Firmian Lermer comes from an Austrian-Bavarian family. He studied music in Munich, Salzburg and Vienna. He was significantly influenced by Thomas Kakuska (violist with the Alban Berg Quartet), György Kúrtag, Sergiu Celibidache and, above all, Sándor Végh, in whose ‘Camerata Academica’ he has been playing since 1994.
He is a founding member of the string sextet ‘Hyperion Ensemble’, which has been performing worldwide since its debut in 1996, at venues including the Vienna Musikverein, the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, the Library of Congress in Washington, the Palau de la Música in Valencia and many others.
He is also a much sought-after chamber musician. He has been invited to festivals such as Lockenhaus, the Salzburg Festival, Styriarte, the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, as well as to Israel, New Zealand, South America and the USA.
Firmian Lermers’ recording of G. Ph. Telemann’s Twelve Fantasies for Viola Sola (released in 2012 by paladino) received widespread attention and outstanding reviews.
He plays a viola made by Laurentius Strorioni in 1796.
Interview
In conversation with Firmian Lermer
Describe the CAMERATA in three words in your native language!
A changeling, an adventure, a never-ending endeavour, exhaustion, joy – in any case, something very much alive.
If the CAMERATA’s music were a culinary speciality from your home country – what would it be and why?
Culinary-wise, for me the Camerata would be something wonderfully simple, e.g. potato soup.
If Mozart were still alive, what would you like to say to him?
If Mozart were still alive, I’d ask him for more symphonies, or better still, piano concertos.
