© Marian Lenhard

Birgit Hablitzel

My journey to being a violinist got its first start from my mother’s playing. Even as a small child, I dreamed of being able to take part in the St. Matthew Passion or the Christmas Oratorio. I first encountered the Bamberg Symphony at a concert, when I was a student in Freiburg. The Orchestra’s unmistakable, soft sound, and its joy in playing the music, made a lasting impression on me. Not long after, I met members of the Bamberg Symphony on a chamber music course. Their stories of everyday life in the Orchestra, of exciting tours and concerts, kindled my desire to be a ‘Symphoniker’ myself.
Now I can look back on more than 30 years service in the Orchestra. Charismatic conductors such as Eugen Jochum, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Günter Wand, Herbert Blomstedt or Daniele Gatti, and moving moments in fantastic concert halls all over the globe, have left a special mark on me.

Birgit Hablitzel grew up in Villingen-Schwenningen, where she had her first violin lessons. At the age of ten she joined Prof. Elfriede Messner-Graf’s junior class at the Trossingen State University of Music. She completed her higher studies under Prof. Rainer Kussmaul at the Freiburg University of Music. She participated in numerous chamber music courses and performed with various ensembles. These days she specially enjoys working with children and young people, which is why she devotes part of her time to training up-and-coming musicians. She has played with the Bamberg Symphony since 1986.