Contact
Maike Charlotte Fuchs+49 (0) 30 214 594 -220mf@karstenwitt.com
Heike Wilms+49 (0) 30 214 594 -236hw@karstenwitt.com
General Management
Maximilian Hornung becomes artistic director of the Traunstein Summer Concerts
Congratulations to Antje Weithaas and Maximilian Hornung on winning the BBC Music Magazine Award!
Hanns Eisler, Sturm-Suite
W. R. Heymann, Frühlings-Notturno op. 4
Mieczysław Weinberg, Concerto for Cello and String Orchestra op. 43
Erich Wolfgang Korngold, Märchenbilder op. 3
Erwin Schulhoff, Suite for Chamber Orchestra, Op.37
Maximilian Hornung, violoncello
Würth Philharmoniker
Claudio Vandelli, conductor
Franz Schubert, Sonata in A minor D 821 (Arpeggione) for Cello and Piano
Gustav Mahler, Songs of a Wayfarer (arr. Hornung)
Anton Webern, Two Romantic Pieces
Richard Strauss, Cello Sonata in F major, Op. 6
Hisako Kawamura, piano
Ludwig van Beethoven, Overture to 'Leonore' No. 3 in C major, Op. 72
Dmitri Schostakowitsch, Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra No. 1, E flat major, Op. 107
Peter Tschaikowsky, Symphony No. 5 in E minor, Op.64
Neue Philharmonie Westfalen
Rasmus Baumann, conductor
Ludwig van Beethoven, Triple Concerto for piano, violin and violon cello C major op. 56
Anna Agafia Egholm, violin
Oliver Schnyder, piano
Howard Griffiths, conductor
Paul Dukas, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Henri Dutilleux, Concerto for Violoncello and Orchestra ›Tout un monde lointain‹
Claude Debussy, La Mer
Maurice Ravel, La Valse
Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz
Michael Francis, conductor
Johan Svendsen, Zorahayda op. 11
Robert Schumann, Cello Concerto in A minor Op. 129
Alexander von Zemlinsky, The Mermaid
Tiroler Symphonieorchester Innsbruck
Christian Blex, conductor
Camille Saint-Saens, Concerto for violoncello and orchestra No. 1 in A minor op. 33
Istanbul State Symphony Orchestra
Lior Shambadal, conductor
Edward Elgar, Concerto for violoncello and orchestra in E-flat minor, Op.85
Frankfurter Opern- und Museumsorchester
Antonello Manacorda, conductor
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra debut of cellist Maximilian Hornung on Friday night added another element of surprise to Strauss’ work [‘Don Quixote’]: His performance seemed to take stock of all this textured material and rise above it all, producing a breath with each statement. (...) Mr. Hornung’s clear-eyed interpretation capably sifted through Strauss’ dense musical material, his tone direct yet warm. Like an able guide navigating through an undiscovered forest, he commanded the pace of the work…Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Maximilian Hornung has established himself as one of the leading cellists of his generation in recent years. Today, he regularly performs as a soloist with renowned orchestras including the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, Czech Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne, Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and Bamberg Symphony, under conductors such as Daniel Harding, Yannick Nézét-Séguin, Mariss Jansons, Esa-Pekka Salonen, David Zinman, Pablo Heras-Casado, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, Semyon Bychkov, Bernard Haitink, Manfred Honeck, Antonello Manacorda, John Storgårds, Michael Francis, Mario Venzago, Jonathan Nott, Kristjan Järvi, Andrew Manze, Krzysztof Urbański, and Robin Ticciati. His chamber music partners include Anne-Sophie Mutter, Antje Weithaas, Hélène Grimaud, Daniil Trifonov, Christian Tetzlaff, Lisa Batiashvili, François Leleux, Joshua Bell, Yefim Bronfman, Herbert Schuch, Lars Vogt, Hisako Kawamura, Jörg Widmann, and Tabea Zimmermann. He has been invited to perform at the festivals in Schwetzingen, Salzburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Rheingau, Lucerne, Verbier, Ravinia, and Hong Kong. He has appeared in concert halls such as the philharmonic halls of Berlin, Cologne, and Essen as well as the Vienna Musikverein, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, and London’s Wigmore Hall.
Highlights of the 2023/24 season include debuts with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Frankfurter Opern- und Museumsorchester, the Estonian Festival Orchestra and the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra. He will perform in the dual role of soloist and conductor with the Orchestra della Svizzera italiana for the first time. In addition, he will return to the Tonhalle Zurich, the Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, and go on tour with the Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest performing Brahms' Double Concerto with Lisa Batiashvili. After the successful European tour in trio with Anne-Sophie Mutter and Lambert Orkis in the 2022/23 season, he will appear with Anne-Sophie Mutter at the Mozartwoche Salzburg in the current season.
His versatile discography is impressive and includes solo concerts as well as recordings with prominent chamber musicians. He received the ECHO Klassik Prize for his first album (Sony 2011) – for which he was designated as Young Artist of the Year – as well as for his recording of Dvořák’s Cello Concerto with the Bamberg Symphony under the direction of Sebastian Tewinkel the following year (Sony 2012). Further recordings have included Richard Strauss’ major cello works with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra under Bernard Haitink (Sony 2014) and Joseph Haydn’s cello concertos with the Kammerakademie Potsdam under Antonello Manacorda (Sony 2015). In 2017, Deutsche Grammophon released a highly acclaimed recording of Schubert’s Trout Quintet with Anne-Sophie Mutter and Daniil Trifonov, amongst others. Further recordings were released on Genuin, Linn Records, NEOS, Bridge Records, and CPO. In 2018, myrios classics released his recording of Dmitri Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 2 and Sulkhan Tsintsadze’s Cello Concerto No. 2 with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin under Andris Poga. On the same label, his CD of Schumann’s Cello Concerto with the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra under Daniel Harding will be released in 2023.
