Christoph Hartmann: a portrait

It was always his dream to play for the Berliner Philharmoniker, says Christoph Hartmann, and in 1992, this dream came true when he was given the position of oboist with the orchestra. The musician, born in the Bavarian town of Landsberg, is the focus of this episode of our series The Berliner Philharmoniker and their Instruments. After early piano lessons, Hartmann changed to the oboe at the age of 13. In the film, we learn that Hartmann obtains his instruments from Paris, about the production of the mouthpieces by hand, and about the special expressive possibilities of the oboe: “We can play sad melodies incredibly beautifully.” The film also includes excerpts from works by Brahms, Bartók and Bach.