Since his second prize in the international ARD competition in Munich in 1986 Reinhold Friedrich has been present on all important stages of the national and international music scene. His spectrum goes from the latest solo compositions to ancient music and its historical original instruments, such as the baroque trumpet and the keyed trumpet. He has played with Capriccio Basel, the Orchestre des Champs-Élysées or the Vienna Academy on historical original instruments as well as performing the works (world premieres) of contemporary composers like Wolfgang Rihm, Sir Peter Maxwell Davies, Rebecca Saunders, Hans Werner Henze, Nicolaus A. Huber, and Adriana Hölszky. Soloparts as there are Nobody knows the trouble I see by Bernd Alois Zimmermann (awarded Echo Klassik) are for him extremely important parts of his wide-ranging repertoire.
As a solo player, he gave concerts with ensembles such as Berliner Barock-Solisten, Wiener Kammerorchester and Basler Kammerorchester. Furthermore with Bamberger Symphoniker, Orchestre Philharmonique de la Radio France, Deutsches Symphonie- Orchester Berlin and Sinfonieorchester des Norddeutschen Rundfunks. These performances were conducted by, among others, Claudio Abbado (†), Philippe Herreweghe, Semyon Bychkov, Dennis Russell Davies, Peter Eötvös, Michael Gielen, Martin Haselböck, Christopher Hogwood, Eliahu Inbal, Krystjan and Neeme Järvi, Sir Neville Marriner, and Ingo Metzmacher. Since its founding in 2003, Reinhold Friedrich is a permanent principal trumpet of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra under the direction of Claudio Abbado and artistic director of the Lucerne Festival Orchestra Brass Ensemble. His recent partners in the field of chamber music are Robyn Schulkowsky (percussion), Thomas Duis (piano), András Schiff (piano), Martin Lücker (organ) und Sebastian Küchler-Blessing (organ), as well as Martin Lücker (organ).
In this season, Reinhold Friedrich will appear at the Tonhalle Zürich, Konzerthaus Berlin, Tonhalle Düsseldorf, Lisbon, Hannover, Paris, Nantes, Graz and Caracas. In July 2014 he will perform the wold premiere of Herbert Willi’s “Echo of Eirene“ at the Stadttheater Darmstadt. Furthermore he will perform several times with the Deutschen Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz whose artis in residence he is. Numerous recordings give evidence of his comprehensive work. The latest recording with the Göttinger Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Christoph-Mathias Mueller called “Russiand Trumpet Concertos” has been awarded and ECHO Classic. Reinhold Friedrich is honorary professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London, guest professor at the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus and at the Elisabethen Music School in Hiroshima. Master classes were held by Reinhold Friedrich all over the word.