The Orchestra

»What qualities must a Konzertmeister have with the Berliner Philharmoniker? He shouldn’t play too loud or too fast.«

Guy Braunstein heard a neighbour in his hometown near Tel Aviv making music on the violin and thought it was the most beautiful thing in the world. He absolutely wanted to be able to do that himself, so at the age of seven he also began learning the violin. In his training as a professional musician, he was taught by, among others, Chaim Taub, Glenn Dicterow and Pinchas Zukerman. Braunstein’s first contact with the Berliner Philharmoniker was in 1992 – as one of the soloists in Beethoven’s Triple Concerto conducted by Zubin Mehta.

Before becoming First Konzertmeister in the Philharmonic in September 2000, he had also collaborated as a soloist with other leading orchestras and conductors. In 1995, for example, he gave the world première of Shifting, a concerto for violin and orchestra composed for him by Rolf Riehm. Guy Braunstein is also an active chamber-music player and in his free time enjoys playing basketball.