- 1965: Born in Lübeck, Germany.
- 1971: He received his first trumpet and began playing in the wind band of his hometown sports club.
- 1975: Began studying trumpet with Peter Kallensee.
- 1982: Enrolled at the University of Music and Theater in Hamburg, where he continued his studies under Peter Kallensee.
- 1984: Moved to the Karajan Academy of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra to study with Konradin Groth. After graduating that same year (at eighteen), he became principal trumpet of the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra.
- 1985: Joined the German Brass, where he would play alongside his teacher, Konradin Groth.
- 1986: First album as a member of the German Brass, Samuel Scheidt (EMI) — it was the 2nd album of the ensemble.
- 1990: First prize at the Markneukirchen International Instrumental Competition.
- 1996: Debut solo album, Un Concerto Italiano (“An Italian Concert”), together with organist Hartmut Rohmeyer.
- 2000: Left his position at the Hamburg Philharmonic to become a professor at the University of Music and Theater Hamburg — the school where he studied. German Brass released its celebrated album, Bach 2000 (self-production). Over the next twenty years, German Brass released fifteen new albums and ten compilations — winning an ECHO Klassik award for their compilation CD Bach on Brass (Berlin Classics, 2016), and he released thirteen solo albums.
- 2020: Due to the Covid-19 lockdown and the inability of his international students to return to their countries, he decided to perform Christmas concerts with them, which led to the recording of the album Festive Trumpets for Christmas (Berlin Classics, 2021).
- 2022: This autumn, he will be releasing an album with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, featuring works by Oskar Böhme newly orchestrated by him.
Index
Content Featuring Matthias Höfs
- Interview (May 3): “If You Can Play a Simple Melody Beautifully You Are a Musician; If You Can Only Play Perfect You Are a Trumpet Player”
- Releases (May 10): Matthias Höfs — “Festive Trumpets for Christmas” (Berlin Classics)
- Stories (May 17): Matthias Höfs on His Next ‘Oskar Böhme’ Album and Other Projects
Links
- Website: matthiashoefs.de
- Spotify: Matthias Höfs
- YouTube: Matthias Höfs
- Facebook: @matthiashoefs