Viviane Hagner

Munich-born violinist Viviane Hagner has garnered exceptional praise for her insightful musicality and passionate artistry. She made her international debut at 12 and, a year later, took part in the historic joint concert of the Israel and Berlin Philharmonics under Zubin Mehta in Tel Aviv. Since then, she has appeared with leading orchestras including the Berlin Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, and New York Philharmonic, working with conductors such as Ashkenazy, Barenboim, and Salonen. A passionate advocate for new and neglected music, she is the dedicatee of Unsuk Chin's first Violin Concerto, which she premiered in 2002. A committed chamber musician, Hagner performs regularly with pianist Till Fellner and cellist Adrian Brendel. She is co-founder and Artistic Director of the Krzyżowa-Music festival and was awarded Germany's Order of Merit for her cultural work between Germany and Poland. She teaches at the Mannheim University of Music and Performing Arts.

Munich-born violinist Viviane Hagner has garnered exceptional praise for her insightful musicality and passionate artistry. Making her international debut at the age of 12, she took part in the legendary joint concert of the Israel and Berlin Philharmonics, conducted by Zubin Mehta in Tel Aviv, a year later. Since then, Hagner has developed a depth and maturity in her playing that resonates in her stage presence and assurance.

Appearing with the world's great orchestras, her concerto engagements include the Berlin Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus, New York Philharmonic, and the Philharmonia Orchestra, working with conductors such as Ashkenazy, Barenboim, Eschenbach, and Salonen. This season she joins the Taiwan Philharmonic for Britten's Violin Concerto, returns to the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Poznań Philharmonic, and performs with the Stuttgart Philharmonic under Alexander Liebreich. In chamber music, she continues her acclaimed partnership with pianist Till Fellner and cellist Adrian Brendel.

Hagner is a passionate advocate for new, neglected, and undiscovered music, championing composers such as Sofia Gubaidulina, Karl Amadeus Hartmann, and Witold Lutosławski. As dedicatee of Unsuk Chin's first Violin Concerto, she premiered the work in 2002 with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester under Kent Nagano and has since performed it worldwide.

Her recordings include Vieuxtemps' Violin Concertos Nos. 4 and 5 for Hyperion, Unsuk Chin's Violin Concerto with Kent Nagano and the Montreal Symphony for Analekta, and, most recently, works by Tansman and Bruch with the Poznań Philharmonic on Accentus, released in March 2026.

Hagner is co-founder and Artistic Director of Krzyżowa-Music, a festival fostering cultural exchange between young and established musicians, which celebrated its tenth edition in 2024. She was recently awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany for her contribution to cultural exchange between Germany and Poland. She resides in Berlin and has been Professor of Violin at the Mannheim University of Music and Performing Arts since 2013.

Munich-born violinist Viviane Hagner has garnered exceptional praise for her insightful musicality and passionate artistry. Making her international debut at the age of 12, she participated in the legendary joint concert of the Israel and Berlin Philharmonics, conducted by Zubin Mehta in Tel Aviv, a year later. Since then, Hagner has developed a depth and maturity in her playing that resonates in her stage presence and assurance.

Appearing with the world’s great orchestras, Hagner’s concerto appearances include the Berlin Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Cleveland Orchestra, Leipzig Gewandhaus, New York Philharmonic, and the Philharmonia Orchestra, working with conductors such as Ashkenazy, Barenboim, Eschenbach and Salonen as well as a Carnegie Hall appearance with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra.

This season, Viviane Hagner joins the Taiwan Philharmonic, performing Britten’s Violin Concerto under Wen-Pin Chien. She also returns to the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra with Walton’s Violin Concerto, works with Jonathan Stockhammer for Korngold’s Violin Concerto in Rostock, returns to the Poznań Philharmonic Orchestra playing the Büttner concerto, and performs with the Stuttgart Philharmonic under Alexander Liebreich. In chamber music, she continues her acclaimed partnership with pianist Till Fellner and cellist Adrian Brendel, with trio performances in Germany and the UK.

