Duo Siglinde Vellguth & Uwe Warschkow

An unusual duo of two instruments which are rarely heard together. The harmonica, in the right hands, can be an instrument of great beauty, whose delicate tone colours mingle with the heavenly sound of the harp to a charming symbiosis.

The repertoire of the duo includes original compositions for harmonica, transcriptions of classical and modern pieces and arrangements of traditional folk music. Both artists have a strong liking for Irish music and love especially playing the imaginative and witty arrangements of British Folk Songs, written for harmonica and harp by the English harpist Skaila Kanga.

Siglinde Vellguth and Uwe Warschkow have been inspired by the British harmonica virtuoso Tommy Reilly and Skaila Kanga. In 1977 they formed a duo, active for twenty years, and highly respected in the classical music world. They appeared together on record, in recitals, on television and at festivals in many countries in Europe and in South America.

Siglinde Vellguth

Siglinde Vellguth comes from a family of ten from Koblenz, Germany. Like her siblings, she was taught at the piano from the age of six, from the age of ten also on the harp. With the harp she participated successfully several times at the competition “Jugend musiziert” (Young Musicians).

While she was still in school, she was already a junior student at the Music Academy (Robert-Schumann-Hochschule) in Düsseldorf. After high school she continued her studies with the harp as main instrument and completed it with the study of general music education. She graduated in both disciplines with diploma.

Since 2011 Siglinde Vellguth lives as a freelance artist in Hamburg.

In addition to her career as soloist and duo with harmonica player Uwe Warschkow she has established her instrument with different projects outside the classical harp music: jazz and pop ballads in duo with vocals; harp and poetry; Irish Folk with celtic harp, tin and low whithles, Irish bouzouki, bodhran, guitar, bagpipes, violin and vocals; rock music with a seven-man cover band, and since 2013, music by Frank Zappa with renowned international artists.

She also teaches harp and piano.

Uwe Warschkow

Uwe Warschkow studied at the HOHNER Konservatorium in Trossingen, Germany, from 1956 to 1959. Here he became fascinated by the harmonica.

Professionally he worked as a charterted accountant and tax consultant in Hamburg, Germany. Music has always remained a hobby.

His special interest has been in original compositions for the harmonica, transcriptions of suited classical and modern works, and arrangements of international folk music. He is a great fan of the legendary Tommy Reilly whom he regularly visited for lessons for more than 20 years until Reilly’s passing away. Over the years they became close friends.

As a member of the “Norsk Munnspill Kvartett”, he was awarded with first prizes at the World Harmonica Festival in 1993, and at the European Harp Festival in Trossingen, Germany in 1996, both in the category ‘chamber music’. Inspired by Tommy Reilly and his pianist, the composer James Moody, the quartet was formed by participants of the annual harmonica master classes in Norway. They played like a string quartet only with treble and tenor harmonicas. During Mr. Warschkow’s time in Norway (2000 - 2012) the pianist and organist Martin Spindler was his permanent accompanist and mentor.

Since 2014 he plays regularly with the harpist Siglinde Vellguth as the “Duo Kamuhamu”.

Uwe Warschkow plays a “Polle Concert Harmonica”, custom-made of pure silver.