Rainer Johannsen

Rainer Johannsen studied recorder in Maastricht and Amsterdam, and historical bassoon in Cologne and Geneva. He was principal bassoonist with Musica Antiqua Köln from 1996 until the group’s dissolution in 2006. He plays in prestigious ensembles such as La Petite Bande, Al Ayre Español, the Amsterdam Baroque Orchestra, The Bach Ensemble, Concerto Köln and the Wiener Akademie Orchestra, under conductors including Ton Koopman, Joshua Rifkin and Sigiswald Kuijken.

He has given concerts throughout Europe, in North and Central America and in Asia. He has performed at the Salzburg Festival, the Vienna Musikverein, the Tonhalle in Zurich, at Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Centre in New York, at the Berlin Philharmonie, the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, the Opéra Garnier in Paris and the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico, and also in Tokyo, Seoul and Moscow. Both as an ensemble member and as a soloist he has appeared on numerous CDs, radio and television broadcasts and films. He gave a recital at the International Bassoon Symposium at Kloster Michaelstein, and has given masterclasses at the UNAM in Mexico City, at the Austria Baroque Academy and at the Innsbruck Festival of Early Music.