Some lessons I’ve learned in my violin career

I warmly welcome you to my first official blog post!

Here, I will try to share my experiences regarding my violin career. I would like to set the stage by saying that I am hoping to offer something of value by sharing my thoughts - for students from all walks of life, who are striving for a career in classical music as a soloist, as an orchestra musician or as an educator. I think it all comes down to having a broad palette of skills and knowledge, and to provide great value in return, I think one has to be a good musician first and have a good understanding of the craft in general. Although I do not consider myself to have reached that point yet, I’ve learned that the more knowledge and experience I gain, the more humble I have to be. I am also very happy and honored to have colleagues / potential colleagues who might be reading this blog and relate to my experiences.

I have been a first violinist with the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich in Switzerland since August 2021. Before that, I studied with Prof. Nora Chastain in Berlin, with Thomas Christian in Detmold and with Lily Tchumburidze in Mersin. My professional orchestral experience consisted of a two-year academy period between 2016-2018 at the Karajan-Academy of the Berliner Philharmoniker, where I had the chance to work with the 1. concertmaster Noah Bendix-Balgley, and as a 1. concertmaster myself in the 2019/20 season at the Komische Oper Berlin. Before these engagements, I’ve participated in many violin competitions as a young violinist.

In preparation for these competitions, I was mostly practicing solo repertoire ranging from violin concertos to virtuoso pieces and Paganini 24 Caprices (which I’m currently recording, by the way). Being a person of ambitious nature, I was very focused on being a soloist and soloist only - but looking back, this mindset caused me to reach a plateau on the way to becoming a fully-fledged musician.

Auditioning for the orchestra academy back in 2016 was the first step to break through this plateau. I was already an award winner in many international competitions - but lacked crucial qualities such as knowing how to collaborate and function with other musicians in a group setting. My time at the Karajan-Academy was a great chance to develop that quality with the amazing musicians of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, as well as the Komische Oper after that.

Later, I came to realize how such experiences can expand one’s musical perception and how powerful it can be to get me out of my own head. At the same time, I was unaware that performing some of the most played (and less-played) works of the orchestral repertoire would greatly contribute to my own solo performances and leadership skills, as well as observing great conductors, leaders and other concertmasters.

When I auditioned for the Tonhalle Orchestra during the Corona period in 2020, I was ready for the next chapter of my life and anticipated the huge benefits of attaining my first permanent position in such a top orchestra, i.e. the gateway to the next dimension of my further artistic development.

I hope you enjoyed my blog post! You are welcome to share your thoughts with me in the comments.