In the high desert light of New Mexico, sound carries differently. It seems to hang in the air—softened by sand, sharpened by sun, luminous against silence. Into this landscape has come Dr. Christoph Wagner, a German-born cellist whose playing merges technical mastery with emotional depth, intellect with grace. Since arriving in New Mexico, Wagner has become part of a growing chorus of musicians drawn to New Mexico’s rare balance of solitude and inspiration—a place where art feels both intimate and immense. Wagner is now an assistant professor at the University of New Mexico, and head of the strings section.
Christoph Wagner. Photo: https://music.unm.edu/faculty/christoph-wagner/
At a recent concert with Dr. Joanne Kong, piano, I got a glimpse of Wagner’s talent.
Exquisite tone. Graceful phrasing. A sense of ease that belied the discipline beneath. These were my first impressions after hearing Wagner perform. Yet even as the final chord lingered in the air (Shostakovich’s Cello Sonata in D minor), I sensed something deeper behind the sound—a quiet humanity woven through each note, as though compassion itself had taken form through the cello.
Born and raised in Germany, Wagner distinguished himself early as a prodigious talent, winning the Jugend Musiziert Youth Competition and the Peter Pirazzi Competition, later earning honors at Italy’s Ribalta Mozart Italia. His performances across Europe and the United States have drawn admiration for their precision and warmth—proof of an artist deeply attuned to his craft.
But even the most polished accolades tell only part of the story.
Searching further, I discovered Wagner’s summer residency with LA Street Symphony, where he worked with unhoused and incarcerated communities in Los Angeles. There, the purpose of his artistry came into sharper relief: music not as ornament, but as offering.
Still more emerged—a portrait of conviction and care. Wagner once served as president of the Rice Vegan Society, a role that reflects his environmental and ethical consciousness. The pattern was clear: a musician whose art is inseparable from empathy, whose life hums in harmony with his ideals.
I got a sense of his compassion with his choice of works (Chopin, Messiaen, and Shostakovich). I was drawn to his interpretation of Olivier Messiaen’s “Louange a l’Éternité de Jésus” (Praise the Eternity of Jesus), movement 5 of Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time. It was lovely and thought-provoking rendering.
Because of the performance, my thoughts turned to Rebecca Rischin’s book For the End of Time: The Story of the Messiaen Quartet, which recounts how Messiaen composed the work while imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp. As Rischin’s overview notes:
“The premiere of the French composer’s Quartet for the End of Time on January 15, 1941, at –4 degrees Fahrenheit in Stalag VIII-A, has been called one of the great stories of twentieth-century music. A devout Catholic, Messiaen was also a poet and an accomplished amateur ornithologist. He mixed sounds as a painter mixes colors, associating specific shades with certain modes and chords.”
Those “specific shades” and “modes and chords” came through beautifully in Wagner and Kong’s performance.
To deepen my understanding of Messiaen’s vision, I revisited the documentary Quartet for the End of Time, in which one commentator observes:
“I believe it was because of Messiaen’s faith that he was trying to show this incredible love. How could he have felt love and hope in such a horrid circumstance? Whether you are a person of faith or not, this movement shows you something great—humanity’s cry for something better—for serenity.”
If love and serenity were Messiaen’s message, then Wagner and Kong’s performance was a stunning eight-minute suspension of time—a glimpse, however brief, into eternity.
Christoph Wagner and Joanne Kong performing in Keller Hall. Photo by Brian Nixon
For more about Dr. Christoph Wagner, visit his UNM faculty page: music.unm.edu/faculty/christoph-wagner.
Brian C. Nixon, Ph.D., is Chief Academic Officer and professor at Veritas International University in Albuquerque. As a writer, musician, and artist, his interests surround the philosophical transcendentals: truth, beauty, and goodness. You can contact Brian via his Bandcamp email address: https://briancharlesnixon.bandcamp.com
