Violinist Christian Tetzlaff was born in Hamburg, Germany On April 29, 1966, and began his musical training at the age of six, making his concert debut at 14. He is known for his broad repertoire ranging from nineteenth century masterworks by Brahms and Beethoven to more contemporary compositions as well as unaccompanied sonatas and partitas by Bach. He rose to international prominence at the age of 22 following a series of critically acclaimed appearances with the Cleveland Orchestra and the Munich Philharmonic during which he performed some memorable renditions of Schoenenberg's Violin Concerto. Tetzlaff has a distinctive style which concentrates on the absolute melodic essence of the piece being played and he often performs without adding any unnecessary flourishes. This characteristically teutonic approach with its focus on perfection has led to the occasional adverse comment from music critics and Tetzlaff's performances have been accused of being devoid of character and lacking any sense of affection for the music, but he remains one of the most successful recording artists in the field of modern classical music. He has appeared on over 50 recordings including Haydn: 3 Violin Concertos (1991), Mozart: Violin Concertos Numbers 2 & 4 (2000), Bartók: Violin Sonatas (2004), Brahms: Violin Concertos (2008), Bach: Sonatas & Partitas (2008) and Beethoven/Sibelius: Violin Concertos (2019).
