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Carolin Widmann

Carolin Widmann (born 1976) is a German classical violinist. She focuses on contemporary music.[1] Widmann plays a violin made in 1782 by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini.

Carolin Widmann

1976 (age 47–48)

Classical violinist

Career[edit]

Born in Munich, Widmann studied with Igor Ozim in Cologne, Michèle Auclair in Boston and David Takeno in London. As a soloist she has been conducted by Sir Roger Norrington, Sylvain Cambreling, Heinz Holliger, Riccardo Chailly, Sir Simon Rattle, Vladimir Jurowski, Daniel Harding and Esa-Pekka Salonen. She has collaborated with composers such as Pierre Boulez, Peter Eötvös, Erkki-Sven Tüür, Wolfgang Rihm, Salvatore Sciarrino, Enno Poppe and Rebecca Saunders, who have written several works especially for her.[2] She has performed with orchestras such as Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Orchestre de Paris, Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra or Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra.


Since October 2006 she has been Professor of Violin at the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig.[3] From 2012 to 2015 she ran the Sommerliche Musiktage Hitzacker, Germany's oldest chamber music festival.


At the Salzburg Mozartwoche of 2009, Widmann performed chamber music by Boulez with her brother, clarinetist and composer Jörg Widmann, and pianist Hideki Nagano.[4] She attracted attention with her collaboration in gefaltet, a "Choreographic concert" organised by Sasha Waltz and Mark Andre, with which the International Mozarteum Foundation opened their Mozartwoche of 2012.[5] A 2012 recording of Schubert's works for violin and piano with Alexander Lonquich received critical acclaim.[6] With her brother and pianist Dénes Várjon she played a concert at the Rheingau Musik Festival when he was artist in residence in 2014.[7] Since 2017 she has been a member of the board of trustees of the Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftung.[8]


Carolin Widmann premiered in 2018 Jörg Widmann's Violin Concerto No. 2 at Suntory Hall, Tokyo.[9]

1998 Prix du President at the "Concours International Yehudi Menuhin," Boulogne-sur-Mer

1999 International Violin Competition: "Georg Kulenkampff", Cologne

2001 International Jeunesses Musicales Contest, Belgrade

2004 of the Forberg-Schneider-Stiftung for excellence in contemporary music

Belmont Prize

2006 Annual (for the debut album "Reflections")

Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik

2010 (for "Phantasy of Spring"), Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik (Chamber music category for "Phantasy of Spring")

Diapason d'Or

2013 'Artist of the Year' at the

International Classical Music Awards

2014 of the City of Mainz[10]

Schneider-Schott Music Prize

2017 [11]

Bayerischer Musikpreis

2020 [12]

Duisburger Musikpreis

2006 Carolin Widmann: "Reflections" (Debut album)

2008 Carolin Widmann / Dénes Várjon: Schumann – Violin Sonatas

2009 Carolin Widmann / : Phantasy of Spring – Feldman, Zimmermann, Schoenberg

Simon Lepper

2009 Carolin Widmann / / Nordic Symphony Orchestra / Anu Tali: Erkki-Sven Tüür, Strata

Jörg Widmann

2012 / Carolin Widmann: Franz Schubert – Fantasie C-Dur / Rondo h-moll / Sonate A-Dur

Alexander Lonquich

2012 Carolin Widmann / / Eivind Gullberg Jensen: Wolfgang Rihm, Coll'Arco

SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg

2013 Carolin Widmann / Frankfurt RSO-Pomarico: – Violin and Orchestra (composed 1979)

Morton Feldman

2015 Carolin Widmann / London Philharmonic Orchestra, Direction : Julian Anderson: In lieblicher Bläue

Vladimir Jurowski

2016 Carolin Widmann / Chamber Orchestra of Europe: , Schumann: Violin concertos

Mendelssohn

2016 / Carolin Widmann / David McCarroll / Pauline Sachse / Marie-Elisabeth Hecker: Edward Elgar: Piano Quintet a minor op. 84[15]

Martin Helmchen

2017 Carolin Widmann / Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire / Direction Pascal Rophe: : Violin concerto "Aufgang", Label BIS

Pascal Dusapin

2019 Carolin Widmann / / Giuliano Sommerhalder / Vocalconsort Berlin / Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks: Peter Ruzicka: ... Inseln, Randlos... for violin, chamber choir and orchestra; Label Neos

Sergei Nakariakov

. Deutschlandfunk Kultur (in German). 21 April 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2023.

"Eine Lange Nacht über Vorbilder in der Musik – Glühend verehrt, schmerzlich entzaubert"

(in German and English)

Official website

List of the Schumann Album on MusicWeb International

Archived 27 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine

Interview on Classical WETA 90.9

Strap-CD onswr.de