Bence Bogányi

Bence Bogányi hails from a Hungarian family of musicians. He started taking bassoon lessons at the age of nine, in Hungary, with György Bokor. He continued his studies at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki under László Hara and Jussi Särkkä before transferring to the School of Music Hanns Eisler Berlin, where he graduated with distinction as a student of Professor Klaus Thunemann.

He achieved first place for the first time in 1997, at the International Crusell Competition in Finland. This was followed by a series of other prominent international awards, such as First Prize at the International Fernand Gillet/Hugo Fox Competition in Indianapolis (United States) and the ARD International Music Competition in Munich, where he was awarded 2nd place and the coveted audience award for his performance as part of the Chantilly Quintet.

His first position as principal bassoonist, beginning in 1997, was with the Finnish State Opera in Helsinki; in 2002, he joined the Helsinki Philharmonic in the same position. In 2005, he joined the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra as principal bassoonist, before transferring in 2007 to the Munich Philharmonic in the same position, which he held until 2013.

He has performed as a chamber musician and soloist throughout Europe and Asia. As a solo bassoonist, he has been featured as a guest of the Berlin Philharmonic, the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Budapest Festival Orchestra. He has performed with leading conductors such as Christian Thielemann, Kirill Petrenko, Zubin Mehta and Valery Gergiev.

Over the course of his career, Bence Bogányi has produced numerous CD and radio recordings.

Importantly, his impressive career has included collaboration with contemporary composers. Among others, Kalevi Aho (2005), Máté Bella (2016) and his brother, Gergely Bogányi (2022), have dedicated bassoon concertos to him; Bence Bogányi performed the premiere of each of these pieces.

In 2009, he was appointed a professor of bassoon at the Nuremberg University of Music; in 2013, he accepted an offer from the Hanover University of Music and continues to serve there as a professor in the school’s bassoon department.