Christian Funke

Christian Funke is a German violinist, concertmaster and Professor for violin. Since 1987 he has been the conductor of the Bachorchester zu Leipzig.

Career

Funke, born in Dresden in 1949, studied at the Hochschule für Musik Carl Maria von Weber from 1959 to 1966 and then continued his studies at the Moscow Conservatory with Igor Bezrodnyi.
After his Staatsexamen in 1972, he was engaged as 1st concertmaster at the Staatskapelle Dresden. Since 1979, he was 1st concertmaster of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig. As soloist, he has played many violin concertos, among others by Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, Sibelius, Shostakovich and Stravinski with the Gewandhaus Orchestra.
Funke won numerous prizes in national and international competitions, including a second prize in the violin category at the 1968 edition of the International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition.
In 1986, he was appointed professor for violin at the Hochschule für Musik Franz Liszt, Weimar. He also holds an Honorary Professorship at the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig.
He has played several times Bach's Concerto for Two Violins together with Igor Oistrakh and Maxim Vengerov. Furthermore, he was able to win soloists like Sergei Nakariakov for the ensemble.
As a soloist, he is a frequent guest with renowned orchestras and chamber music evenings or at music festivals like the Walkenrieder Kreuzgangkonzerte.
Funke plays a violin from the famous Italian luthier Gagliano.
Numerous vinyl and CDs recordings are available.