Iskandar Widjaja (born 6 June 1986) is a German

violinist The following lists of violinists are available: * List of classical violinists * List of contemporary classical violinists * List of jazz violinists * List of popular music violinists * List of Indian violinists * List of Persian violinists * Li ...

and winner of numerous international competitions.

Life

Widjaja was born in Berlin. His grandfather is the Indonesian composer Udin Widjaja, and his parents are Indonesian. Widjaja began playing the violin at the age of four. At the age of eleven, he became a of Werner Scholz at the

Hochschule für Musik "Hanns Eisler" ' (, plural: ') is the generic term in German for institutions of higher education, corresponding to ''universities'' and ''colleges'' in English. The term ''Universität'' (plural: ''Universitäten'') is reserved for institutions with the right to ...

and later of Joachim Hantzschk. In 2003, he moved to the

Stern Conservatory The Stern Conservatory (''Stern'sches Konservatorium'') was a private music school in Berlin with many distinguished tutors and alumni. The school is now part of Berlin University of the Arts. History It was founded in 1850 as the ''Berliner Mu ...

of the

Berlin University of the Arts The Universität der Künste Berlin (UdK; also known in English as the Berlin University of the Arts), situated in Berlin, Germany, is the second largest art school in Europe. It is a public art and design school, and one of the four research uni ...

to study with Uwe-Martin Haiberg and Ilan Gronich. Concert tours have taken him to all five continents with the

Berlin Philharmonie The () is a concert hall in Berlin, Germany, and home to the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra. The Philharmonie lies on the south edge of the city's Tiergarten and just west of the former Berlin Wall. The Philharmonie is on Herbert-von-Karajan- ...

, the Aula Simfonia Jakarta, the Tel Aviv Opera House, the Hong Kong City Hall. He regularly appears as a soloist with orchestras such as the

Sydney Symphony Orchestra The Sydney Symphony Orchestra (SSO) is an Australian symphony orchestra based in Sydney. With roots going back to 1908, the orchestra was made a permanent professional orchestra on the formation of the Australian Broadcasting Commission in 1932. ...

, the German Symphony Orchestra and the

Konzerthausorchester Berlin The Konzerthausorchester Berlin is a German Orchestra, symphony orchestra based in Berlin. The orchestra is resident at the Konzerthaus Berlin, designed by the architect Karl Friedrich Schinkel. The building was destroyed during World War II, and ...

, L'

Orchestre de la Suisse Romande The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (OSR) is a Swiss symphony orchestra, based in Geneva at the Victoria Hall. In addition to symphony concerts, the OSR performs as the opera orchestra in productions at the Grand Théâtre de Genève. History ...

, and the

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

and

Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra The Shanghai Philharmonic Orchestra (SPO; Chinese: 上海爱乐乐团; pinyin: Shànghǎi Àiyuè Yuètuán) is a professional symphony orchestra based in Shanghai, China. It is under the administration of the Shanghai Municipal Administration of C ...

s. In 2013, he performed for the first time in Hong Kong and played at the opening event of the

APEC Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC ) is an inter-governmental forum for 21 member economy , economies in the Pacific Rim that promotes free trade throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Following the success of Association of Southeast Asia ...

Summit in Bali. In 2014, he made his debut at the

Münchner Philharmoniker The Munich Philharmonic () is a German symphony orchestra located in the city of Munich. It is one of Munich's four principal orchestras, along with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Munich Radio Orchestra and the Bavarian State Orche ...

conducted by

Christoph Eschenbach Christoph Eschenbach (; born 20 February 1940) is a German pianist and conductor. Early life Eschenbach was born on 20 February 1940 in Breslau, Germany (now Wrocław, Poland) as Christoph Ringmann. His parents were Margarethe (née Jaross), a ...

. In 2007–2009, Widjaja played on a more than 150 year old violin by Nicolas Darche, which was given to him on loan as a multiple prize winner of the ''Competition of the German Musical Instrument Fund''. He currently plays a violin by JB Vuillaume, 1875, as well as the Stradivarius "Stephens" 1690, on loan from Florian Leonhardt. On 29 May 2016, he made his debut at the Berlin Philharmoniker with the

Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin The Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin (DSO) is a German broadcast orchestra based in Berlin. The orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families ...

conducted by Christoph Eschenbach. At the same time, he frequently performs at mass media events such as

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, the Davis Cup, the EXPO in Milan, Fashion Week in Paris or for the world premiere of the Suite for Violin and Orchestra "Across the Stars" from

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (November 15, 2022)Classic Connection review, ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...

at the

Wiener Konzerthaus The Konzerthaus is a concert hall located in Vienna, Austria, which opened in 1913. It is situated in the third district just at the edge of the first district in Vienna. Since it was founded it has always tried to emphasise both traditional and ...

