Born in Berlin, Adele Bitter received formative impressions from the musical life of her hometown and began playing the cello at a very early age. After several years of lessons with Katharina Maechler and Dietmar Schwalke (now a member of the Berlin Philharmonic), she went – initially as a preparatory student – to the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst in Frankfurt am Main to study in the studio of Prof. Gerhard Mantel. Already during this time she worked on Isang Yun's most important work for cello solo: Glissées. In connection with a project in which she played chamber music together with Yun's granddaughter Li-Na Chen, a violinist of the same age, she also had a personal encounter with the composer. After graduating from high school, Adele Bitter studied at the Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler" Berlin in the studio of Prof. Josef Schwab. Study visits to the USA (in Cincinnati with Lee Fiser of the legendary LaSalle Quartet) complemented her training. She played in the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra, the Ensemble Modern Orchestra and, still as a student, became a member of the Orchestra Academy of the Staatskapelle Berlin, which had just then been founded by Daniel Barenboim. She completed her studies with a performer's certificate, performing a cello concerto by Hans Pfitzner with the Philharmonic State Orchestra Mainz. She then assumed her first permanent position as 1st solo cellist with the Badische Staatskapelle Karlsruhe, where she expanded her operatic repertoire. Two years later she was offered the position as assistant principal cellist with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, which she still holds today. In addition, she is very active as a soloist and chamber musician. She is a member of the Adamello Quartet, which enjoys juxtaposing classical quartet literature with contemporary works (Dutilleux, Scelsi, Nono, Reimann, Glanert, Mark Andre, and many others). She also studied historical performance practice / baroque violoncello at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis with Christophe Coin, and has had formative experiences as a continuo and solo cellist working with Ton Koopman, Helmuth Rilling, Andrea Marcon, Karl-Friedrich Beringer, Rinaldo Alessandrini, and Andrew Manze. She has also played baroque chamber music with Jos van Immerseel and the soprano Yeree Suh. Her interest in contemporary music and her engagement with the works of persecuted, ostracised and exiled composers culminated in a recording of the complete works for cello solo and cello with piano by Isang Yun in 2017 (with Holger Groschopp, Cybele 4SACD KiG 011). The complete recording of Simon Laks' works for cello and piano (with Holger Groschopp and Mischa Meyer, Cybele 4SACD KiG) was awarded the Opus Klassik in 2023.

Photo: (c) Frank Eidel