| Hangszer | Viola |
"I prefer direct contact with other musicians through my instrument. Although I now have a more comprehensive picture of a composition than I did 20 years ago, I have no wish to exert control over a performance. The best results come when each musician feels invited to take part in an interpretation, the communication taking place through the musical flow."
Present-day
| Soloist | |
| Arcanto-Quartett | |
| Professor for Viola at the Academy of Music “Hanns Eisler” Berlin | |
| Artist in Residence in Hamburg with Ensemble Resonanz (2013-2015) | |
| Foundation Board Member of the Hindemith Foundation Blonay/Switzerland | |
| Chairwoman of the Board of the Beethoven-Haus Bonn, | |
| Principal of the Beethoven week since January 2015 |
Early years and education
"A career should never develop faster than one’s inner growth. Aspects like sound and tonal volume need their time to be developed. This isn’t just a question of the hands and musculature or of techniques. The imagination must develop as well."
| 1966 | born October 8th in Lahr/Black Forest |
| 1969 | started playing the viola with Dietmar Mantel, Music School Lahr |
| 1971 | started playing the piano with Klaus Rupprecht, individually |
| 1979-1986 | Viola studies at the University of Music Freiburg with Ulrich Koch |
| 1986-1987 | continued studies with Sandor Végh at Mozarteum Salzburg |
Competitions
"All too often a young competition winner is taken up by an agency as the ‘new star'; the publicity machine starts rolling and the musician has to fulfill lots of engagements. He feels like a hamster in a wheel. Who can mature as an artist under such conditions? My advice to all young musicians is to trust their own instincts and allow themselves to grow. Only then is it possible for something out of the ordinary to happen."
| 1972 | 2nd Award Viola solo “Jugend musiziert” Germany |
| 1974 | 1st Award Viola solo “Jugend musiziert” Germany 1st Award Instrumental Cooperation “Jugend musiziert” (Trio) Germany |
| 1976 | 1st Award Viola solo “Jugend musiziert” Germany 2nd Award Chamber music String Instruments “Jugend musiziert” (Trio) Germany |
| 1978 | 1st Award Viola solo “Jugend musiziert” Germany |
| 1980 | 1st Award String trio “Jugend musiziert” Germany |
| 1982 | 1st Award Viola solo “Jugend musiziert” Germany |
| 1982 | 1st Award at the Concours de Genève |
| 1983 | 1st Award at the International Viola Competitions “Maurice Vieux” Paris, winning a Viola from Étienne Vatelot which she is playing still today |
| 1984 | 1st Award Budapest Music Competitions |
Teaching
"I take a lot of trouble to create a spirit of community in my classes, so my students recognize that they are all individuals and don’t compete and measure themselves against one another."
| 1987-1989 | youngest professor in Germany at the Hochschule für Musik Saar Saarbrücken |
| 1994 | professor at the University of Music and Performing Arts Frankfurt/Main |
| since 2002 | professor at the Academy of Music “Hanns Eisler” Berlin |
Awards
| 2014 | Echo Klassik as intrumentalist of the year for her CD with compositions of Hindemith Vol. 1 for viola and orchestra |
| 2014 | Honorary Membership in the AVS – American Viola Society |
| 2012 | Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg |
| 2010 | Echo Klassik as instrumentalist of the year for her solo-CD with compositions of Reger and Bach |
| 2009 | Order or Merit of North Rhine-Westphalia |
| 2006 | Paul Hindemith Award of the city of Hanau |
| 2002 | Hessian Culture Award (Hessischer Kulturpreis) |
| 1999 | Rheingau Music Award Würth Award of Jeunesses Musicales Germany |
| 1997 | International Award of the Accademia Musicale Chigiana Siena |
| 1995 | Frankfurt Music Prize |
Artist in Residence
"The chance to be artist in residence entails being able to risk a more varied program."
| 2013-2015 | Ensemble Resonanz, Hamburg |
| 2012-2013 | Bamberg Symphony |
| Mai 2012 | Bodenseefestival |
| 2009-2010 | Elbe Philharmonic Orchestra Hamburg |
| 2008 | Kunstfest Weimar |
| 2007-2008 | Philharmonic Orchestra Luxemburg |
| 2006-2007 | Philharmonic Orchestra Cologne |
| 1999 | Cité de la Musique Paris |
Memberships
| since 2013 | Member of the board of the Hindemith Stiftung Blonay/Switzerland |
| since 2013 | Chairwoman of the board of the Beethoven-Haus, Bonn |
| since 2012 | Member of the advisory board of the Musikkindergarten Berlin e.V. |
| since 2011 | Member of the Academy of Sciences North Rhine-Westphalia |
| 2011-2013 | Ambassador of the German Foundation for Children’s Hospices |
Literature
Michael Wessel: Üben Proben Karriere – 12 Interpreten im Gespräch, Bärenreiter 2012
Brigitte Beier, Karina Schmidt: Hier spielt die Musik! Tonangebende Frauen in der Klassikszene, AvivA 2011
