Concertmasters in seven orchestras
Successful Weimar violin class led by Prof Dr Friedemann Eichhorn
Prof Dr Friedemann Eichhorn's violin class in Weimar is outstanding throughout Germany and enjoys an excellent reputation. Recent successes in the 2023/24 academic year include various concertmaster positions in major European orchestras. Seven students and alumni from Eichhorn's class were able to secure such positions.
Four of them successfully completed their probationary years: Anna Matz as deputy concertmaster of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, Stefan Zientek as 1st concertmaster of the Lower Saxony State Orchestra at the Hanover State Opera and Katarina Kutnar as 1st concertmaster of the Rijeka Symphony Orchestra in Croatia. Julius Meier also successfully completed his trial year as Deputy 1st concertmaster in the Philharmonic Orchestra of the Vorpommern Theatre.
Three other violinists were appointed to concertmaster positions after passing their auditions: Pablo Fernández as deputy concertmaster in the Münster Opera House Symphony Orchestra, Filip Zaykov as concertmaster of the Metropole Orkest in the Netherlands and Charlotte Thiele as concertmaster in the Giuseppe Sinopoli Academy of the Staatskapelle Dresden.
‘Of course, it's mainly the players themselves who achieve this,’ says her main subject professor Dr Friedemann Eichhorn. ‘I try to help them achieve a convincing interpretation. But it is also very important to develop the musicians' personalities and to have the right strategy when pursuing their goals. Musicians are ultimately most convincing with their own ‘authentic’ style - and in my experience, this leads to the greatest possible success and, above all, artistic meaningfulness.’
In addition to the concertmaster positions, many other students in Eichhorn's class made the leap into professional life, including Elisabeth Gebhardt, who won the audition for the 2nd violins in the Gürzenich Orchestra Cologne. Elisabeth Marasch won the audition as pre-player for the 2nd violins in the MDR Symphony Orchestra.
Maximilian Junghanns was awarded the position of principal 2nd violin in the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra. Alumnus Nicola Bruzzo was also appointed Artistic Director of the International Paganini Competition in Genoa.
[22 August 2024]