Viviane Hagner violin

Award Winner 2004

Munich-born violinist Viviane Hagner has won exceptional praise for her highly intelligent musicality and passionate artistry. Since making her international debut at the age of 12, and a year later participating in the legendary ‘joint concert’ of the Israel and Berlin Philharmonics (conducted by Zubin Mehta in Tel Aviv), Viviane Hagner has acquired a depth and maturity in her playing that is reflected in her serene stage presence. As well as bringing insight and virtuosity to the central concerto repertoire, Viviane Hagner is an ardent advocate of new, neglected and undiscovered music. Composers whose work she champions include Sofia Gubaidulina, Karl Amadeus Hartmann and Witold Lutoslawski. In 2002 she gave the world premiere of Unsuk Chin’s Violin Concerto with the Deutsche Sinfonie-Orchester Berlin and Kent Nagano and recently premiered Simon Holt’s new Violin Concerto with the BBC Symphony Orchestra. A committed chamber musician, she has performed at renowned international festivals including Salzburg Easter Festival, Schleswig-Holstein, Marlboro, Ravinia and New York’s Mostly Mozart, and in concert halls such as the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Barcelona Palau de la Musica and London’s Wigmore Hall. This season’s highlights include performances with the Boston Symphony, Leipzig Gewandhaus, Montreal Symphony, Munich Philharmonic, New York Philharmonic and Philharmonia Orchestras. She has been invited by the Konzerthaus Berlin to be their Artist in Residence in 2007/08. Her first solo recording on the Altara label (Bartok, Hartmann and Bach) was recently released. Viviane Hagner plays the Sasserno Stradivarius built in 1717, generously loaned to her by the Nippon Music Foundation.

Last updated September 2007

Photograph taken by Marco Borggreve