The Staatsoper Unter den Linden and the Staatskapelle Berlin have announced the death of Thomas Keller, the orchestra’s longtime principal tuba, who passed away on October 3, shortly before a rehearsal of Wagner’s Götterdämmerung and just days before his 50th birthday.
Before the evening’s performance, Christian Thielemann addressed the audience with words of remembrance, honouring Keller’s memory and his many years with the orchestra.
According to the Staatsoper’s statement, Keller joined the newly founded Staatskapelle Berlin Academy at the age of 22 and became a full member of the orchestra in 1999, following the encouragement of Daniel Barenboim, who recognised his exceptional talent. For more than 25 years, he was a central figure in the brass section, admired — in the institution’s own words — for his “warm, soft, yet sonorous and colourful tone,” which gave the brass and the orchestra as a whole a distinctive sound.
The Staatsoper also described him as a “kind and humorous person, down-to-earth and reliable, yet of independent and individual character.”
Beyond his work with the Staatskapelle Berlin, Keller was also a member of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra and performed with ensembles including the Vienna Philharmonic, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, and Berlin Philharmonic.
The Staatsoper Unter den Linden and the Staatskapelle Berlin expressed their gratitude and said they would “preserve his memory with honour.”
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