. Iskandar is heavily involved in educational projects for children in the Asia-Pacific region, in collaboration with UNICEF and the WWF (World Wrestling Federation). With KOMPAS Gramedia, Indonesia's largest media group, he organised charities to fund musical instruments and lessons for street children. In 2018, the hosted his first own tour of Germany among others at the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg.

Honours and awards

* 2003: Four-year scholarship to

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, IUB, or Indiana) is a public university, public research university in Bloomington, Indiana, United States. It is the flagship university, flagship campus of Indiana Univer ...

. * 2004: First prize at the national

Jugend musiziert ''Jugend musiziert'' is a music competition for children and adolescents in Germany on regional, federal and national level. ''Jugend musiziert'' in Germany In Germany, the nationwide competition refers to young adults up to 20 years and for t ...

competition in the violin solo category and 2nd prize at the Queen Sophie Charlotte international competition. * 2006: Third Prize at the Violin Competition of the Ibolyka Gyarfas Foundation. * 2008: First prize at the International Hindemith Competition and award of the Paul Hindemith Gold Medal and the Maggini Foundation Prize * 2008:

Gerd Bucerius Gerd Bucerius (19 May 1906 – 29 September 1995) was a German politician, publisher and journalist, one of the founding members of ''Die Zeit''. He is the namesake of the Bucerius Law School in Hamburg and of the Bucerius Kunst Forum, an art g ...

-Scholarship from the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben, which enabled him to take part in the International Violin

Master Class ''Master Class'' is a 1995 play by American playwright Terrence McNally, presented as a fictional master class by opera singer Maria Callas near the end of her life, in the 1970s. The play features incidental vocal music by Giuseppe Verdi, Giac ...

. "Keshet Eilon" in Tel Aviv with

Ida Haendel Ida Haendel, (15 December 1928 - or 1923, the exact year remains uncertain 1 July 2020) was a world renowned Polish-British-Canadian violinist. Haendel was a child prodigy, her career spanning over seven decades. She also became an influentia ...

Shlomo Mintz Shlomo Mintz (; born 30 October 1957) is a Russian-born Israeli violinist and conductor. He regularly appears with orchestras and conductors on the international scene and is heard in recitals and chamber music concerts around the world. Early l ...

and

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. * 2009: Special prize "Bester Bach" and "Beste Beethoven Sonate" at "Concorso Internazionale Violinistico Andrea Postacchini" * 2009: First "Goldener Julius" in the "Junior Julius" category for extraordinary talent in violin playing. * 2013: LOTTO-Förderpreis des

Rheingau Musik Festival The (RMF) is an international summer music festival in Germany, founded in 1987. It is mostly for classical music, but includes other genres. Concerts take place at culturally important locations, such as Eberbach Abbey and Schloss Johannisberg, ...

Publications

* 2011: ''Bach 'N' Blues'' (OehmsClassics Musikproduktion GmbH) * 2014: ''Precious Refuge'' (OehmsClassics Musikproduktion GmbH) * 2015: ''Tango Fuego''/Trio Cayao (OehmsClassics Musikproduktion GmbH) * 2018: Schumann Violin Sonate Nr. 2, Fantasie für Violine und Orchester op. 121, Christoph Eschenbach, Deutsches-Symphonieorchester Berlin (OehmsClassics Musikproduktion GmbH) * 2018: ''Mercy'' (Edel/Neue Meister) * 2019:

Fazıl Say Fazıl Say (; born 14 January 1970) is a Turkish pianist and composer who has worked internationally. Life and career Say was born in Ankara in 1970. His father, Ahmet Say, was an author and musicologist. His mother, Gürgün Say, was a pharm ...

, ''1001 Nights in the Harem'' (Sony Classical), Iraz Yildiz,

Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra The Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra (German: ''ORF Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien'', or RSO Wien) is the orchestra of the Austrian national broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk (ORF). Unlike most other Austrian orchestras, the RSO Wien has a sub ...

, Howard Griffiths * 2020: Iskandar Widjaja - Hip Hop Symphony

References

External links

* * *
Filmporträt von brainworkers & more

Iskandar Widjaja bei YOUTUBE

Article in the ''Jakarta Post'' dated 9 June 2013

ref> {{DEFAULTSORT:Widjaja, Iskandar German classical violinists German male classical violinists 1986 births Living people Musicians from Berlin Berlin University of the Arts alumni