Ludwig Güttler has been called "the Pavarotti of wind instruments" and the "King of Trumpets," but he is almost as well known for his research, teaching, and dedication to the culture of Saxony as for his playing of the trumpet and horn. Güttler first took music lessons at the age of 5; when he was 14, he began playing the trumpet. At the Hochschule für Musik in Leipzig, he studied with Armin Mennel between 1961 and 1965. He then became solo trumpeter for Halle's Handel Festival Orchestra and then the Dresden Philharmonic, where he remained until 1980. At the same time, he became instrumental in the founding of three ensembles to further expand the performance of seventeenth and eighteenth century wind literature on period instruments: the Leipziger Bach-Collegium (1976), the Ludwig Güttler Wind Ensemble (1978), and the Virtuosi Saxoniae (1985). He performs and records both as soloist and conductor with all of these groups. He also regularly performs and records with his duo partner, organist Friedrich Kircheis. Throughout his career, he has looked for works for the trumpet and other wind instruments that have been left undiscovered in libraries, archives, and castles all over Germany, further enhancing the available eighteenth century wind repertoire. Güttler was a professor at the Dresden Hochschule für Musik from 1972 to 1990, taught annually at the Weimar International Music Seminar, and frequently gives master classes and serves on competition juries. Güttler also founded the annual Musikwoche Hitzacker festival in 1986, a multifaceted presentation of concerts, recitals, workshops, and exhibits, and conducts local opera productions. Numerous awards have been bestowed on him for his playing, his recordings, his research, and his civic activities. Güttler, who has a degree in architecture, has been a key figure in the restoration of Dresden's Frauenkirche and is a member of Saxony's Cultural Senate and Academy of Arts. This seemingly indefatigable artist has a catalog of more than 50 recordings, primarily on the Berlin Classics and Capriccio labels.
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