Like the Bandoneon, Lothar Hensel was born in the region of Niederrhein. Lothar Hensel studied the bandoneon in Buenos Aires and Paris with famous tango musicians, amongst them Juan José Mosalini, Dino Saluzzi, Nestor Marconi. He is now one of the most sought after bandoneon soloist in the music world. He has been performing with very well known symphony orchestras, amongst them the Berliner Philharmonic Orchestra. He has now already played the famous " Concierto para bandoneon" from Astor Piazzolla more often than the composer himself. The press is always fascinated by his virtuosity and intens expressiv way of playing:
"His fingers ran skillfully all over the amazing number of keyes on his bandoneon, at times with strong rhythm accents and virtuosity, at other times with a mysterious calm he would transport the audience into the fascinating world of South America."
- Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung -
Through his experience with arranging music for several groups, he has discovered the medium of composition. His works for his own ensembles, soon became compositions for big Orchestras.
He wrote his first commissioned work Tangomanía for the Jenaer Philharmonie. The Premiere was broadcast live on Deutschland Radio and was a huge success with the audience and critics alike.There were subsequently a very great number of brillant performances of Tangomaní a allthrough the country, therefore SONY produced the work of Lothar Hensel. Tangomanía. It was recorded in Berlin with the Rundfunk-Sinfonie Orchester, and released in December 2003 nominated as the "CD of the month".
He composed a remarkable Chamber (Tango) Opera "Margot H's. last tango", for the National Theater of Mecklenburg. The libretto is an homage to Margot Honecker, the wife of Erich Honecker, the well known former GDR political leader untill 1988. The team work with Ingo Wazserka who wrote the libretto was so successfull that another work for the stage was created: "Das große Welttheater" from Caderon de la Barcas.
Lothar Hensel’s biggest challenge as a performer, is still his Concerto for Bandoneon, which he wrote for himself. He combines traditional tango elements with Modern Music. The soloist demands a grate energy, which goes to the limits of his physical as well as mental performing skills. A challenge that Lothar Hensel likes to take part.
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