Awards
Contact
Katrin Matzke-Baazoug km@karstenwitt.com+49 30 214 594-213
You´re laughing so hard you could easily miss what a brilliant virtuoso he is on the humble recorder. SAARBRÜCKER ZEITUNG
Gabor Vosteen is a recorder player and comedian. He studied recorder at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hannover with Prof. Dr. Ulrich Thieme and took masterclasses with Prof. Michael Schneider. He then continued with Clown Studies at the National Circus School in Budapest and Physical Theatre at Ecole Lassaad in Brussels.
His shows – a mixture of virtuoso recorder playing and physical comedy – have led him to collaborations with the Musikkollegium Winterthur, the Südwestdeutsche Philharmonie Konstanz, the City Chamber Orchestra of Hong Kong, the Norwegian Arctic Philharmonic, and members of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, among others, and to performances at the Konzerthaus Wien, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, KKL Luzern, Kongresshaus Zürich, Konzerthaus Dortmund, and Blaibach, as well as festivals such as the Musikfestspiele Potsdam Sanssouci, the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and the Musica Antiqua Festival in Bolzano, Italy. Gabor Vosteen was also the main act with the Circus Roncalli in the SaltoVitale show. He has performed in cabarets and festivals in Germany and worldwide and appeared on TV shows such as Le Plus Grand Cabaret du Monde in France and The Slammer Returns for Children’s BBC in Manchester.
Gabor Vosteen is deeply engaged in music outreach and education (including Rhapsody in Schools, MäckPomm, workshops, and school orchestra projects). He has been awarded numerous prizes the world over, including the Audience Prize at Tuttlinger Krähe in 2014, first prize at the Koblenz Gaukler- und Kleinkunstpreis in 2014, and the Audience Prize and second prize from the jury at the European cabaret competition Niederstätter surPrize in Bozen. In January 2017 Gabor Vosteen and Fumagalli received a joint prize at the inaugural Grand Prix der Artisten in Hannover. He was also a finalist in the Hamburger Comedy Pokal and the WQXR Classical Comedy Contest on Broadway in New York, where the former managing director of IMG Artists, Edna Landau, singled him out in her press review as a personal favourite. In 2019 his solo program won the YAM Awards in the Best Small Ensemble category and was also awarded the Kleinkunstpreis Herborner Schlumpeweck.
2024/25 season
This biography is to be reproduced without any changes, omissions, or additions, unless expressly authorised by the artist management.
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 minutesDirection: Ines HuComedy consultant: Florian ButschMusic production: Simon StegerProps: 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)
“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
Trailer Fluteman Show 2019-2020
The Fluteman with Orchestra Show with Hong Kong Chamber Orchestra (Trailer)
Gabor Vosteen playing 5 recorders at the same time. The Fluteman Show
At the BBC Night of the Proms
Dance Monkey - Tones and I - Full Recorder Cover - Gabor Vosteen
Trailer Fluteman Show 2018
The Fluteman bei DAS! (NDR)