Thomas Brandis, German violinist and concertmaster, Died at 81

  Music

Thomas Brandis was born on June 23, 1935, in Hamburg and died on March 30, 2017.

He was a German violinist, chamber music performer, pedagogue and former concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic.

He trained as a violinist in Hamburg and later in London with Max Rostal.

After winning the first of the International ARD Competition he was concertmaster in Hamburg, moving later to Berlin to play with the Berlin Philharmonic.

Brandis became concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic at age 26, and served in the position until 1983.

During 1976, Brandis founded the Brandis-Quartet, which has performed virtually in all major festivals in Europe, Japan and the Americas.

He has recorded for EMI, Deutsche Grammophon, Teldec, Orfeo and Harmonia Mundi.

He was a professor of violin at the Berlin University of the Arts until 2002, and currently is a visiting professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London and the Musikhochschule in Lübeck.

Thomas Brandis passed away at 81 years old.