Anna Katharina Kränzlein, also known as Anna Katharina, (born 7 November 1980 in

Fürstenfeldbruck Fürstenfeldbruck () is a town in Bavaria, Germany, 32 kilometres west of Munich. It is the capital of the district of Fürstenfeldbruck. it had a population of 35,494. Since the 1930s Fürstenfeldbruck has had an air force base. Geography F ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

) is a German

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

ist. She is most known for her quick and varied technique. She is the youngest founding member of

Medieval folk rock Medieval folk rock, medieval rock or medieval folk is a musical subgenre that emerged in the early 1970s in England and Germany which combined elements of early music with rock music. It grew out of the British folk rock and progressive folk m ...

folk metal Folk metal is a fusion genre of heavy metal music and traditional folk music that developed in Europe during the 1990s. It is characterised by the widespread use of folk instruments and, to a lesser extent, traditional singing styles (for example ...

band

Schandmaul Schandmaul is a German medieval folk rock band from the Munich area. As well as using modern instruments such as the bass guitar, bass and electric guitar, the band also utilizes instruments typically used in Medieval folk songs such as the ba ...

Biography

Kränzlein grew up in

Puchheim Puchheim (; Central Bavarian: ''Buachham'') is suburb to Munich in the district of Fürstenfeldbruck, in Bavaria, Germany. It has about 20,000 inhabitants. Puchheim is divided into two parts: the old and rural part called Puchheim-Ort and the new ...

near Munich and made first musical experiences aged five when she autodidactically learned to play the

recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a newsp ...

. Within the next ten years she expanded her repertoire with the

western concert flute The Western concert flute can refer to the common C concert flute or to the family of transverse flute, transverse (side-blown) flutes to which the C flute belongs. Almost all are made of metal or wood, or a combination of the two. A musician w ...

whereby she won the Bavarian state level awards of

Jugend musiziert ''Jugend musiziert'' is a music competition for children and adolescents in Germany on regional, federal and national level. ''Jugend musiziert'' in Germany In Germany, the nationwide competition refers to young adults up to 20 years and for t ...

two times.Bayerischer Rundfunk At age eight she received her first violin lesson by Simone Burger-Michielsen, who kindled Kränzlein's love for classical music. From age twelve on, she played with the newly founded Puchheim Youth Chamber Orchestra and was

concertmaster The concertmaster (from the German language, German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (UK) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (clarinet or oboe in a concert band). After the Conducting, conductor, the concertma ...

under Peter Michielsen from 1997 on who also used to be her violin teacher for several years. Concert tours with this orchestra led her to

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

and

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

. Later she played violin and

viola The viola ( , () ) is a string instrument of the violin family, and is usually bowed when played. Violas are slightly larger than violins, and have a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of the ...

with the Bavarian State Youth Orchestra. She is an eightfold winner of the German national ''Jugend musiziert'' prize, for solo violin and ensembles. Aged 14 she also learned to play piano because this is the requirement to study violin at musical schools in Germany. Her teacher was the mother of later Schandmaul guitarist Martin Duckstein. In the spring of 1998, her band Schandmaul would gather for the first time. Originally the project had only been planned for a single concert but the great request for CDs during their performance in

Gröbenzell Gröbenzell is a municipality and suburb to Munich in the district Fürstenfeldbruck, in Bavaria, Germany. It was founded in 1952, and has a population of 19,202. Gröbenzell is often called a garden city, which is also illustrated by the two flowe ...

made them continue the band. Their recordings sold more than 300,000 items. The last album ''

Anderswelt ''Anderswelt'' is the sixth album released by the German Medieval folk rock band Schandmaul on 4 April 2008. It was recorded from October 2007 to January 2007 at Turnstyle Studio, Berlin, and the HOFA Studios in Karlsdorf and was produced by Th ...

'' peaked at rank 8 of the German charts and their tours saw sold-out venues in Germany,

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and the

Benelux The Benelux Union (; ; ; ) or Benelux is a politico-economic union, alliance and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighbouring states in Western Europe: Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The name is a portma ...

states. Kränzlein came across the

hurdy-gurdy The hurdy-gurdy is a string instrument that produces sound by a hand-turned crank, rosined wheel rubbing against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin (or nyckelharpa) bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar ...

in 2000 when she met hurdy-gurdy maker Karl Riedl and built an instrument with him for her specialised course in music at school. Since the second Schandmaul album, she plays the hurdy-gurdy with the band, since the fourth album she also participates in texting and composing and with the fifth album she also contributed viola parts. From 1998 to 2000, Kränzlein read music at the Munich Conservatory with Urs Stieler. In 2001, she moved to the Saar University of Music at

Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; Rhenish Franconian: ''Sabrigge'' ; ; ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of cities and towns in Germany, city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken has 181,959 inhabitants and is Saarland's administrative, commerci ...

where she studied with Ulrike Dierick. There she played with the University Orchestra under

Max Pommer Max Pommer (born 9 February 1936) is a German musicologist and conductor, a director of the Leipziger Universitätschor and the founder and conductor of the Neues Bachisches Collegium Musicum. Career Born in Leipzig, Pommer was a student of ...

and violinist

virtuoso A virtuoso (from Italian ''virtuoso'', or ; Late Latin ''virtuosus''; Latin ''virtus''; 'virtue', 'excellence' or 'skill') is an individual who possesses outstanding talent and technical ability in a particular art or field such as fine arts, ...

and conductor

Maxim Vengerov Maxim Alexandrovich Vengerov (; born 20 August 1974) is a Soviet-born Israeli violinist, violist, and conductor. Classic FM has called him "one of the greatest violinists in the world". Vengerov was born in Novosibirsk, the only child of Al ...

