Birgit Ramsl

Birgit Ramsl is Principal Flutist of the Volksoper Wien and one of the most versatile personalities in the music scene in Austria.

Recent highlights include soloist appearances with her orchestra at the Suntory Hall and Seoul Arts Center (Paganini Caprice no. 24), solo recitals at the Tokyo Opera City Hall and chamber music concerts with Vadim Gluzman, Sonja Leipold and the Vienna Chamber Orchestra at the Wiener Konzerthaus (5th Brandenburg Concerto).

Birgit Ramsl-Gaal graduated with honors at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna with Wolfgang Schulz and Barbara Gisler-Haase and completed a Master Class program under András Adorján at the Hochschule of Music and Theater Munich. She received important influences from Aurèle Nicolet, Emmanuel Pahud, Pierre Yves-Artaud, Michael Martin Kofler and Janos Bálint.

She was awarded important grants from the Tokyo Foundation, the Yehudi Menuhin Foundation and the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra to which she was invited as Principal Flutist, performing under conductors Pierre Boulez and Ingo Metzmacher.

Her repertoire, ranging from Baroque to Contemporary music, led her to be a young winner of numerous national and international competitions including First Prize and the special award of the Vienna Symphonic orchestra’s Anton Bruckner society at the Austrian youth music competition “Jugend musiziert” (1996), First Prize and a special award at the renowned Austrian competition “Gradus ad Parnassum” (2000) and furthermore the Salzburg Mozarteum Foundation’s “Wiesbadener Mozartpreis 2004”. In 2001 and 2005, she won prizes at the International Music Competition “Pacem in Terris“ in Bayreuth and at the International Flute Competition “Jean-Pierre Rampal” in Paris.

For her achievements, she was awarded the “Ehrennadel in Silber” by her hometown Krems. As a soloist, Birgit Ramsl-Gaal has performed all major flute concertos with orchestras such as the Tonkünstler Orchestra Niederösterreich, the Philharmonia Vienna, the Ensemble Orchestral de Paris, the Camerata Hamburg, the Tokyo Chamber Orchestra, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra Baroque Ensemble (Barockensemble der Wiener Symphoniker), the Hof Symphony Orchestra (Hofer Symphoniker), the Brasov Philharmonic Orchestra and the Hongkong Academy Orchestra.

Her intense activity as a soloist and chamber musician led her to various well-known festivals all over the world: Salzburger Festspiele, the Festival Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the Richard Strauss Festival Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the Festival Latinoamericano de Música Caracas, the Murten Classics, the Carinthian Summer Music Festival, the Lisztfestival Raiding, the Attersee-Klassik Festival, the Millstatt Music Weeks, the Diabelli Summer, the Rheingau Musik Sommer, the Landecker Festwochen and at the New Music Week Shanghai.

She is a much sought-after partner for chamber music and a founding member of the Theophil Ensemble Wien, the Trio Partout (Flute, Viola & Harp) and a member of the ensemble xx. jahrhundert and Salzburg Orchestra Soloists.

Her discography includes i.a. Prokofiev Sonata, Messiaen’s Le Merle Noir on the album „Flute Voyage“ (Gramola 2015), Debussy Sonata with the Trio Partout on the album „Farbenspiel“ (CCR 2010) as well as Brahms Serenade at the chamber music album entitled „Premier Plat“ with the Theophil Ensemble Wien (CCR 2011).

She is former Professor for Flute at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna and leads master classes in Europe, South America and Asia and has been a faculty member of the Asian Youth Orchestra in Hongkong.