The German-born cellist of Peruvian-Uruguayan descent is one of the most sought-after musicians of his instrument. As a student of Boris Pergamenschikow, Claudio Bohórquez achieved early success in international competitions such as the Tchaikovsky Youth Competition in Moscow and the Rostropovich Competition in Paris. In 1995, he won the 1st Prize at the Geneva International Music Competition at a very young age, marking the start of his solo career. Bohórquez now teaches himself: from 2011 to 2016, he held a professorship at the Stuttgart University of Music, and in September 2016, he was appointed to the Hanns Eisler School of Music Berlin, where he had already taught as a guest professor since 2003.
Orchestral concerts have taken him to the most renowned ensembles in the world. Among others, he performed with the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington and South America, and played with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester, and in spring 2022, his first post-pandemic appearance in Rochester. Claudio Bohórquez has also repeatedly proven his mastery of chamber music, performing with composer/clarinetist Jörg Widmann, in a string trio with Daishin Kashimoto and Amihai Grosz, and at the ‘Cello Summit’ alongside fellow cellists J.P. Maintz, Chr. Poltera, Wen-Sinn Yang, N. Trieb, and W.E. Schmidt. He also enjoyed a long-standing collaboration with composer and conductor Krzysztof Penderecki.
In addition to numerous CD recordings, radio broadcasts, and television appearances, Claudio Bohórquez contributed to the soundtrack of Paul Englishby’s film "Ten Minutes Older – The Cello," which was shown in cinemas worldwide. Together with painter Klaus-Peter Kirchner, he developed the installation project "Raum für Pablo Casals" as a tribute to the great cellist. Recordings with Berlin Classics feature Bohórquez and his duo partner Péter Nagy, including Brahms’ sonatas, Schumann's famous Dichterliebe arranged for cello and piano, and a Piazzolla album, recorded with his brother Oscar Bohórquez and Piazzolla’s collaborator Gustavo Beytelmann, featuring works by the Argentine tango legend. His most recent release, On the Shoulders of Giants, with Christoph Eschenbach on piano, includes works by Franz Schubert, Robert Schumann, Anton Webern, and Olivier Messiaen.
From 2015 to 2023, Claudio Bohórquez served as artistic director of the Schlosskonzerte and Konzerttage Winnenden. Starting in the 2024/25 season, the cellist will assume this role for the Deutschordenskonzerte at the Neckarsulm Music Festival.
Claudio Bohórquez plays a G. B. Rogeri cello, generously provided by the Landeskreditbank Baden-Württemberg.
