Berlin Philharmonic Cellist Dietmar Schwalke to Retire

Schwalke has announced his retirement after 31 years as section cellist

The German cellist Dietmar Schwalke has served as a member of the 12 Cellists of the Berlin Philharmonic since 1994. Previously, he played with the Kreuzberger Streichquartett Berlin and the Radio Symphony Orchestra in Stuttgart. 

Before joining the Berlin Phil full-time, he performed as a guest cellist; highlights include playing in Mahler’s Second Symphony with Sir Georg Solti and Strauss’s Alpine Symphony under Herbert von Karajan. 

His highlights as a full member of the orchestra included Brahms’s Fourth Symphony with Carlos Kleiber, Berg’s Wozzeck under Claudio Abbado, the Ring cycle in Aix-en-Provence with Sir Simon Rattle, and Mendelssohn’s Elijah with Kirill Petrenko. He also played in the Philharmonia Quartet, Philharmonic String Soloists, and the Vincent Trio.

When Schwalke was first starting cello lessons in his teens, his father took him to see the Berlin Phil in Hamburg: “[Karajan] conducted an overwhelming performance of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony!” Schwalke recalled. “It left a deep impression on me, and I knew then and there what I wanted to do with my life.”

He studied with Arthur Troester and Wolfgang Boettcher, who were both principal cellists with the Berlin Phil playing under Furtwängler and Karajan, respectively. Schwalke completed his training with Pierre Fournier. 

In recent years, he has become more involved with Baroque music and historical performance practice. In his retirement, Schwalke is planning to devote more time to his family, baroque music, refresh his piano playing, and church life.

Berlin Phil’s opera performances at this year’s Baden-Baden Easter Festival were among Schwalke’s final performances with the group. 

“It’s a melting pot of outstanding musicians, all of whom are passionate chamber players,” he said of the orchestra. “I gained immensely from that — musically and personally.”