Christian Funke (born 1949) is a German violinist,

concertmaster The concertmaster (from the German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (U.K.) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (or clarinet in a concert band). After the conductor, the concertmaster is the second-most signif ...

and

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professor ...

for violin. Since 1987 he has been the conductor of the Bachorchester zu Leipzig.

Career

Funke, born in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth ...

in 1949, studied at the

Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber The Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber (Carl Maria von Weber College of Music; also/formerly known as Dresden Conservatory or Dresden Royal Conservatory) is a university of music in Dresden, Germany. History The Hochschule opene ...

from 1959 to 1966 and then continued his studies at the

Moscow Conservatory The Moscow Conservatory, also officially Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory (russian: Московская государственная консерватория им. П. И. Чайковского, link=no) is a musical educational inst ...

with Igor Bezrodnyi. After his ''

Staatsexamen The ("state examination" or "exam by state"; pl.: ''Staatsexamina'') is a German government licensing examination that future physicians, dentists, teachers, pharmacists, food chemists, psychotherapists and jurists (i.e., lawyers, judges, p ...

'' in 1972, he was engaged as 1st

at the

Staatskapelle Dresden The Staatskapelle Dresden (known formally as the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden) is a German orchestra based in Dresden, the capital of Saxony. Founded in 1548 by Maurice, Elector of Saxony, it is one of the world's oldest and most highly r ...

. Since 1979, he was 1st concertmaster of the

Gewandhausorchester The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra (Gewandhausorchester; also previously known in German as the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig) is a German symphony orchestra based in Leipzig, Germany. The orchestra is named after the concert hall in which it is bas ...

Leipzig. As soloist, he has played many violin concertos, among others by

Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most pop ...

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

Sibelius Jean Sibelius ( ; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic and early-modern periods. He is widely regarded as his country's greatest composer, and his music is often ...

Shostakovich Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich, , group=n (9 August 1975) was a Soviet-era Russian composer and pianist who became internationally known after the premiere of his First Symphony in 1926 and was regarded throughout his life as a major compo ...

and Stravinski with the Gewandhaus Orchestra. Funke won numerous prizes in national and international competitions, including a second prize in the violin category at the 1968 edition of the

International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition The International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition (german: Internationaler Bach Wettbewerb Leipzig, links=no) is a music competition in Leipzig, Germany, held by the Bach-Archiv Leipzig. It was founded in 1950 and was held every four years from ...

. In 1986, he was appointed

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professor ...

for violin at the

Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt, Weimar The University of Music Franz Liszt Weimar (in German: Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt Weimar) is an institution of music in Weimar, Germany. The Hochschule Franz Liszt, who spent a great deal of his life in Weimar, encouraged the founding of ...

. He also holds an

Honorary Professor Honorary titles (professor, reader, lecturer) in academia may be conferred on persons in recognition of contributions by a non-employee or by an employee beyond regular duties. This practice primarily exists in the UK and Germany, as well as in m ...

ship at the

University of Music and Theatre Leipzig The University of Music and Theatre "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig (german: Hochschule für Musik und Theater "Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy" Leipzig) is a public university in Leipzig (Saxony, Germany). Founded in 1843 by Felix Mendelssoh ...

. He has played several times Bach's ''Concerto for Two Violins'' together with

Igor Oistrakh Igor Davidovich Oistrakh (russian: И́горь Дави́дович О́йстрах; uk, Ігор Давидович Ойстрах 27 April 1931 – 14 August 2021) was a Soviet and Russian violinist. He was described by ''Encyclopædia Brita ...

and

Maxim Vengerov Maxim Alexandrovich Vengerov (russian: Максим Александрович Венгеров, , mɐkˈsʲim ɐlʲɪkˈsandrəvʲɪtɕ vʲɪnˈɡʲerəf; he, מקסים ונגרוב; born 20 August 1974) is a Russian-born Israeli violinist, ...

