Gabor Vosteen

The Fluteman

Contact

Katrin Matzke-Baazoug
km@karstenwitt.com
+49 30 214 594-213

SAT 16.05.

11:00
Haus der Musik Innsbruck

Biography

You´re laughing so hard you could easily miss what a brilliant virtuoso he is on the humble recorder. SAARBRÜCKER ZEITUNG

The recorder player and comedian Gabor Vosteen studied recorder at the University of Music and Theatre in Hanover with Prof. Dr. Ulrich Thieme and inmaster classes with Prof. Michael Schneider. He then attended the State Circus School in Budapest and the École Internationale de Théâtre Lassaad in Brussels.

His programs, with their mix of virtuosic recorder playing and visual non-verbal comedy, have led him, among other things, to collaborations with the Musikkollegium Winterthur, the Southwest German Philharmonic Konstanz, the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong, the Norwegian Arctic Philharmonic Orchestra, and members of the Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig, to performances at the Vienna Konzerthaus, the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, KKL Lucerne, the Kongresshaus Zurich, and the concert halls of Dortmund and Blaibach, as well as to festivals such as the Potsdam Sanssouci Music Festival, the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Music Festival, and the Musica Antiqua Festival in Bolzano. Gabor Vosteen also toured as the main act with Circus Roncalli in the show SaltoVitale, performed in variety theaters in Germany, is a sought-after guest at international cabaret festivals, and appeared on TV shows such as Le Plus Grand Cabaret du Monde in France and The Slammer Returns for the BBC in Manchester.

Currently, Gabor Vosteen can be seen both in solo performances and with his acclaimed Fluteman with Orchestra show – the latter being individually tailored to and developed in collaboration with a variety of symphony orchestras. The Fluteman with Orchestra is currently scheduled in Innsbruck, Bremen, and Reutlingen. Gabor Vosteen regularly participates in workshops and school orchestra projects including the Rhapsody in Schools program.

He has received international recognition with several awards such as the Audience Award at Tuttlinger Krähe in 2014, 1st place at the Juggler and Cabaret Award of the City of Koblenz in 2014, and both the Audience Award and the 2nd Prize from the Jury at the European Cabaret Competition Niederstätter surPrize in Bolzano. In January 2017, Gabor Vosteen and Fumagalli shared a prize at the 1st Grand Prix of Artists in Hanover. He was also a finalist in the Hamburg Comedy Cup and the WQXR Classical Comedy Contest on New York's Broadway. In 2019 his solo program won in the Best Small Ensemble category at the YAM Awards and was honored with the Herborner Schlumpeweck Cabaret Award.

2025/26 season

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Programmes

Solo show

Comedian and recorder player Gabor Vosteen has created a show that unites music, poetry and comedy. His trademark is his unsurpassed ability to play five recorders at the same time; he was subsequently named The Fluteman. Having toured for several years with different shows (including two years as the main act of Circus Roncalli), Gabor decided to bring his unique world of flutes to the stage.

In THE FLUTEMAN SHOW Gabor presents his vision to save the world with humanity’s most important instrument and shows unbelievable facets of the recorder that have never been seen or heard before. Using a selection of plastic recorders, a rock-style electric recorder, the only leopard bass recorder in the world and bold new ideas about the recorder, the musician goes on a mission, connecting Bach, Paganini, pop music and his own music with unbelievable comedy to create the original universe of the flute-master Gabor Vosteen.

Duration: ca. 70 minutes
Direction: Ines Hu
Comedy consultant: Florian Butsch
Music production: Simon Steger
Props: Anke Gänz

Gabor with Orchestra

With his portrayal of a madcap player of multiple recorders and his beloved interactions with the audience, recorder player and comedian Gabor Vosteen has successfully led concert programs as a comical guest and common thread. Both as a soloist and in collaboration with orchestras and ensembles, Gabor Vosteen brings a breath of fresh air to concert halls as a mischievous musical communicator, offering a platform of curiosity and openness in classical music.

