Germany's Camerata Zürich Names New Artistic Director

Swiss violinist Esther Hoppe will step into the role at the beginning of the 2025/26 season

Swiss violinist Esther Hoppe succeedsCamerata Zürich's current concertmaster Igor Karsko in the role of Artistic Director. She will start in her new position at the beginning of the 2025/26 season.

Hoppe has established a firm international reputation as a soloist, chamber musician, and pedagogue. Following studies in Basel, Philadelphia (at the Curtis Institute of Music), London, and Zürich, Hoppe was the winner of the 2002 International Mozart Violin Competition in Salzburg.

She is the founder of the Tecchler Trio, in which she plays alongside pianist Benjamin Engeli and cellist Maximilian Hornung. The group received First Prize at the 2007 edition of the International ARD-Competition in Munich.

Hoppe is also a committed pedagogue and has taught at the Mozarteum in Salzburg since 2013. She plays the “De Ahna” Stradivarius from 1722.

One of Switzerland's leading chamber orchestras, Camerata Zürich has a strong focus on the agility and sensitivity of sound that is only possible in a smaller, more flexible orchestra. The group is committed to new music, and has given more than one hundred premieres; in addition, the ensemble focuses on lesser-known repertoire from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

Gustavo de Freitas, the executive director of Camerata Zürich, highlighted Hoppe's "remarkable musicianship, creativity and passion" in his announcement. "We are excited about the new paths that the Camerata Zurich will take under [her] artistic direction," he added.

"I am very pleased to be appointed artistic director of the Camerata Zürich," Hoppe said. "I admire Camerata Zürich for its artistic excellence and its commitment to always engage [with] audiences in innovative ways."