Daniel Hope
Daniel Hope was born in Durban in 1974. When he was six months old, his father, the distinguished novelist, poet and anti-apartheid activist Christopher Hope, was finally granted an exit visa. The family went first to Paris, then to London, where Daniel’s mother Eleanor was engaged by Yehudi Menuhin to be his secretary, later becoming the celebrated violinist and conductor’s long-time manager. In 1978 Hope began to study the violin in London with Sheila Nelson, of whom he has spoken as “probably the greatest-ever music teacher of children”. Six years later he commenced his studies at the Royal College of Music with Itzhak Rashkovsky, Felix Andrievsky and Grigory Zhislin and appeared on British television playing Shostakovich with double-bass player Gary Karr. In 1985 he was invited by Yehudi Menuhin to perform the Bartók Duos for German television, which began a long association between the two violinists that included over 60 concerts. From 1992–1998 he was a pupil of Zakhar Bron at London’s Royal Academy of Music from where he graduated with a Masters Diploma. Daniel Hope is renowned for his musical versatility and creativity and has appeared all over the globe with the world’s most renowned orchestras and conductors.
| 1995 | Gives the world premiere of Douglas Jarman’s critical edition of the Berg Violin Concerto, which corrects 150 copyist errors; works with Toru Takemitsu, later recording his violin concerto Nostalghia |
| 1999 | Performs the Schnittke Violin Concerto at the Düsseldorf Tonhalle in Yehudi Menuhin’s final concert |
| 2000 | Replaces Nigel Kennedy at short notice to play and conduct before an audience of 20,000 people on Munich’s Königsplatz |
| 2001 | Voted “Classical Performer of the Year” by London’s Evening Standard |
| 2002 | Becomes the youngest-ever member of the legendary Beaux Arts Trio, with whom he annually tours all major venues in Europe and North America; plays premiere of Jan Müller-Wieland’s violin concerto Ballad of Ariel in Berlin, one of many works he regularly commissions from young composers |
| 2003 | Gives the world premiere of Schnittke’s newly discovered Sonata 1955 in London |
| 2004 | Begins his relationship with the Savannah Music Festival as artist-in-residence, including the conception and performance of “An Audience with Beethoven” featuring actress Mia Farrow, for whom he writes a script, and the Beaux Arts Trio; the festival formally appoints him Associate Artistic Director (through 2009). At the Classical Brit Awards, Hope is named “Young Artist of the Year”. His CD coupling of the violin concertos by Britten and Berg (first recording of Jarman’s critical edition) wins the Classical Brit Award and Germany’s Deutscher Schallplattenpreis and Echo Award |
| 2005 | Premieres the Violin Concerto Abraham composed for him by Roxanna Panufnik and presents the US premiere of his programme East Meets West with Indian sitar master Gaurav Mazumdar at Savannah; performs at Dachau for the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the concentration camp; celebrates the Beaux Arts Trio’s 50th anniversary and gives further performances with pianist Menahem Pressler of Beethoven’s Violin Sonatas; nominated for two Grammys; wins the Echo Award |
| 2006 | Appearances include concerts with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, London Philharmonic, Orchestre National de France, City of Birmingham Symphony, Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, Gulbenkian Foundation, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra; recital tour of Germany. Wins the Echo Award for the third year in succession. Begins collaboration with Stewart Copeland, legendary drummer of The Police |
| 2007 | Signs an exclusive contract with Deutsche Grammophon. Engagements include concerts with the Netherlands Philharmonic (collaborating with composer Tan Dun), Munich Philharmonic, the BBC, City of Birmingham, Boston and Chicago symphony orchestras, the Sinfonia Varsovia and Orquesta Sinfónica de Barcelona. Extensive European and North American tours with the Beaux Arts Trio. Performances throughout Germany with actor Klaus Maria Brandauer reading Dietrich Bonhoeffer and in their latest collaboration “War and Pieces”. Recitals in Vienna, Graz, numerous German cities including Berlin (Philharmonie and – in works by Theresienstadt composers – at the Jewish Cultural Festival), Amsterdam, London, Barcelona and New York. Festival appearances at Savannah, Santa Fe, Tanglewood, Ravinia, Bloomington (Indiana), BBC Proms, Beethovenfest Bonn and the Enescu Festival in Bucharest. Chamber music at New York’s 92nd St. “Y”. Third Grammy nomination for the Beaux Arts Trio (Shostakovich’s Piano Trios). Hope’s first book Familienstücke. Eine Spurensuche is published in German and is also available as an audiobook on the Yellow Label. In his debut recording for Deutsche Grammophon, Hope presents works by Mendelssohn: the E minor Violin Concerto (world-premiere recording of the original 1844 version), the Octet for strings (world-premiere recording of the revised edition) and three Lieder; he also participates in the “Theresienstadt” album of Anne Sofie von Otter, with music by Jewish composers in the Theresienstadt concentration camp. His performance of Elgar’s Violin Concerto made with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and Sakari Oramo to celebrate the composer’s 150th birthday is broadcast on the Chicago-based WFMT radio station; the live recording is available for download within the DG Concerts series. Also available in the series is his performance of Sir Michael Tippett’s Triple Concerto at the BBC Proms |
| 2008 | The year opens with a New Year’s Concert in Geneva with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. Other concerts include performances with numerous German orchestras, the Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Zurich and Swedish Chamber orchestras, the Orchestre National de France and Concertgebouw Orchestra; tour to the Far East. Recitals in Hamburg, London, Bologna, Salzburg and Tokyo with pianist Sebastian Knauer; tours with the Beaux Arts Trio throughout the USA and Canada, and in Europe. Festival appearances include Ravinia, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Rheingau, Lucerne (including his final concert with the Beaux Arts Trio), Schubertiade and Beethovenfest Bonn. Further performances with actor Klaus Maria Brandauer reading Dietrich Bonhoeffer and “War and Pieces” in Germany. Autumn sees the release of Hope’s recording of violin concertos by Vivaldi with the Chamber Orchestra of Europe |
