Passion for violin born out of a love of owls
Arts Week with Judy Murphy
Owls. One of Germany’s leading musicians Carolin Widmann, who will be in Galway’s Leisureland next Thursday with the RTÉ Symphony Orchestra, can trace her career as a top violinist back to owls. Carolin laughs as she says, in fairness to her, she was only six when the creatures stole her heart.
It happened was when she was attending a production of The Carnival of the Animals, the renowned piece by French Romantic composer Camille Saint-Saëns, that was being produced by a local amateur orchestra. Carolin’s mother, who played violin with the group, was in the owl section and the creatures – complete with feathers – blew the child away.
“It was more a visual than a sound thing at the time,” Carolin recalls. In any case, she has never looked back.
The Munich-born violinist has won countless awards for her playing and recordings – her albums include CDs of Schumann and Schubert’s music as well as more contemporary composers. And she’s a regular in the world’s top concert halls, performing with the likes of the London Philharmonic, Czech Philharmonic, Nuremberg Philharmonic and the BBC Symphony. Since 2016, she has been Professor of Violin in Leipzig’s University of Music and Theatre.
Carolin credits her parents with nurturing her passion for music – “they loved to play and they loved to listen”, she recalls. Her brother Jörg has also carved out a successful career as a composer and clarinettist.
Carolin performed in Ireland in 2016 with the Irish Chamber Orchestra and has also played Sligo International Chamber Music Festival. She’s very much looking forward to returning to ireland.
Well-informed about the implications of Brexit for Ireland, she is interested in politics generally. Her grandparents, who were children in the aftermath of World War II, endured great hardship before Germany rose from the ashes. They felt the good times couldn’t continue indefinitely and as she looks at Europe and the world now, Carolin sees why they held those views.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.