A remarkable recorder player meets an orchestra with a distinctive conductor. The orchestra and recorder player initially go back-and-forth in taking the focus, but, after the initial obstacles, come together as the program progresses, leading up to a collective display of fireworks of virtuosity and recorder playing.

The programs with orchestra/ensemble are particularly suitable for concerts in a special setting (such as festivals, anniversary celebrations, New Year’s, or family concerts) or as a music education project.

Whether as soloist or a comic special guest, or as the common thread coursing through a concert evening, Gabor has collaborated with orchestras and ensembles in various projects, including:
- Circus Symphonie at KKL Luzern (CH) and at Kongresshaus Zurich with the Südwestdeutschen Philharmonie Konstanz
- Classic Circus on tour through Switzerland with Musikkollegium Winterthur and international artists
- Il Cucu Family Concert with Toggenburger Orchester (CH)
- Pictures of an exhibition Family Concert at Classic Open Air Winterthur (CH) with Musikkollegium Winterthur
- Night of the Proms Tour 2018 (D; BeNeLux)
- Youth Symphony Orchestra Schwerin
- Karneval Concert on Rosenmontag with Gewandhaus Leipzig (D)
- Festival bei Reuth and "Der Wassermann" with members of the Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig
- Concerto Variété with quartet, established by Martin Quilitz
- The Arctic Philharmonic (NO)

References

“It's hardly surprising that Vosteen has no problem at all winning over the audience from the very first note and not losing them until the last. (...) If the demand for recorders in the region increases dramatically in the near future, it could well be down to him...“

Donaukurier, Karl Leitner, 3/6/2025

“There was never a dull moment in this performance of serious classical music as everyone experienced Gabor's funny movements, simple and amusing magic tricks, and superb performance skills.”

Hong Kong Economic Times, 01/12/2022

“[Gabor Vosteen] transformed the entire concert hall into sounds of laughter. The laughing of the adults was even louder than the kids! It was brilliant gesturing as without saying a word Gabor managed to get everyone to interact!”

Sing Tao Daily, 29/11/2022

“Vosteen is the Pied Piper of Hamelin among the woodwinds: one whistle, and everything succumbs to his flute – seduced and captivated by his pantomimic charm, his musical virtuosity from baroque to rock, his crazy costumes and, yes – even the globs of fun in uninhibited nonsense.”

SAARBRÜCKER ZEITUNG, 7/10/2020

“Gabor Vosteen, who has long since won the hearts of more than a thousand listeners, was able to demonstrate his stupendous ability in a recorder concerto by Georg Philipp Telemann. Vosteen's artistry as outlined in the concert programme was surpassed by reality. An incredibly light and frothy game of natural comedic talent.”

SÜDWESTPRESSE, 2/01/2020

“The flautist melds musical virtuosity, the comedy of mime, bizarre outfits and a startling mastery of wordless vivacity into a sensational performance.”

SAARBRÜCKER ZEITUNG, 09/09/2019

“Vosteen has a remarkable gift for timing and situational comedy; with the confidence and acrobatic grace of a mime he masterfully plays with the audience's expectations, seducing them with his beguiling charm.”

SAARBRÜCKER ZEITUNG, 09/2019

“Vosteen proved to be a master of his instrument not only musically but also comedically.”

GOSLARSCHE ZEITUNG, 24/06/2019

“An exceptional flautist and a comedic talent: with his remarkable show, Gabor Vosteen has given this instrument an entirely new image.”

NNN, 02/05/2018

“The absolute highlight: Mozart [...] on five flutes simultaneously [...] but he always intermingles this with virtuosic, smaller pieces [...], which show that he has mastered the instrument perfectly.”

NGZ ONLINE, 14/03/2018

“And you´re laughing so hard that you could easily ignore what a brilliant virtuoso he is on an instrument as commonplace as the recorder.”

SAARBRÜCKER ZEITUNG, 11/03/2016

“As the evening´s crowd-pleaser, Gabor Vosteen performs several performances as "Fluteman". He combines virtuoso flute-playing with mischievous comedy to create a wonderfully refreshing clown act.”

AUGSBURGER ALLGEMEINE, 10/2015