Around the Music Festival

Berliner Philharmoniker’s Principal flute player Mathieu Dufour quits the orchestra. The reason has not been clarified, and the orchestra has begun recruiting replacements. Dufour has been the principal player since 2015, replacing Andreas Blau.

Dufour was born in Paris in 1972 and is 48 years old. He studied under Maxence Larrieu at the Lyon National Conservatory. After graduating from the top, he became the principal player of the Toulouse Capitol National Orchestra in 1993 at the age of 20. Since then, he has won numerous prestigious international competitions.

Since 1996, he has been a super soloist of the Paris Opera Orchestra, and in 1999 he was invited by music director Daniel Barenboim to transfer to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. He was the principal player until he moved to the Berlin Philharmoniker.

Photo：Chicago Symphony Orchestra　/　Todd Rosenberg