Maximilian Hornung, born 1986 in Augsburg, began taking cello lessons at the age of eight. The teachers with whom he has studied most intensely are Eldar Issakadze, Thomas Grossenbacher, and David Geringas. As cellist of the Tecchler Trio, in which he played until 2011, he won the First Prize of the ARD Music Competition in 2007. At the age of only 23, he became first principal cellist of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and held this position until 2013. Maximilian Hornung has been supported and sponsored by the Anne-Sophie Mutter Circle of Friends Foundation and Borletti-Buitoni Trust London. Since the spring of 2022, he has been Artistic Director of the Traunsteiner Sommerkonzerte.
Season 2023/24
This biography is to be reproduced without any changes, omissions or additions, unless expressly authorised by the artist management.
Duo with Hisako Kawamura (piano)L. v. Beethoven: F major Sonata S. Prokofiev: SonataA. Webern: Sonata (1914) R. Strauss: F major Sonata, Op. 6Auch als kompletter Beethoven Cellosonaten-Zyklus verfügbar.Dialoge with Mahan Esfahani (harpsichord)A. Vivaldi: Sonata for Cello and Bc No. 3 A minor G. Platti: Set 1, Sonata No. 1 J.C.F. Bach: Sonata A major for Cello and Harpsichord Marin Marais: Les Folies d'Espagne Victor Kalabis: 4 Dialoge for Cello and Harpsichord G. Platti: Set 2, Sonata No. 6 A. Vivaldi: Sonata for Cello and Bc No. 5 E minor
Trio with Sarah Christian and Timothy Ridout on request
Trio with Giuseppe Gibboni (Violin) and Carlotta Dalia (Guitar)A. Vivaldi: Trio C major Rv 82Handel-Halvorsen: Passacaglia (for Violin and Cello)H. W. Ernst: The last Rose of Summer (for Violin solo)G. Tartini: Il Trillo del Diavolo (for Violin and Guitar) J. Rodrigo: Passacaglia and Zapatedo (for Guitar solo)N. Paganini: Trio in D major, Op. 66
(for the season of 2024/25)
"The casting of the solo part with the cellist Maximilian Hornung proved to be a stroke of luck. The music impressively demonstrated how deep expression is possible even in extreme distortion."
Darmstädter Echo, Silvia Adler, 8/5/2023 (on the European premiere of Katherine Balch's Whisper Concerto)
"The German cellist possesses formidable technique, with exceptional smoothness and clarity at the upper reaches of the instrument’s register and supernatural delicacy at the bottom end."
Utah Arts Review, Catherine Reese Newton, 05/12/2022 (on Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 1)
"Breathless yet elegant; this is how Maximilian Hornung begins, wildly roaming the tonal ranges, switching effortlessly from soulful vibratos to surreal, sallow tones. He captures the audience in the Konzerthaus in an instant. Manacorda and Hornung, two energetics who like it palpable and plastic, pair temperament with transparency."
Tagesspiegel, Christiane Peitz, 23/10/2022 (on the Cello Concertos No. 1 and 2 by Saint-Saëns with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin)
“The impression of a truly collaborative concerto is created by Hornung and the Staatsorchester, which gives this wonderful work great elegance. Magnificent.”
Süddeutsche Zeitung, Andreas Pernpeintner, 09/10/2022 (on Elgar's Cello Concerto with the Bavarian State Orchestra Munich)
"The wide-ranging cantilenas begin to glow internally under his hands. When he masters tricky virtuosity in the high register, it sounds as delicate as fine bobbin lace. Technically wonderfully sovereign, the native of Augsburg is above all a devoted musician."
Rheinische Post, Anke Demirsoy, 10/06/2022 (on Schumann‘s Cello Concerto at Schumannfest Düsseldorf)
Friedrich Gulda: Concerto for Violoncello and Wind Orchestra
Haydn Cello Concerto in D major with the Bayerische Kammerphilharmonie
Dvořák, Mahler and Brahms with Herbert Schuch
Schumann Cello Concerto - Maximilian Hornung, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Daniel Harding
Brahms : Double Concerto/Anne-Sophie Mutter, Maximilian Hornung
Antje Weithaas, Maximilian Hornung, NDR Radiophilharmonie, Andrew Manze
cpo, 2019, 555 172-2
Maximilian Hornung, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Andris Poga
myrios classics, 2018, MYR023
Maximilian Hornung, Kammerakademie Potsdam, Antonello Manacorda
Sony Classical, 2015, 88843064532
Anne-Sophie Mutter, Daniil Trifonov, Hwayoon Lee, Maximilian Hornung, Roman Patkoló
Deutsche Grammophon, 2017, DGG 0028947975700
Maximilian Hornung, Paul Rivinius, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Bernard Haitink
Sony Classical, 2014, 888430470729
Maximilian Hornung, Bamberger Symphoniker, Sebastian Tewinkel
Sony Classical, 2012, B0072MZ8IS
Maximilian Hornung, Violoncello; Royal Scottish National Orchestra; José Serebrier
Linn Records, 2016, CDK 545