich Orchestra in Cologne and the Staatskapelle Dresden. 

With members of that orchestra, he initiated the project “kapelle 21”, the chief goal of which is performing, demonstrating, and interpreting music of the 20th and 21st centuries. As part of that concert series, Oberaigner has already premiered a clarinet concerto dedicated to him by the Italian composer Simone Fontanelli. In 2018 he even made his own debut as a composer in Tokyo, performing his first opus, Tränen der Colombina.

With the pianist Michael Schöch, he makes recordings for the German label Dabringhaus & Grimm. Together they have released the complete works for clarinet and piano by Max Reger and the sonatas of Johannes Brahms. On the Naxos label, he has also recorded works for clarinet by the Polish composer Mieczysław Weinberg in collaboration with the conductor Michail Jurowski.

Robert Oberaigner was born in Hall in Tyrol, Austria. He studied at the Tyrol State Conservatoire under Max Bauer and later at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst in Vienna under Horst Hájek and Johann Hindler. He expanded his awareness of historically informed interpretation under Eric Hoprich at The Hague, and he completed his studies at the University of Music in Lübeck under Sabine Meyer. From 2003 until 2014 he was the principal clarinettist of the Gürzenich Orchestra in Cologne, and he made guest appearances with the Berlin Philharmonic and the Vienna Philharmonic. Besides performing, he also leads masterclasses in Milan, Beijing, and South Tyrol.

One of the most inspiring young Czech conductors, since the beginning of the 2024/2025 season Petr Popelka has been music director of the Wiener Symphoniker. Previously holding the post of principal conductor of the Norwegian Radio Orchestra, he continues to be music director of the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra. 

Petr Popelka started his artistic career as a double-bassist. Following his studies in Prague and Freiburg, he was engaged at the Staatskapelle Dresden, where he would serve as deputy solo double-bassist for almost a decade. While still a student, he developed a keen interest in conducting, and also composed music. In addition to taking private lessons, he closely observed conductors in action. “Every day with the orchestra was actually like a small masterclass for me,” Popelka said. In 2016, he arrived at the decision to learn conducting in earnest, and duly began studying with Vladimir Kiradjiev, and attending classes led by Alan Gilbert and others. Soon after receiving the Neeme Järvi Prize at the Gstaad Conducting Academy, he was named assistant to Gilbert, chief conductor of the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester. 

Besides giving concerts, he has conducted opera productions, including at the Norwegian National Opera in Oslo, the Semperoper in Dresden and the National Theatre in Prague. Petr Popelka also continues to play the double-bass, and occasionally the piano, so he can be heard on stage from time to time as a chamber player.