Friedemann Eichhorn

Friedemann Eichhorn is a German violinist whose range spans the 19th through the 21st centuries, with a focus on lesser-known works for his instrument and contemporary premieres. A founding member of the Gropius Quartet and the Phaeton Piano Trio, he has recorded more than 30 albums of striking breadth. Among his earliest recordings were Tangos y Historias (2007) with guitarist Thomas Müller-Pering and an album of rarely performed Liszt works with pianist R.-D. Arens (2009). Later influential releases include the world-premiere five-volume cycle of Pierre Rode's complete violin concertos (2009-2018); Fazil Say: Complete Violin Works (2020); and the album of works for violin and piano titled Liebestod (2023). Eichhorn released Schnittke: Complete Works for Two Violins, with Vadim Gluzman in 2026, part of a five-volume Schnittke cycle with the Deutsche Radio Philharmonie. Eichhorn received wide-ranging training in solo violin, chamber music, and conducting while completing his degree at Juilliard. He then earned his Ph.D. in musicology from the University of Mainz. He has been artistic director of the Kronberg Academy since 2012, having also previously taught violin at the Liszt School of Music in Weimar. The violinist's duo partners include cellist Alexander Hülshoff, with whom he has recorded numerous premieres, and Fazil Say, for whom he premiered the Violin Concerto No. 2 (2022) and Violin Sonata No. 2 ("Mount Ida"). Since 2020, Eichhorn has kept up a schedule of prestigious engagements, debuting with the Konzerthausorchester Berlin, Hong Kong Philharmonic, and Rome's Santa Cecilia Orchestra. With Evgeny Kissin and Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt, he gave the premiere of Kissin's Piano Trio in 2023 and toured the U.S. and Canada with the Phaeton Piano Trio in 2026. ~ Jane Harrison, Rovi