Full Biography
The Philadelphia Inquirer says of violinist Korbinian Altenberger, “His ability to rise and fall on a single tone is breathtaking…His expressivity is singular.” The native of Munich, Germany, has served as concertmaster of both the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under Mariss Jansons and Cologne’s WDR Radio Symphony Orchestra under Semyon Bychkov, and has appeared as soloist in the U.S., Israel, Japan, South Africa, New Zealand, and throughout Europe. As the Second Prize winner of the eminent Montréal International Musical Competition in 2010, he was invited to perform in recital in the celebrated Maly Hall of the Moscow Conservatory of Music in September 2010.
Mr. Altenberger has been featured as soloist with the Auckland Philharmonia, Munich Philharmonic, Halle Philharmonic, Göttingen Symphony Orchestra, Munich Chamber Orchestra, Brno Philharmonic Orchestra, Kassel Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre National des Pays de la Loire, Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, Elgin Symphony Orchestra, Massapequa Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Haddonfield Symphony (now Symphony in C). He recently performed with New York’s Omega Ensemble and the Iris Orchestra in Memphis, and in the inaugural Philadelphia Brahms Festival. As an Artist-in-Residence at the State Orchestra of Eisenach, Germany, Mr. Altenberger was soloist during the orchestra’s 2006-2007 season. A soloist at the Salzburger Festspiele and Ticino Musica festivals, he has also appeared as soloist before the President of the Federal Republic of Germany.
The recipient of the special prize for the best interpretation of the commissioned piece in Munich’s 2005 ARD Music Competition, Mr. Altenberger also received First Prize and the Audience Choice award from the Jacob Stainer Violin Competition and First Prize from Italy’s Andrea Postacchini International Violin Competition, where he was also awarded a special prize for his performance of Bach. A winner of Astral Artists’ 2005 National Auditions, he has also received top prizes from New Zealand’s International Michael Hill Competition, the Concertino Praga International Competition, and the Jugend Musiziert National Violin Competition, and was awarded both Third Prize and the Audience Prize at Switzerland’s International Tibor Varga Competition.
Mr. Altenberger studied at the Mozarteum Salzburg and the Musikhochschule Köln, where his principal teacher was Charles-Andre Linale. He has also been a participant at the Music at Menlo Festival, Ravinia Festival’s Steans Institute and Marlboro Music Festival. He was a participant in the Munich Philharmonic’s Youth Concert Series for two years. The winner of the New England Conservatory’s Mozart Competition, he received both a graduate diploma and an Artist Diploma from NEC as a student of Donald Weilerstein. He recently completed studies with Midori Goto in the Graduate Certificate Program at the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California, where he held the Dorothy Richard Starling Foundation Scholarship. He also toured Cambodia, Europe, and Japan as part of Midori’s community engagement programming, and was featured in the renowned violinist’s first “Young Artist Program for Partners in Performance” in Dillon, Montana. In 2010, he received a Career Grant from the REB Foundation.
Mr. Altenberger recently recorded Mozart’s Violin Concerto No. 3 with the Baden-Baden Philharmonic Orchestra, for Germany’s Bella Musica label. He makes his New York recital debut in Merkin Concert Hall in November 2010, performing four of Beethoven’s ten violin sonatas, with pianist Andrius Zlabys.
Updated: JULY 2010
