Christian Altenburger (born 7 September 1957) is an Austrian classical violinist.

Life and career

Born in Heidelberg, Altenburger, son of violinist Alfred Altenburger, studied at the

University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna The University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (german: link=no, Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien, abbreviated MDW) is an Austrian university located in Vienna, established in 1817. With a student body of over three thousa ...

while still at school. After graduating, he began studying at the Juilliard School in New York in

Dorothy DeLay Dorothy DeLay (March 31, 1917 – March 24, 2002) was an American violin instructor, primarily at the Juilliard School, Sarah Lawrence College, and the University of Cincinnati. Life Dorothy DeLay was born on March 31, 1917, in Medicine Lodg ...

's class on the recommendation of Zubin Mehta. He made his debut as a soloist at the Wiener Musikverein in 1976. Further engagements as a soloist followed in concerts with orchestras such as the Vienna Philharmonic, the Berlin Philharmonic, the London Symphony Orchestra, the New York Philharmonic, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra under conductors such as Claudio Abbado, Bernard Haitink, James Levine, Zubin Mehta and Wolfgang Sawallisch. Altenburger is a regular participant in international chamber music festivals such as Santa Fe, Kuhmo and

Stavanger Stavanger (, , American English, US usually , ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the fourth largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the a ...

, and at the Pablo Casals Festival in Prades. He is additionally the organizer of various

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

events. From 1990 to 2001 he taught as professor of violin at the

Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media (german: Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover, italics=unset, abbreviated to HMTMH) is a university of performing arts and media in Hanover, the capital of Lower Saxony, Germany. Dating ...

. From 1999 to 2005 he was

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the ...

of the together with his then wife the actress

Julia Stemberger Julia Stemberger (born 29 January 1965) is an Austrian actress. Early life Stemberger was born in Vienna, Austria to actress Christa Schwertsik and medical doctor Heinrich Stemberger. Her younger sister, Katharina Stemberger also became ...

, by whom he had a daughter,

Fanny Altenburger Fanny Altenburger (born in 2000) is an Austrian actress. Life and career The daughter of the actress Julia Stemberger and the violinist Christian Altenburger,

. Professor Altenburger is currently married to British violinist Lydia Altenburger (née Westcombe-Evans). The couple married in 2010 and have 2 sons, Nicolas (born 2011 and Severin 2012). In 2001 he received a professorship at the Vienna University of Music. Since 2003 he has been artistic director of the

festival ''Schwäbischer Frühling'', and since 2006 of the ''Loisiarte'' in

Langenlois Langenlois () is a town at the Kamp river in the Kamptal, district of Krems-Land in the Austrian state of Lower Austria. Famous for its wine production, it is also home to the Loisium, a centre celebrating and advertising the local wine and built ...

Awards

* 2018: – Recognition award in the ''Musik'' category.

Trivia

During a burglary in Altenburger's apartment on 29 May 2007, thieves stole a supposed Stradivari violin from the year 1680 worth around 2.5 million euros and a

Vuillaume Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume (7 October 1798 – 19 March 1875) was a French luthier, businessman, inventor and winner of many awards. His workshop made over 3,000 instruments. Early life Vuillaume was born in Mirecourt, where his father and gra ...

violin worth around 120,000 euros, which was found undamaged by the police on 5 June 2007. The three perpetrators were arrested and sentenced to six and five years respectively. They had committed ten burglaries in May 2007 alone. During the trial, an expert was unable to confirm the authenticity of the Stradivarius. The violin was smaller than a typical Stradivarius, probably a violin from the house of Amati. Three or four masters from

Cremona Cremona (, also ; ; lmo, label= Cremunés, Cremùna; egl, Carmona) is a city and ''comune'' in northern Italy, situated in Lombardy, on the left bank of the Po river in the middle of the ''Pianura Padana'' ( Po Valley). It is the capital of th ...

could be considered as manufacturers. The value could therefore be set at 500,000 euros.''Prozess um Altenburgers gestohlene Geige - Sachverständiger: Stradivari ist keine Stradivari''
derstandard.at, 20. November 2007.

References

External links

Homepage von Christian Altenburger

Altenburger Family
in '' Oesterreichisches Musiklexikon'' by Andrea Harrandt. Online edition, Vienna 2002, ; Printed edition: Volume 1, Austrian Academy of Sciences publishing house, Vienna, 2002, * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Altenburger, Christian 1957 births 20th-century classical violinists Austrian classical violinists Living people Musicians from Heidelberg University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna alumni Academic staff of the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna