CHRISTOPH TYMENDORF

Posted 9. November 2020

… Tymendorf places his recording under the motto ReVIOLAtion, which may well mean restoration or perhaps reconciliation, does not initially reveal any weaknesses or problems in these works peppered with technical difficulties. On the contrary, in his powerfully elegant, always noble playing, he does not allow himself to be impressed by the technical challenges and can thus effortlessly steer the interpretations of the works into creative paths. This enables him to play the viola almost as virtuosic as a violin, round in sound like a cello.
Uwe Krusch, Pizzicato

Christoph Tymendorf has been among the eminent Polish musicians of his generation for many years now. He comes from a family with long musical traditions and is a descendant of the renowned Polish composer Michał Kleofas Ogiński.

Tymendorf is a laureate of many music competitions, he took the 1st place at the Macroregional Competition for Young Violists in Warsaw, 1st place at the 25th Young Musician International Competition ‘Città di Barletta’ in Italy, and is a past winner of Polish Rising Music Stars Competition. In 2016, he won the City of Gdańsk Award for Young Artists in the field of Culture and was awarded the Gazeta Wyborcza audience award. In the same year, he received the title of ambassador of the national social campaign Save the Music. Dziennik Bałtycki and Poland Press honored him with the titles Personality of Pomerania and Personality of Gdansk of the Year 2016 in the Culture category. In 2017, he received the honorary award Distinguished for Polish Culture and an award from the Minister of Culture and National Heritage.

He made his debut as a soloist with the Polish Chamber Philharmonic Orchestra Sopot and as a chamber musician with the famous Polish oboist Tytus Wojnowicz in the Tadeusz Baird Zielona Góra Philharmonic. Tymendorf has been invited to perform concerts as a viola soloist with the Lower Silesian Philharmonic, Cappella Gedanensis, Baltic Youth Philharmonic, and the Chamber orchestra of the Stanisław Moniuszko Music Academy. He has worked as a soloist-leader of the viola section in many international symphony and chamber orchestras. Christoph Tymendorf  has acquired his knowledge of chamber music from renowned musicians such as: Valentin Erben (Alban Berg Quartett), Peter Schuhmayer (Artis Quartett), Apollon Musagète Quartett, Quatuor Ebène, Eberhard Feltz, Peter Matzka, and Averis Kuyumjian. He is a co-founder and member of the Balthus Quartet and Duo del Gesù. He has performed together with eminent artists such as Christoph Hartmann, Avri Levitan, Wolfgang Klos, Joanna Woś, Krzysztof Podejko, Janusz Wawrowski, Bartosz Koziak, Anna Staśkiewicz, Bartosz Woroch, Mateusz Smoczyński, and NeoQuartet.

He has performed in many ensembles and orchestras in the most prestigious European halls, including the Berliner Philharmonie, Konzerthaus Berlin, Herkulessaal in Munich (Germany), Musikverein, Wiener Konzerthaus, Musik Theater Schönbrunn (Austria), Tivolis Konzertsal (Denmark), Konserthuset Gothenburg (Sweden) and Obecní Dům (Czech Republic). He has also performed and participated in various international festivals: Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival-Usedomer Music Festival, La Folle Journée, Puplinge Classique Festival, Alba Music Festival, International Viola Congress, Spectrum Music Festival, Aurora Music Festival, Apollon Musagète Festival – Internationales Musikfest, Konvergencie Festival, Wörthersee Classics Festival. He has recorded for radio stations such as Deutsche Radio Kultur, Bayerischer Rundfunk, ORF Vienna Radio, Radio 1 (Poland), and television, notably TVP 1 and Telewizja Polsat. As a musician, he worked on the set during the shooting of Agnieszka Holland’s film In the Dark.

He is regularly invited to lecture in viola master classes, among others by the University of North Texas College of Music, Conservatory M. R. Korsakov in St. Petersburg, Tallinn Music Academy, Turku Arts Academy, Conservatory of Music in Bratislava, 46. International Music Courses Z. Brzewski in Łańcut; he also sits on the jury of music competitions. He has been art director of many initiatives, including EURO Chamber Music Festival Gdańsk, Space Art Festival Warsaw, Viva Viola Festivity. Christoph Tymendorf is a protagonist of viola and new music and has performed over 20 world premieres. Contemporary composers dedicate his works to him. His articles are published, among others in the Journal of the American Viola Society (USA) and on meakultura.pl.

He plays on a master viola built by Wojciech Topa in 2020.

NEXT concerts 

2021

December 10th, Lower Silesian Philharmonic/Szymon Makowski conducting, Jelenia Góra, Poland
Alfred Schnittke – Concerto for viola and orchestra