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), Hagner has acquired a depth and maturity in her playing that is reflected in her stage presence and assurance.

Appearing with the world’s great orchestras, Hagner’s concerto appearances include the Berlin Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus, New York Philharmonic, and the Philharmonia Orchestra, working with conductors such as Ashkenazy, Barenboim, Eschenbach and Salonen as well as a Carnegie Hall appearance with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.

This season Hagner is Artist in Residence with the Orchestre National de Bretagne and joins them for three orchestral concerts as well as a solo recital at the beautiful Opera de Rennes. She will be performing the Tchaikovsky and Walton Violin Concertos, as well as directing a programme based around Bach and Mendelssohn. Elsewhere she performs Hartmann’s Concerto Funebre on tour in the Netherlands, as well as recitals with Till Fellner including in Geneva and other performances across Germany.

Highlights from last season include the premiere of Christian Jost’s second Concerto for Violin and Orchestra Concerto noir with Orchestre Symphonique Bienne Soleure, and a return to Lammermuir Festival with Till Fellner, with whom her recital partnership continues following previous performances together in Austria Germany and Spain. Joining Karl-Heinz Steffens and the Norrköping Symfoniorkester, Hagner performed Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 1 and in Spain she joined Mozarteum Salzburg and Sinfonia Varsovia on tour. She also continued her project performing Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht which introduces a visual element to the
piece; with mime artists Bodecker & Neander, she toured Torino, Firenze, and Bologna.

Previous season highlights included performances with the orchestras of Berlin’s Komische Oper under Ainars Rubikis and Prague’s National Opera under Karl-Heinz Steffens as well as the Orquestra de Valencia with Alexander Liebreich. In North America she returned to the National Arts Centre Orchestra Ottawa for performances of Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante alongside Pinchas Zukerman and a residency in Vancouver performing Unsuk Chin’s Violin Concerto with Otto Tausk as well as chamber music and masterclasses.

As well as bringing insight and virtuosity to the central concerto repertoire, Hagner is an ardent advocate of new, neglected and undiscovered music, championing composers such as Sofia Gubaidulina, Karl Amadeus Hartmann and Witold Lutoslawski. Dedicatee of Unsuk Chin’s Violin Concerto, she gave the world premiere in
2002 with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester and Kent Nagano, and has since given performances across Europe, the US and as far afield as Brazil.

A committed chamber musician, Hagner regularly appears in concert halls such as the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Berlin Konzerthaus, London’s Wigmore Hall, the Palais des Beaux Arts Brussels and the Zurich Tonhalle. Performing at festivals across the world, past invitations include the Ravello Festival, Salzburg Easter Festival and the Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival.

Hagner joined the BBC Philharmonic, conductor Christian Karlsen and guitarist Jacob Kellermann to record Tōru Takemitsu’s Spectral Canticle which was released on BIS in May 2023. Elsewhere on disc, the Hyperion label issued Hagner’s performances of Vieuxtemps Violin Concerti 4 & 5, whilst the Canadian company Analekta released her recording of Unsuk Chin’s Violin Concerto with Kent Nagano and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. Her performance of Christian Jost’s TiefenRausch conducted by the composer with the Essen Philharmonic was released by the Capriccio label to critical acclaim and she has recorded Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in D minor with the Dogma Chamber Orchestra for the MDG label.

Hagner dedicates herself to outreach activities for audiences of all ages. She is a founder and Artistic Director of Krzyżowa-Music, an ambitious festival promoting the exchange of ideas and culture whilst allowing young and aspiring musicians the opportunity to rehearse and perform with internationally acclaimed artists. Residing

in Berlin where she grew up, she has been Professor at the Mannheim Conservatory of Music and Performing Arts since 2013.

Photo credit: Stuart Armitt