In the classical music world, violinist Christian Tetzlaff is known as an exceptional musician and is highly praised for his expressive and sensitive interpretations. His individual approach to the score, in which he always seeks the emotional and structural depth of a composition, is often described in concerts as a truly existential experience. Since his spectacular debut with Schoenberg’s Violin Concerto in Berlin, Munich and Cleveland in 1988, this violinist has performed with leading orchestras of the highest calibre and has collaborated with multiple renowned conductors. His extensive repertoire ranges from Bach’s solo sonatas and partitas to lesser-known concertos by Giovanni Battista Viotti and Joseph Joachim to contemporary works by György Ligeti, Jörg Widmann and Thomas Ades. In February 2026, the violinist is giving the world premiere of Ondrej Adamek’s Violin Concerto No. 2 in Paris, followed by national premieres in Switzerland and the Czech Republic.

Chamber music is an integral part of Christian Tetzlaff’s career. In 1994, he founded the Tetzlaff Quartet together with his sister, cellist Tanja Tetzlaff, and which was awarded the Diapason d’or l’année. This violinist has also received numerous awards for his many recordings as soloist, including the Diapason d’or, the German Record Critics’ Award and the Midem Classical Award. In 2023, he also took over as artistic director of the Spannungen Festival in Heimbach. This extraordinary musician has enjoyed a close friendship with The Deutsche Kammer­philharmonie Bremen for many years.

Florian Donderer is first violin of Signum Quartet, one of the most adventurous and outstanding string quartets of today, as well as longstanding concertmaster of The Deutsche Kammer­philharmonie Bremen. He is a versatile musician, highly valued as chamber musician, soloist, concertmaster and conductor, collaborating with distinguished musicians such as Paavo Järvi, Steven Isserlis, Lars Vogt, Viktoria Mullova, Elisabeth Leonskaja and his wife and brother in law, Tanja and Christian Tetzlaff.

Florian Donderer is frequent guest at major festivals such as Bergen Festspielen, Beethovenfest Bonn, Festwochen Berlin, Schwetzinger Festspiele and is core member at ›Spannungen‹, one of Germany’s most prominent music festivals, founded by Pianist Lars Vogt. Concerts with Signum Quartet have taken him to international podia from Berlin‘s Boulez-Saal and Elbphilharmonie Hamburg to London’s Wigmore Hall and Concertgebouw Amsterdam.

Florian Donderer is especially renowned as an artistic leader, directing orchestras from the concertmaster’s desk. Top Chamber Orchestras such as Scottish Chamber Orchestra, Kammerorchester Basel, Norwegian Chamber Orchestra and Camerata Bern, invite him as director and soloist. Last year‘s recording ›Haydn and Bach Cello Concertos‹ with Steven Isserlis, Florian Donderer and The Deutsche Kammer­philharmonie Bremen has received a Grammy Nomination. He made his debut as conductor with Ensemble Oriol and Christiane Oelze at Berlin Philharmonic Hall, followed by a CD recording with Deutsche Kammer­philharmonie Bremen and Tanja Tetzlaff. He has conducted among others the Kammerakademie Neuss, the Südwestdeutsches Kammerorchester Pforzheim and Festival Strings Lucerne. This year Florian Donderer has taken on the position of artistic director of the chamber music festival of the city of Rottweil, one of Germany’s longest standing festivals. With his wife, Tanja Tetzlaff he is curating a chamber music series at Sendesaal Bremen.

He plays a violin built by German Violinmaker Peter Greiner in 2003 and bows by Nico Plog from Antwerp.