Jürg Dähler

Artist photo of Jürg Dähler - violin, viola

Born in Zurich, Jürg Dähler completed his violin and viola studies at the Musikhochschule Zurich with the highest honors. Numerous prizes and scholarships enabled further studies with Sándor Végh, Pinchas Zukerman, Kim Kashkashian, and Fyodor Druzhinin. These were followed by influential meetings with artists such as Brenton Langbein, Heinz Holliger, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, and György Ligeti.

He gave his debut at the Tonhalle Zurich with Paul Sacher’s Collegium Musicum, premiering Daniel Schnyder’s viola concerto, which was dedicated to him. Since then he has performed as a soloist with conductors including Giorgio Bernasconi, Douglas Boyd, Friedrich Cerha, Beat Furrer, Heinz Holliger, Brenton Langbein, Petri Sakari, Stefan Sanderling, Heinrich Schiff, Jac van Stehen, and Marcello Viotti.

His multi-faceted artistic activities ranging from the classical repertory to contemporary music and jazz include first performances of viola concertos as well as solo and chamber music works—many written for and dedicated to him—by such composers as Harrison Birtwistle, Charles Bodman-Rae, Friedrich Cerha, Wilfried Danner, Fjodor Drushinin, Richard Dubugnon, Pascal Dusapin, Beat Furrer, Eric Gaudibert, Hermann Haller, Hans Werner Henze, Heinz Holliger, Christian Jost, Mische Käser, Rudolf Kelterborn, Gerd Kür, Hans Ulrich Lehmann, György Ligeti, John Polglase, Arvo Pärt, Daniel Schnyder, Nadir Vassena, and Alfred Zimmerlin.

As both a soloist and leading member of the Swiss Chamber Soloists, he regularly appears at major concert halls and music festivals including the Salzburger Festspiele, Konzerthaus Wien, Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia di Roma, Biennale di Venezia, Lucerne Festival, and Montreux Jazz Festival, and tours throughout Europe, the United States, South America, and Australia.

From 1997 to 2008 he was Artistic Director of the Festival Kultur-Herbst Bündner Herrschaft, and has served in the same capacity with the Pfingstfestival Schloss Brunegg since 2014. Dähler is also a founding member of the Collegium Novum Zürich (1993) as well as the Swiss Chamber Concerts (1999), for which he has served as Managing and Artistic Director since its inception. He was appointed principal violist of the Musikkollegium Winterthur and violist of the Winterthurer Streichquartett in 1993, with which he is still active today. Dähler has received considerable international acclaim for his multiple CD productions.

He teaches violin and viola at Kalaidos University, Switzerland and has held master classes at many renowned institutions, including the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and Melbourne National Academy. In 2007 he graduated summa cum laude from the philosophy and business departments of the University of Zurich with the academic title Executive Master in Arts Administration (MAS/EMAA).

In 2008 Dähler was awarded the Zolliker Kunstpreis for his multiple artistic activities and services to the cultural life of Switzerland. He plays a violin by Antonio Stradivarius, Cremona (1714) and a viola by Raffaele Fiorini, Bologna (1893).

Picture: Rainer Suck


The artist's homepage:

linkhttp://www.swisschamberconcerts.ch

CDs released by GENUIN

with Jürg Dähler