Lothar Koch (oboist)

Lothar Koch (1 July 1935 – 16 March 2003) was one of the two principal oboists in the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra during the Herbert von Karajan era.

He was born in Velbert.

He is recognised as the father of the German style of oboe playing which is characterised by a very rich and round tone, often referred to as a dark tone but corrected by Lothar Koch himself as rather being clear (Quote: "Es ist nicht dunkel, es ist hell!"). He claimed that as a youngster, he had no example to base his quality of tone on and spent time listening to opera singers to cultivate his unique tone.

In the nineties, Lothar Koch retired from the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra and became a lecturer at the Mozarteum University of Salzburg.