. In 2003 Kränzlein enrolled at the Würzburg University of Music, joining the class of Max Speermann, where she graduated in 2006. Since 2001 she moreover takes lessons in classical song. In 2007, she published ''Neuland'' (lit.: new territory) the first album in a solo career that had been in planning before. It features a mix of five classical pieces and four own compositions that were recorded with violin, viola and also hurdy-gurdy. Another two tracks were her debut as a classical singer. Guest musicians include bassist Matthias Richter (Schandmaul, Weto) and drummer

Curt Cress Curtis Cress (born 11 August 1952), known by his stage name Curt Cress, is a German musician, singer and songwriter. Life and work Curt Cress began his career in 1965 in Hanau with the band Load. Later also in Hanau he played with the bands I ...

(

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939 – May 24, 2023) was a singer, songwriter, actress, and author. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", her vocal prowess, raspy voice, and electrifyin ...

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

, Falco). Anna Kränzlein went on tour with

Letzte Instanz Letzte Instanz is a German violin-Rock music, rock band, founded in Dresden, Germany, in 1996, particularly noted for their use of the violin and cello. The founding members included Hörbi, Tin Whistle, Muttis Stolz, Kaspar Wichman, Holly D. and ...

in February 2008 and also performs solo as Anna Katharina. In October 2009, Kränzlein published her second solo album ''Saitensprung'' on Fame Recordings. The third studio album ''Dreiklang'' was released in October 2012. She left Schandmaul in August 2017.

Discography

Solo albums

* ''Neuland'', Fame Recordings, Edel (distribution), 2007 (in German). Retrieved 12 May 2012. * ''Saitensprung'', Fame Recordings, Edel (distribution), 2009 * ''Dreiklang'', Fame Recordings, Sony (distribution), 2012

Schandmaul

* ''Wahre Helden'', self-distribution, 1998 * ''Von Spitzbuben und anderen Halunken'', self-distribution, 2000 * ''Narrenkönig'', Fame Recordings, Edel (distribution), 2002 * ''Hexenkessel'' (live CD and DVD), Fame Recordings, Edel (distribution), 2003 * '' Wie Pech & Schwefel'', Fame Recordings, Edel (distribution), 2004 * ''Kunststück'' (live CD and DVD), Fame Recordings, Edel (distribution), 2004 * ''Bin Unterwegs (with orchestra)'', Single, Fame Recordings, Edel (distribution), 2005 * ''Wahre Helden'' Fame Recordings, Edel (distribution) 2005 * ''Von Spitzbuben & Anderen Halunken'', Fame Recordings, Edel (distribution) 2005 * '' Immer noch Wach'' (feat. Tanzwut) 2005 * ''Picture Vinyl'', vinyl record, 2006 * "Kein Weg zu Weit", single, Fame Recordings, Edel (distribution), 2006 * '' Mit Leib und Seele'', Fame Recordings, Edel (distribution), 2006 * ''

'', Fame Recordings, Edel (distribution), 2008 * ''Sinnbilder'' (DVD; portrait and live concert of the 2007

Wacken Open Air Wacken Open Air (, abbreviated as W:O:A) is a Heavy metal music, heavy metal music festival, held annually since 1990 on the first weekend of August in the village of Wacken, Schleswig-Holstein, Wacken in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Almost all ...

), Fame Recordings, Edel (distribution), 2008 * '' Sinnfonie'' (live CD and DVD, Portrait and live concert of the 2007 Wacken Open Air plus ''Andersvolk - Der Fan Film''), Fame Recordings, Edel (distribution), 2009 * '' Traumtänzer'', Fame Recordings, Sony Music (distribution), 2011 * '' Unendlich'',

Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company that is a subsidiary of Comcast ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of N ...

, 2014 * '' Leuchtfeuer'',

Vertigo Vertigo is a condition in which a person has the sensation that they are moving, or that objects around them are moving, when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. It may be associated with nausea, vomiting, perspira ...

, 2016

Guest musician

* Weto – ''Tatort Bühne'', self-distribution, 1996 *

– ''Die weiße Reise: Live In Dresden'', Drakkar, 2008 * Letzte Instanz – ''Weißgold'' (Live double DVD, contains also excerpts from the Anna Katharina concert), Sony Music, 2008 *

Sava The Sava, is a river in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. From its source in Slovenia it flows through Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally reac ...

– ''Metamorphosis'', Banshee Records/KOM 4 Medien; Alive (distribution), 2008

References

* *

External links

Official website

Anna Kränzlein at MySpace

Anna Katharina – Dreiklang
official website of the 2012 studio album {{DEFAULTSORT:Kranzlein, Anna Katharina German women heavy metal singers German women violinists 21st-century German violinists Living people 1980 births People from Fürstenfeldbruck (district) 20th-century German violinists German hurdy-gurdists 20th-century German women singers 21st-century German women singers 21st-century German women musicians