. Furthermore, he was able to win soloists like

Sergei Nakariakov Sergei Mikhailovich Nakariakov (russian: Серге́й Михайлович Накаряков; ; born May 10, 1977, in Gorky) is a Russian- Israeli virtuoso trumpeter residing in Paris, France, who came to prominence in the late 1990s. He ...

for the ensemble. As a soloist, he is a frequent guest with renowned orchestras and

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small num ...

evenings or at music festivals like the

Walkenrieder Kreuzgangkonzerte The Walkenrieder Kreuzgangkonzerte have been the annual music festival of Walkenried Abbey in Lower Saxony Göttingen (district), Göttingen district since 1983. Since 2010, the Walkenried Abbey venue has been part of the World Heritage Site ...

. Funke plays a violin from the famous Italian

luthier A luthier ( ; AmE also ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments that have a neck and a sound box. The word "luthier" is originally French and comes from the French word for lute. The term was originally used for makers of ...

Gagliano.Apple Music – Christian Funke
/ref> Numerous vinyl and

CDs The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in Octo ...

recordings are available.

Recordings

Georg Frideric Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training ...

: ''Feuerwerksmusik'' (Deutsche Schallplatten, Berlin 1978 / 1980) *

Claude Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most infl ...

: ''Späte Sonaten'' (Deutsche Schallplatten, Berlin 1980 / 1981) *

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic music, Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer Music of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, whose music would make a lasting impressi ...

: ''Virtuose Violinsonaten'' (Deutsche Schallplatten, Berlin 1983) * Tchaikovsky: ''Konzert für Violine und Orchester D-Dur op. 35'' (Deutsche Schallplatten, Berlin 1983) *

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

: ''Violinsonate Nr. 2 d-moll op. 121'' (Deutsche Schallplatten, Berlin 1985) *

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

: ''Tripelkonzert'' (Delta Music, Frechen 1987) * Cantabile. (Deutsche Schallplatten, Berlin 1988) * Tchaikovsky: ''Konzert für Violine und Orchester D-Dur op. 35'' (Magna-Tonträger, Berlin 1989) *

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

: ''Traummusik Vol. 1'' (Magna-Tonträger, Berlin 1990) * Krebs – Kirnberger – Scheinpflug –

Stamitz Stamitz ( cs, Stamic) was the surname of a family of German Bohemian musicians, the principal members of which were: *Johann Stamitz (1717–1757), Czech-German composer, founder of the Mannheim school *Carl Stamitz Carl Philipp Stamitz ( cs, K ...

. (Pilz Media Group, 1990) * Tchaikovsky: ''Konzert für Klavier und Orchester no. 1 b-Moll op. 23'' (Magna-Tonträger, Berlin 1990) * Berühmte Konzertzugaben. (Magna-Tonträger, Berlin 1992) *

Antonio Vivaldi Antonio Lucio Vivaldi (4 March 1678 – 28 July 1741) was an Italian composer, virtuoso violinist and impresario of Baroque music. Regarded as one of the greatest Baroque composers, Vivaldi's influence during his lifetime was widespread ...

: ''Le quattro stagioni'' (Image Concert, Herzberg / Harz 1994) *

: ''Sonaten für Violine und Klavier Nr. 1 & 2'' (Edel, Hamburg 1996) * Virtuose Violinsonaten. (Edel, Hamburg 1997) * Tchaikovsky: ''Konzert für Violine und Orchester D-Dur'' (Edel, Hamburg 1998) * Cantabile. (Edel, Hamburg 1998) * Claude Debussy: ''Kammermusik'' (Edel, Hamburg 1999) * Tchaikovsky: ''Konzert für Violine und Orchester D-Dur'' (Edel, Hamburg 2003) * After work hour / 4. (Edel, Hamburg 2004) * Tchaikovsky: ''Romeo und Julia'' (Edel Germany, Berlin 2006) * Moments of peace. (Edel Classics, Hamburg 2007) * Gute Nacht, schlafe sacht. (Edel Entertainment, Hamburg 2012) * Tchaikovsky: ''Konzert für Violine und Orchester D-Dur op. 35''. (DNB, Leipzig/Frankfurt, 2018)

References

External links

*
Christian Funke
auf

Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek The ''Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek'' ("German Digital Library") or DDB is a virtual library in the German language German ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language mainly spoken in Central Europe. It is the most widely spoken ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Funke, Christian German classical violinists German performers of early music Concertmasters German music educators Academic staff of the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt, Weimar Academic staff of the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig 1949 births Living people Musicians from Dresden Moscow Conservatory alumni