Frank Peter Zimmermann

Frank Peter Zimmermann is widely recognised as one of the foremost violinists of his generation, praised for his selfless musicality, his technical brilliance and keen intelligence. For well over three decades he has worked regularly with the world’s major orchestras and renowned conductors. His many concert engagements take him to all important concert venues and international music festivals in Europe, the United States, Asia, South America and Australia.

Highlights during the 2024/2025 season include appearances with the Berliner Philharmoniker and Krill Petrenko, Cleveland Orchestra and Franz Welser-Möst, Boston Symphony Orchestra and Dima Slobodeniouk, Staatskapelle Dresden and Daniele Gatti, NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester and Andris Poga, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and Alan Gilbert, Orchestre de Paris and Dima Slobodeniouk, Orchestre National de Lyon and David Afkham,  Filarmonica della Scala and Daniele Gatti, as well as a tour in China. Together with pianist Dmytro Choni he will give recitals in various cities in Europe. 

Over the years Mr. Zimmermann has built up an impressive discography for BIS Records, Warner Classics, Sony Classical, hänssler CLASSIC, Ondine, Decca, Teldec Classics and ECM Records. He has recorded virtually all major concerto repertoire, ranging from Bach to Ligeti, as well as recital repertoire. Many of these highly acclaimed recordings have received prestigious awards and prizes worldwide. Most recent releases include the Stravinsky violin concerto, coupled with Martinů’s Suite concertante and Bartók’s Rhapsodies nos. 1 and 2 with the Bamberger Symphoniker and Jakub Hrůša (BIS), the complete sonatas and partitas by J.S. Bach (BIS) and the complete sonatas for piano and violin by Beethoven with Martin Helmchen (BIS).

He received numerous special prizes and honours, among which the “Premio del Accademia Musicale Chigiana, Siena” (1990), the “Rheinischer Kulturpreis” (1994), the “Musikpreis” of the city of Duisburg (2002), the “Bundesverdienstkreuz 1. Klasse der Bundesrepublik Deutschland” (2008) and the “Paul-Hindemith-Preis der Stadt Hanau” (2010). 

In 2010 he founded the Trio Zimmermann with viola player Antoine Tamestit and cellist Christian Poltéra; the trio performed in all major music centres and festivals in Europe for well over a decade. BIS Records released award-winning CD recordings of works for string trio by J.S. Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert, Schoenberg and Hindemith.

Mr. Zimmermann has given world premieres of Magnus Lindberg’s violin concerto no. 2, Matthias Pintscher’s violin concerto “en sourdine”, Brett Dean’s violin concerto “The Lost Art of Letter Writing” and of Augusta Read Thomas’ violin concerto no. 3 “Juggler in Paradise”.

Born in 1965 in Duisburg, Germany, he started playing the violin when he was 5 years old, giving his first concert with orchestra at the age of 10. He studied with Valery Gradov, Saschko Gawriloff and Herman Krebbers.

Frank Peter Zimmermann plays on the 1711 Antonio Stradivari violin “Lady Inchiquin”, which is kindly provided by the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf, “Kunst im Landesbesitz”.