Sabine Meyer

Clarinetist Sabine Meyer pairs her vast command of the repertory with an equal devotion to working alongside other first-rate instrumentalists. Appearances as soloist and chamber participant have taken her across continents, her extensive discography has received consistent praise from reviewers, and she has earned recognition for her teaching.

Born in Crailsheim, Germany, on March 30, 1959, Meyer began receiving instruction from her father, clarinetist Karl Meyer, before continuing her studies with Otto Hermann in Stuttgart and Hans Deinzer in Hannover. At age sixteen she made her professional debut. After a period with Munich’s Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, she attracted international notice in 1982 when Herbert von Karajan named her solo clarinetist of the Berlin Philharmonic, breaking the ensemble’s longstanding practice of excluding women; she remained for only one year before the growing call for solo engagements prompted her departure.

In 1983 she established the Clarone Trio together with her brother Wolfgang Meyer and her husband Reiner Wehle; through the group she has recorded with jazz clarinetists Eddie Daniels and Michael Riessler. She created the Bläserensemble Sabine Meyer in 1988. Appointed professor at the Lübeck Academy of Music in 1993, she stresses rigorous technical preparation as the foundation for tonal refinement. Among those she has taught are Julian Bliss, Shirley Brill, and Annelien van Wauwe. Beyond her collaborations with more than eighty German orchestras and her frequent appearances across Europe, North America, and Japan, her schedule has also included Brazil, Africa, Israel, and Australia. Her chamber-music colleagues have included Barbara Hendricks, Gidon Kremer, the Tokyo String Quartet, and numerous others.

Eight ECHO Klassik awards from the Deutsche Phonoakademie have recognized her recordings. While her catalog encompasses the principal concerto, solo, and chamber works for the instrument, she has actively commissioned and presented new scores. The prize-winning release Modern Works for Wind Ensemble, recorded with the Bläserensemble Sabine Meyer, contains pieces by Denisov, Hosokawa, Castiglioni, and additional composers; she has also given the premieres of works by Harald Genzmer, Marc-André Dalbavie, and Manfred Trojahn. The French government conferred the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres upon her in 2010, and in 2013 she received the Officer’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. She joined the Alliage Quintett for the 2016 Sony Classical album Fantasia and appeared on a 2020 Mirare recording of Schubert’s Octet.