27-year-old Korean American violinist named concertmaster for prestigious Hamburg Philharmonic
By Ryan General
A Korean American violinist has been appointed as the concertmaster for the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra (Philharmonisches Staatsorchester Hamburg), an internationally renowned symphony orchestra based in Germany.
A concertmaster rises: Daniel Cho, 27, is taking on the leadership role after being selected by General Music Director and Chief Conductor Kent Nagano following an audition attended by other orchestra members, reported Korea Times. The announcement came from Sejong Soloists, a string ensemble Cho is part of.
- Cho, who studied at The Juilliard School, was 16 years old when he made his Carnegie Hall recital debut in New York. Shortly after, he made his European debut with a performance at the Louvre Museum in Paris.
- In 2017, he moved to Germany where he earned his master’s degree at the Hanns Eisler School of Music in Berlin. There, he studied under renowned violinist Kolja Blacher.
- In 2018, Cho served as the concertmaster during the opening ceremony for the 25th anniversary of the Verbier Festival.
- In 2019, he won the joint second prize with Kyumin Park and Johanna Pichlmair at the Max Rostal International Violin Competition, in which no first prize was given, according to the The Strad. In the same year, he served as the guest concertmaster of the Budapest Festival Orchestra.
- Cho starts his stint as concertmaster for the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra in the 2021-22 season. His official tenure will reportedly be determined after holding the position for a year and a half.
- In addition to its concert performances, the orchestra also accompanies over 250 opera and ballet performances per year at the State Opera House on Dammtorstrasse.
- Kent Nagano, an “expert on the great orchestral works of the 20th century,” according to the Hamburg Philharmonic website, has been the general music director of the Hamburg State Opera and the chief conductor of the Hamburg Philharmonic State Orchestra since 2015.
- Cho’s arrival as concertmaster will be a significant addition to the orchestra as the position has remained vacant for the last 13 years.
- Hamburg Philharmonic is among the four resident orchestras of the Elbe Philharmonic Hall, one of the world’s largest and most acoustically advanced concert halls. Popularly nicknamed “Elphi,” the 26-story hall also houses performances by the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra, Ensemble Resonanz and Symphoniker Hamburg.
Featured Image via JosephJoachimTV
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