Last season, Hagner continued her partnership with pianist Till Fellner, with performances at the Schubertiade Festival, Deutschlandsberg, and Nymphenburger Sommer. She also joined the Estonian National Symphony Orchestra to perform Unsuk Chin’s Violin Concerto. As Artist in Residence with the Poznań Philharmonic Orchestra, she performed violin concertos by Tansman and Brahms, and joined Pietari Inkinen and the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie for Korngold’s Violin Concerto. With her trio – pianist Till Fellner and cellist Adrian Brendel – she performed at the Kronberg Festival and Schubertiade Hohenems, showcasing their exceptional collaboration. A highlight of the season was her appearance at the Ultraschall Festival in Berlin, where she premiered a newly discovered sonata by Aribert Reimann.

Highlights from previous seasons include Hagner’s residency with the Orchestre National de Bretagne, where she performed the Walton and Tchaikovsky Violin Concertos and directed a programme of Bach and Mendelssohn, as well as a series of play-directed concerts with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra featuring Mendelssohn’s Sinfonia No. 10 and Violin Concerto in E minor. She also continued her project performing Schoenberg’s Verklärte Nacht with mime artists Bodecker & Neander in Bremen, and appeared with Berlin’s Komische Oper Orchestra under Ainars Rubikis, Prague’s National Opera Orchestra under Karl-Heinz Steffens, and the Orquestra de Valencia with Alexander Liebreich. In North America, she returned to the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa for Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante alongside Pinchas Zukerman, performed with San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and Michael Tilson Thomas, and undertook a residency in Vancouver performing Unsuk Chin’s Violin Concerto with Otto Tausk, in addition to chamber music and masterclasses.

In addition to bringing insight and virtuosity to the central concerto repertoire, Hagner is a passionate advocate for new, neglected, and undiscovered music, championing composers such as Sofia Gubaidulina, Karl Amadeus Hartmann, and Witold Lutosławski. As the dedicatee of Unsuk Chin’s first Violin Concerto, she premiered the piece in 2002 with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester under Kent Nagano and has since performed it worldwide.

A committed chamber musician, Hagner regularly appears in prestigious venues such as the Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Berlin Konzerthaus, London’s Wigmore Hall, Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels, and Zurich Tonhalle. She also performs at renowned festivals worldwide, including the Ravello Festival, Salzburg Easter Festival, and Lincoln Center’s Mostly Mozart Festival.

Hagner’s most recent album was released in March 2026 on the Accentus label, featuring works by Aleksander Tansman and Max Bruch with Lukasz Borowicz and the Poznań Philharmonic Orchestra. She joined the BBC Philharmonic, conductor Christian Karlsen, and guitarist Jacob Kellermann to record Tōru Takemitsu’s Spectral Canticle, which was released on BIS in May 2023. Additionally, the Hyperion label issued her performances of Vieuxtemps Violin Concertos Nos. 4 and 5, and the Canadian company Analekta released her recording of Unsuk Chin’s Violin Concerto with Kent Nagano and the Montreal Symphony Orchestra. Her performance of Christian Jost’s TiefenRausch with the Essen Philharmonic, conducted by the composer, was released by the Capriccio label to critical acclaim, and she recorded Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in D minor with the Dogma Chamber Orchestra for the MDG label.

Hagner is the co-founder and Artistic Director of Krzyżowa-Music, an ambitious festival promoting the exchange of ideas and culture, and providing young and aspiring musicians the opportunity to rehearse and perform with internationally acclaimed artists. In summer 2024, the festival celebrated its tenth edition. She was recently awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Bundesverdienstkreuz) for her contribution to cultural exchange between Germany and Poland, predominantly through her work with the festival and her performances in both countries.

Residing in Berlin where she grew up, she has been Professor of Violin at the Mannheim University of Music and Performing Arts since 2013.