Double bassist Igor Šajatović confirmed as Berliner Philharmoniker member

The Croatian double bassist has successfully completed his probationary period with the orchestra, which he joined in May 2025.

Croatian double bassist Igor Šajatović has successfully completed his probationary period with the Berliner Philharmoniker, the orchestra announced on 21 September.

Šajatović joined the orchestra’s double bass section on 1 May 2025, following a path that had already taken him through the Berliner Philharmoniker’s own Karajan-Akademie and the WDR Symphony Orchestra in Cologne, where he served as principal double bass.

From Zagreb to Berlin

Born in Zagreb, Šajatović initially wanted to learn electric guitar. His path changed when the director of a Croatian folk ensemble needed a double bassist and introduced him to the instrument. He was drawn to what he describes as its expansive, rich and dark sound.

At 15, he studied at the Zagreb Academy of Music with Mario Ivelja. In 2016, he continued his training with Dorin Marc at the Nuremberg Academy of Music and later studied at the Music Academy in Liechtenstein.

In 2022, Šajatović became a scholarship holder at the Karajan-Akademie, bringing him into close contact with the Berliner Philharmoniker. His first professional orchestral appointment subsequently took him to Cologne as principal double bass of the WDR Symphony Orchestra.

Šajatović returned to Berlin after successfully auditioning for the Berliner Philharmoniker and joined the orchestra in May 2025. He is now listed among the members of its double bass section, alongside principal players Matthew McDonald, Janne Saksala and Esko Laine.

The appointment also completes a journey Šajatović had envisaged years earlier. After discovering videos of the Berliner Philharmoniker’s double bass section online, he recalled thinking that the players seemed like a “rock ’n’ roll band” and that he would like to play there himself.