Benedict Kloeckner, born in 1989, has won numerous competitions and awards, most recently the OPUS Klassik 2021.
He is one of the outstanding artists of his generation. He performs worldwide as a soloist with renowned orchestras such as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra London, the Deutsche Radiophilharmonie, the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, the NDR Radiophilharmonie, the MDR-Sinfonieorchester, the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie, the Kremerata Baltica, the Camerata Oslo and the Münchner Kammerorchester and works with renowned conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Christoph Eschenbach, Ingo Metzmacher, Michael Sanderling, Clemens Schuldt, Heinrich Schiff and Sir Simon Rattle.
He has performed in concert halls such as the Berlin Philharmonie, Carnegie Hall New York, Kennedy Center Washington, Symphony Hall Chicago, Arts Center Seoul, Suntory Hall Tokyo, Musikverein Vienna, Gewandhaus Leipzig, Tonhalle Zurich, Gasteig in Munich, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Rudolfinum Prague, Athenaeum Bucharest and Barbican, Cadogan and Wigmore Hall London.
In the 2022/2023 season, he performed all 6 Bach Suites at the Berlin Philharmonie and the Alte Oper Frankfurt. In the 2022/2023 season he will be back at the Berlin Philharmonie, both in recital with Anna Fedorova and as soloist in Dvorak’s Cello Concerto with the Portuguese National Orchestra.
He also performs again at the Kennedy Center Washington, this time a world premiere of a new cello concerto by José Elizondo, and makes his debut at the Philharmonie Paris, as well as the Kölner Philharmonie.
He also performs with the Romanian Chamber Orchestra conducted by Cristian Macelaru, the Orchestre Dijon Bourgogne conducted by Joseph Bastian, the Filarmonica di Teatro communale di Modena conducted by Henrik Nanasi, the Georgian Chamber Orchestra conducted by Daniel Raiskin, the Panamerican Symphony Orchestra, the Brasov Philharmonic Orchestra, and has toured Japan and South Africa. There he will give the premiere of a new cello concerto by Bongani Ndodana-Breen together with the Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestra, among others.
Benedict Kloeckner is a welcome guest at festivals all over the world. His chamber music partners have included Emanuel Ax, Lisa Batiashvili, Yuri Bashmet, Christoph Eschenbach, Vilde Frang, Gidon Kremer, Anne Sophie Mutter and Sir András Schiff.
Benedict Kloeckner regularly collaborates with the great contemporary composers of our time. In 2018 he performed the world premiere of Wolfgang Rihm’s Double Concerto for 2 cellos and strings.
At the Seoul Arts Center, he premiered Eun Hwa Cho’s Cello Concerto together with the Korean Chamber Orchestra under the baton of Christoph Poppen. With the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg under Peter Tilling, he also gave the Austrian premiere of Dai Fujikura’s Cello Concerto in Salzburg.
In 2020, he premiered 7 works composed for him by Howard Blake, Elena Kats Chernin, José Elizondo, Dai Fujikura, Geoffrey Gordon, Bongani Ndodana-Breen, and Eric Tanguy.
His CD recordings have been highly praised by the international press and nominated for the German Record Critics’ Award, among others. Recordings were made in collaboration with artists such as Gidon Kremer, conductors Heinrich Schiff and Michael Sanderling, pianists Danae Dörken, Anna Fedorova, Yu Kosuge, Mario Häring, Ragna Schirmer and José Gallardo, violinists Kirill Troussov, Ragnhild Hemsing, and composers Wolfgang Rihm and Howard Blake.
Since 2014 Benedict Kloeckner is Artistic Director of the “International Music Festival Koblenz” IMUKO.
Benedict Kloeckner received his artistic training with Prof. Martin Ostertag at the Musikhochschule Karlsruhe, as well as with Prof. Frans Helmerson and Gary Hoffman at the Kronberg Academy, made possible by the Angela Winkler Scholarship, and Prof. Michael Sanderling . He received important impulses and valuable support for his artistic development from Gidon Kremer, Steven Isserlis and Sir András Schiff.
Benedict Kloeckner plays the “Ex Maurice Gendron” cello by Francesco Ruggeri (1680), a generous loan.