Cellist Jan Vogler developed from child prodigy to a versatile artist atop the contemporary scene. Vogler became principal cellist of the venerable Staatskapelle Dresden at age 20. Anxious for training in the West, Vogler undertook the rigorous process of getting a permit to leave East Germany, and in 1988 he was invited to the Marlboro Festival in Vermont. That experience added chamber music to Vogler's repertoire, and he has continued to perform and record it enthusiastically. He was invited to return to the U.S. for a chamber music tour in late 1989, and watched the Berlin Wall fall on television. Vogler remained in his Dresden post until 1996, the year of his debut recording of Beethoven, and now divides his time between New York and Dresden. ~ James Manheim