“This concerto has always been one of my favourite pieces”
Augustin Hadelich is one of the world’s most popular violinists. In collaboration with cellist Gautier Capuçon and the Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Christian Thielemann, the 41-year-old German-American has just recorded Johannes Brahms’ Double Concerto. At his inaugural appearance on 2 August 2025, he will play the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen. Below, Georg Rudiger asks him a few questions.
You were raised in the Tuscan countryside, where your parents made wine and grew olives. What was it like for you as a German child growing up in Italy?
For me it was normal. Although German was initially my mother tongue, I learned Italian at school, and all things Italian – Tuscany, the olive trees, the vineyards – became home to me. Of course, culturally I am more German and was never regarded as an Italian at school, but rather as a German. We were the Tedeschi. I never gave the matter all that much thought. It was only when I was in Germany that the question was raised: why did your parents move to Tuscany? Some people found that strange.
Until you were 10 years old, you only listened to music performed live, by your family. It was only then that your parents bought a record player. Looking back, did that influence your musical career, your way of playing?
It really is true that we made music ourselves at home and there was no record player. I heard good, professional musicians in concerts, and eventually the time came when I really wanted to hear recordings of the great violinists. My parents got a record player and a friend of the family, who was switching to CDs, gave us all his LPs, with some truly fantastic recordings. They became a large part of my inspiration, because I soon developed my own ideas and then listened to the recordings which corresponded with those ideas.
Why did you go to the Juilliard School in New York rather than to a European music academy?
I had been awarded a violin diploma in Italy, but I felt that I needed to go to a big city rather than remaining in the very beautiful, but also sleepy countryside. I wanted a new beginning, and found it In New York at the highly renowned Juilliard School.
America has become your home. You have lived in New York City since 2004. What do you associate with the country? And how do you view it currently?
I have many homes. My linguistic home is German, of course, but with my own family now being American. New York, America is my home, while Tuscany will always remain my childhood home in my heart, to this day.
What do you associate with Switzerland?
Early linguistic experiences. When my parents first moved from Germany to Tuscany, it was still largely inhabited by a long-established Italian population, but soon afterwards a lot of houses started being bought up by Swiss people, so of course Swiss German would often be heard.
Have you ever been to Klosters or Graubünden?
I didn’t grow up in the mountains, but of course I enjoy the beautiful landscape and, whenever I’m in Switzerland, the great festivals, the prestigious orchestras and the simply incredible richness of the Swiss musical scene. I haven’t been to Graubünden yet, but I’m very much looking forward to it.
You will be coming to Klosters Music on 2 August accompanied by the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen and conductor Jérémie Rohrer. Do you know each other?
I don’t know the Kammerphilharmonie Bremen yet, this will be our first encounter, but I’ve played with Jérémie Rohrer several times with various orchestras in America and Europe. We’ve always got on very well and I’m looking forward to seeing him again for the first time in some years.
The Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto is one of the most frequently played concertos of them all. What is your approach to this work? What particularly matters to you regarding its interpretation?
The concerto has always been one of my favourite pieces and I’ve been playing it for almost 30 years. It remains one of the most exciting, beautiful and emotional pieces in the repertoire. Naturally my approach has changed over time. When I was young I was more concerned with technical mastery, whereas later on I kept the entire score in mind and tried to understand the piece as a whole. And finally I arrived at a kind of new beginning, freeing myself from playing traditions and habits. Because there is a great danger that these traditions can almost turn the piece into a caricature of itself, thus concealing the fire that this music possesses. Since doing this I have come to like the piece even more, and playing it gives me great pleasure. When I was growing up, the original version arranged by Leopold Auer was often played. In this, many small details have been changed, some passages made even more virtuoso, others simplified. There are also some cuts. In particular in the last movement, some orchestral tutti have been shortened. At some point I took on the original and, like most violinists these days, came to the conclusion that the original version was better and coherent in itself. That’s why I adhere very closely to the instructions.
In the Guarneri del Jesú/Leduc, dating from 1744, you have a very special instrument at your disposal. What do you particularly like about this violin?
I love the warm, singing tone of this Guarneri, which inspires me every day. I grew up listening to recordings of Henryk Szeryng, who owned this violin for over 30 years, and was always impressed by Szeryng’s beautiful, round, full sound. At the time I didn’t know what violin he was playing. Later on, in New York, I saw a picture of his violin at a violin maker’s. I admired it but had no idea that I would one day hold the instrument in my own hands. But that’s what happened. This wonderful instrument has been my good and faithful companion for five years now, together with whom I’ve experienced many adventures and always know that this is a violin which will never let me down on stage.
What else do you like to do passionately besides music?
Music and my family: that’s my life.