Beate Altenburg

Born in 1975 in Cologne, Beate Altenburg studied cello with Irene Güdel in Detmold and with Christoph Richter at the Folkwang University of the Arts in Essen. After her concert diploma she went on to perfect her abilities under the tutelage of Colin Carr in London at the Royal Academy of Music, where she obtained her Masters degree with honours. Altenburg has actively participated in masterclasses imparted by Steven Isserlis and other great cellists, and she has collaborated with composers such as Peteris Vasks and Peter Maxwell Davies. In 1998 she won the nation-wide Conservatory Competition at Folkwang University, and in 1999 she was a laureate of the International André Navarra Cello Competition in Toulouse. At the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Competition in 2001 she was selected for the annual scholarship awarded by the President of the Federal Republic of Germany; one year later, she won highest honours with her diploma recital at the Royal Academy of Music. Beate Altenburg performed for the first time at the Ruhr Piano Festival in 2014.