Christopher Franzius – Violoncello
The cellist Christopher Franzius started to play a musical instrument at the age of five, studied at the State College for Music and Theater in Hanover under Professor Klaus Storck, and in addition to that, with the Russian cellist Daniel Chafran, Moscow. Through international masterclasses, he came into contact with great soloists such as Radu Aldulescu, Heinrich Schiff and David Geringas.
After receiving quite a number of awards from well-known competitions, he was engaged for the position of solo cellist at the German Opera upon Rhine (Deutsche Oper am Rhein), afterwards at the Radio Symphony Orchestra of WDR (Westdeutscher Rundfunk – German Television channel) in Cologne and was a member of the Festival Orchestra in Bayreuth. He has played under distinguished conductors such as Daniel Barenboim, Giuseppe Sinopoli, James Levine, Christoph Eschenbach, Esa Pekka Salonen and Christoph von Dohnányi, to name just a few. Besides his chamber music and soloist activities, he applies himself to composition. His discography includes 5 works for solo cello and is published by Wega.
Since 2005, he has been solo cellist at the internationally renowned Radio Symphony Orchestra of NDR (Norddeutscher Rundfunk – German Television channel) in Hamburg. He plays an instrument created by the old Italian master Giovanni Grancino, made in Milan in 1701.