Mirijam Contzen

Mirijam Contzen’s talent was discovered by Tibor Varga, the legendary Hungarian violinist, who taught her from the age of seven. When she was sixteen she won the International Tibor Varga Violin Competition; then, in 2001, she was singled out by the prestigious German ECHO Klassik Prize as Best Young Artist of the Year. Contzen has made solo appearances with orchestras such as the Leipzig Gewandhaus, the Bamberger Symphoniker, the BBC and Helsinki Philharmonics, and Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Chamber music plays an essential role in Mirijam Contzen’s musical activities. She co-founded the Serafino Quartet and has performed in a variety of ensembles in the company of Pierre-Laurent Aimard, Emanuel Ax, Joshua Bell, Natalia Gutman, Clemens Hagen, Janine Jansen, Leonidas Kavakos, Stephen Kovacevich, Mischa Maisky and Herbert Schuch. She has been invited to perform at the Salzburg, Verbier and Rheingau Festivals as well as at MDR Summer Festival in Saxony. Her previous appearance at the Ruhr Piano Festival was in 2007, when she performed Beethoven’s Triple Concerto along with Herbert Schuch and Adrian Brendel.