Acclaim
“Altenberger bows a fine sound from his J.B. Guadagnini…The violinist has the chamber musician’s sensitivity to nuance: His ability to rise and fall on a single tone is breathtaking, and he rarely fails to accommodate or match his partner at the keyboard…His expressivity is singular in slow movements, especially [in Beethoven’s Sonata for Piano and Violin in E-flat Major (Op. 12, No. 3)]. My delight was his portrayal of the first movement of George Enescu’s Sonata for Piano and Violin No. 3 in A minor (Op. 25)…[Altenberger and pianist Pei-Shan Lee] played it perfectly…Taps from the piano, bitter harmonics on the fiddle, slides and thrusts and wails…Prokofiev’s dark beauty and Enescu’s wildness were at an exalted level.” – The Philadelphia Inquirer
Translation from French: “Korbinian Altenberger is the great musician of the [semifinalists at the 2010 Montréal International Musical Competition]…lunar, ghostlike, he captured a thousand shades between pppp and mf…” – Le Devoir (Montréal)
“Much of the [Shostakovich’s Concerto No. 1] is darkly ruminative, deeply introspective and not remotely designed as a crowd-pleaser. It is a thinking man’s concerto, and Altenberger had clearly thought long and hard about how to bring it off. He did so spectacularly (he was my choice for First Prize [of the 2010 Montréal International Musical Competition]), mesmerizing the willing ear with tensile strength and tonal beauty.” – Robert Markow, The Gazette (Montréal)
“…28-year-old Korbinian Altenberger of Germany, performing the Shostakovich Concerto No. 1…successfully set the mood of the opening movement and played with true eloquence…enough to ensure his place among the prizewinners.” – MusicalAmerica.com (on Altenberger’s Second-Prize-winning performance at the 2010 Montréal International Musical Competition
“Korbinian Altenberger’s performance of the Sibelius Violin Concerto had impetus and fire. He is clearly an artist who draws on the inspiration of the moment…Towards the end of the [first] movement he employed wonderful masculine tone, confident attack and superb technical assurance. A marvelously gentle lyricism pervaded the Adagio underscored by a subtlety of phrasing, noble tone and all-round comprehension of the music. And the finale was replete with ardour, eloquence and a vigorous sweep. The sheer musicality and maturity of this youth was quite mind-boggling.” – Pretoria News
“The 23-year-old Korbinian Altenberger – a protegee of Philadelphia’s Astral Artistic Services – was an amazing soloist…I don’t think I’ve ever encountered such perfectly in-tune playing from any violinist in concert during 33 seasons of reviewing, and I know I’ve never heard Mozart played more efficaciously from a stylistical standpoint on either a modern or period violin. His sparing yet effective use of vibrato, alone, deserves imitation from any and all of his colleagues, just as his phrasing, choices of articulation and broad span of dynamic levels are worthy of admiration and emulation. [The] audience was thrilled by the beauty of his playing – and rewarded him with hearty applause…” – Michael Caruso, Chestnut Hill Local (Philadelphia)
“…his always-original, frequently revelatory approach…Altenberger was more about showing all that he felt with this music. Those feelings were deep and expansive…Altenberger tends to attack notes softly, producing a note of consistent volume and purity of sound. This manner was memorably established early on during his more ruminative moments. Applied to more animated passages, this articulation seemed to be a different side of the same coin. In short, it worked.” – The Philadelphia Inquirer
“…Korbinian Altenberger [is] an artist whose great future has already begun. His amazing technical virtuosity allowed for an impeccable interpretation of the Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D minor, Op. 47 by Jean Sibelius…Altenberger not only mastered all [hurdles of the piece] with perfect intonation, but also displayed a highly flexible bowing technique that enables him to achieve seamless transitions form the rich and dark sounds of the lower to the bright colours of the higher strings.” – Eastern Province Herald (South Africa)
“Altenberger… is still asking what the [Beethoven Violin Concerto] is all about, and finding some fascinating answers…he consistently made his phrasing mean something, and that something in the second movement was a deeply wonderful expressiveness.” – The Philadelphia Inquirer
“…this was one of the most impressive debuts of recent years. ” – New York Concert Review