Frank Peter Zimmermann in conversation with Tobias Möller (13 min.)

The violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann made his debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker in 1985, and he now performs with the orchestra almost every season. In December 2019, he was the soloist in Beethoven’s Violin Concerto – just before the start of the celebrations in 2020 to mark the 250th anniversary of the composer’s birthday. Correspondingly, Zimmermann’s view of Beethoven was also the central theme of this interval feature in which the artist was interviewed by Tobias Möller, communications director of the Digital Concert Hall. Frank Peter Zimmermann explains why, for him, Beethoven’s concerto is the “Mount Everest” of the violin repertoire, and how his understanding of the rhetoric of this music was enhanced by his engagement with the composer’s chamber music. He also gives an insight into how he achieves his legendarily beautiful tone.