Highlights of his solo-career include performances with the WDR-Sinfonie Orchestra, the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in St.Louis and the Hilversum Symphony Orchestra, where he performed Gunther Schuller’s flute concerto, with the Gürzenich-Orchestra Köln under Markus Stenz, the NDR-Sinfonie Orchestra as well as the Moscow Radio-Symphony and the Spokane Symphony orchestra. He played as a soloist in halls like the Concertgebow Amsterdam, Berlin Philharmonic, Keio hall in Tokyo, Cologne Philharmonic and many others.
Michael Faust performs regularly throughout the United States, South America, Japan, China and Europe.
His performances on five continents as soloist, and as a chamber and orchestra musician have won him critical acclaim and recording contracts on many labels.
In 2003, the renowned composer Mauricio Kagel wrote his only instrumental concerto for Michael Faust, who played ‘Das Konzert’ among other cities in Duisburg, Düsseldorf, Hamburg and Neubrandenburg and in 2009 he premiered the flute concerto by Peteris Vasks, that is dedicated to him personally.
His recordings include a Duo-record with pianist Alexander Lonquich, H.W.Henze’s El Cimarrón, (Koch Recordings), a three-CD set of music from Bach to Mozart with harpsichordist Ilton Wjuniski (GM Recordings), works for flute and orchestra by Ibert, Bernstein and others with the Cologne Radio Symphony (Capriccio Records), chamber works of Elliot Carter (CPO Records) and works of Schumann, Franck and Prokofjev with pianist Randall Hodgkinson (GM Recordings). Recently he recorded two CD’s with Patrick Gallois conducting the Jyväskulä Symphony-orchestra in Finland for the label Naxos.
Michael Faust embarked upon his orchestral career with the renowned Santa Cecilia Orchestra in Rome. After this, he served as Solo Flutist with the Hamburg Philharmonic, the Munich Philharmonic, and, currently, with the Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra. He has played under the baton of the most celebrated conductors, among them Sergiu Celibidache, Seiji Ozawa, H.v. Karajan, Claudio Abbado, Daniel Barenboim, C.v. Dohnany, Leonard Slatkin, Hans Vonk, Gunther Schuller and Lorin Maazel, who has praised him for his “radiant tone and distinct musicality”.
Michael Faust is also the founder of the highly acclaimed chamber group “Ensemble Contrasts” which has gained much recognition through its creative and unusual programming of mostly twentieth century music, and the “Zephyr Woodwind Quintet” which he founded with his colleagues from the WDR Sinfonieorchester Cologne.
As a chamber musician and recitalist, Michael Faust has appeared at the Northwest Bach Festival, the Triennale Cologne, Duren Bach Festival (Germany), throughout Europe with Ensemble Contrasts and throughout Brazil and France in solo recitals and with harpsichordist Ilton Wjuniski. About Michael Faust’s Weill Recital Hall performance, The New York Concert Review wrote: “Michael Faust deploys his exceptional instrumental gifts to the needs of the music at hand”.
In 2012 he launched the “Gargonza Arts Award” project, which gives several artists from different disciplines the opportunity to participate in residency grants in the castle village of Castello di Gargonza and “Le Capanne/Sinalunga” in Tuscany and in other interdisciplinary projects work and find new inspiration.
Currently a Professor of Flute at the Dusseldorf Hochschule, Michael Faust gives master classes regularly throughout the United States, South America, Japan, China and Europe.
Since 2019 he has been traveling to Cuba as a soloist and teacher.
The “Teach to teach” project will begin there in 2024, with which he will contribute to the basic support of young musical talent.
