double bass

Michael Pistelok was born in Bytom, Poland in 1962.

His musical talent was already evident at the age of six while he was still at kindergarten, and he began to learn the violin at the local state music school. Six years later he switched to double bass. He graduated with distinction in double bass from the Music Academy in Katowice, Poland.
While still studying there, he was engaged by some of Poland’s leading orchestras such as the Sinfonia Varsovia. He was also a member of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra and played as double bass leader under such renowned conductors as Claudio Abbado, Lorin Maazel, George Prêtre, Marc Minkowski, Gustavo Dudamel and Daniel Harding.

He is also a much sought-after interpreter of contemporary music in ensembles such as Kontrapunkte and “die reihe”.

Michael Pistelok has been a member of the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra since 1987 and since 2001 has been assistant principal double bass.

Bernhard Ziegler was born in 1964.

He studied at the Leopold Mozart Centre for Music and Music Education at the University of Augsburg and at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna in Ludwig Streicher’s double bass class.

He is a lecturer in double bass at the Joseph Haydn Landeskonservatorium where he has established a particular teaching focus by founding a double bass class for children. He is also a founder of the double bass teachers’ collective Pädagogische Arbeitsgemeinschaft Kontrabass PAKOE. In addition, he holds lectures on the history of, teaching of and other topics relating to the instrument at double bass seminars and publishes literature on the instrument via Vienna Bass Edition.

Bernhard Ziegler was also a judge for the prima la musica competition and had the same function at the first international competition for young bass players at Bass 2010 in Berlin and Bass 2012 in Copenhagen.

Bernhard Ziegler has been a member of the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra since 2001.

Harald Jäch was born in Scheibbs, Lower Austria in 1965 and began studying double bass in 1980 at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. In 1983 he deputized at the Stadttheater Klagenfurt for a musician on maternity leave and has been engaged by the ORF Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra since 1984. He also plays in the ensemble xx. jahrhundert.