Kolja Blacher (born 1963) is a German

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

player. He plays the 1730 "Tritton"

Stradivarius A Stradivarius is one of the string instruments, such as violins, violas, cellos, and guitars, crafted by members of the Stradivari family, particularly Antonio Stradivari (Latin: Antonius Stradivarius), in Cremona, Italy, during the late 17th ...

.Short biography

Deutschlandfunk Deutschlandfunk (DLF, ''Broadcast Germany'') is a public-broadcasting radio station in Germany, concentrating on news and current affairs. It is one of the four national radio channels produced by Deutschlandradio. History Broadcasting in t ...

, 6 November 2009 Aged 15, Blacher won the

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 and studied violin with

Dorothy DeLay Dorothy DeLay (March 31, 1917 – March 24, 2002) was an American violin teacher, instructor, primarily at the Juilliard School, Sarah Lawrence College, and the University of Cincinnati. Life Dorothy DeLay was born on March 31, 1917, in Medic ...

Juilliard The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became the Juilliard School, named aft ...

in New York City. He then continued his studies with

Sándor Végh Sándor Végh (17 May 19127 January 1997) was a Hungarian, later French, violinist and conductor. He was best known as one of the great chamber music violinists of the twentieth century. Education Sándor Végh was born in 1912 in Kolozsvár, ...

. He was first

concertmaster The concertmaster (from the German language, German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (UK) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (clarinet or oboe in a concert band). After the Conducting, conductor, the concertma ...

of the

Berlin Philharmonic The Berlin Philharmonic () is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world. Throughout the 20th century, the orchestra was led by conductors Wilhelm Furtwängler (1922� ...

under

Claudio Abbado Claudio Abbado (; 26 June 1933 – 20 January 2014) was an Italian conductor who was one of the leading conductors of his generation. He served as music director of the La Scala opera house in Milan, principal conductor of the Berlin Philharm ...

from 1993 to 1999, and later at the

Lucerne Festival Orchestra The Lucerne Festival Orchestra is a European ''ad hoc'' seasonal orchestra based at the annual Lucerne Festival in Switzerland. History The Lucerne Festival had featured a resident orchestra as far back as 1938, with Arturo Toscanini conducting ...

. Blacher performed as a soloist with orchestras such as Berlin Philharmonic,

Munich Philharmonic 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 ...

NDR Symphony Orchestra The NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra () is a German radio orchestra. Affiliated with the ''Norddeutscher Rundfunk'' (NDR; North German Broadcasting), the orchestra is based at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Germany. Earlier the ensemble was call ...

Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra 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 ...

, Orchestra di Santa Cecilia and

Baltimore Symphony Orchestra The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American symphony orchestra based in Baltimore, Maryland. The Baltimore SO has its principal residence at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, where it performs more than 130 concerts a year. In 2005, ...

."Markus Stenz Makes His Baltimore Symphony Orchestra Debut Leading Beethoven's Symphony No. 3, ''Eroica'' – Kolja Blacher makes BSO debut with Schumann's Violin Concerto"
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra press release, 20 September 2012 He has worked with conductors including

Kirill Petrenko Kirill Garrievich Petrenko (, Latin script: ; born 11 February 1972) is a Russian-Austrian conductor. He is chief conductor of the Berlin Philharmonic. Early life Petrenko was born in Omsk, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union, to a violinist father and m ...

Vladimir Jurowski Vladimir Mikhailovich Jurowski (;() born 4 April 1972) is a Russian conducting, conductor resident in Germany. He is the son of conductor Michail Jurowski, and grandson of Soviet film music composer Vladimir Michailovich Jurowski. Early life B ...

Dmitri Kitayenko Dmitri Georgievich Kitayenko (also spelled Dmitrij Kitajenko; ; born 18 August 1940) is a Soviet and Russian conductor. He was bestowed the title People's Artist of the USSR (1984). He was born in Leningrad, Soviet Union. He studied at Glinka C ...

Mariss Jansons Mariss Ivars Georgs Jansons (14 January 1943 – 1 December 2019) was a Latvian Conducting, conductor, best known for his interpretations of Gustav Mahler, Mahler, Richard Strauss, Strauss, and Russian composers such as Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, ...

Matthias Pintscher Matthias Pintscher (born 29 January 1971) is a German composer, conductor and academic teacher. Biography Pintscher was born in Marl, North Rhine-Westphalia. As a youth, he studied the violin and conducting. He began his music studies with Gise ...

,"German masters mix virtuosity and wit, with a touch of melancholy"
by Eamonn Kelly, ''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet daily newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964. As the only Australian daily newspaper distributed nationally, its readership of b ...

'', 19 March 2012

Markus Stenz Markus Stenz (born 28 February 1965, Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Rhineland-Palatinate) is a Germans, German conducting, conductor. He studied at the Hochschule für Musik Köln with Volker Wangenhein and at Tanglewood with Leonard Bernstein and Seij ...

. Kolja Blacher was born in Berlin, the son of the composer

Boris Blacher Boris Blacher (30 January 1975) was a German composer and librettist. Life Blacher was born when his parents (of German-Estonian and Russian backgrounds) were living within a Russian-speaking community in the Manchurian town of Niuzhuang () (h ...

and ; his sister is the actress

Tatjana Blacher Tatjana Blacher (born 18 May 1956 in Berlin) is a German actress. She is the daughter of composer Boris Blacher and pianist Gerty Blacher-Herzog. Blacher studied at the Max Reinhardt seminar and at the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. ...

Discography

Blacher has an extensive discography which includes: *Bach: Violin Concertos; 2000; Naxos *Shostakovich, Weinberg: Violin Sonatas; 2007; Haenssler *Stravinsky: L'Histoire du soldat; 2010; Phil.Harmonie *Bach: Partitas for Violin Nos. 2 & 3; 2010; Phil.Harmonie *Brahms: Trio für Klavier, Violine und Horn; Klavierquartett Nr. 2; 2010 *Edward Elgar: Klavierquintett; Johannes Brahms: Streichquartett Op. 67; 2010 *Kolja Blacher plays Robert Schumann; 2011; Phil.Harmonie *Schnittke & Prokofiev; 2011; Phil.Harmonie *Eichberg / Beethoven; 2012; Phil.Harmonie *Mieczyslaw Weinberg: Piano Trio; Violin Sonatina; Double Bass Sonata; 2014; Cpo / CPO *Chopin: Cello Sonata; Piano Trio; 2014; Haenssler / Hänssler Classic *Shostakovich: Symphony No. 15; Suite for Variety Orchestra; 2015; Phil.Harmonie *Schönberg: Pelleas und Melisande; Concerto for Violin and Orchestra; 2015; Oehms Classics *Carl Nielsen: Violinkonzert; 2016; Acousence Classics *Blacher; 2016; Phil.Harmonie *Bernstein, Haydn; 2017; Coviello Classics

References

External links

*
"Melbourne Symphony Orchestra review: Kolja Blacher plays it straight"
by Clive O'Connell, ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...

'', 27 November 2015 {{DEFAULTSORT:Blacher, Kolja 1963 births Living people Musicians from Berlin Juilliard School alumni 21st-century German classical violinists Concertmasters of the Berlin Philharmonic