Kolja Blacher in conversation with Oliver Hilmes (8 min.)

Violinist Kolja Blacher made his debut as a soloist with the Berliner Philharmoniker back in 1988 and was appointed the orchestra’s first concertmaster during the Claudio Abbado era. In his broad repertoire, the music of the 20th century occupies a central position. In February 2021, the violinist performed Kurt Weill’s Concerto for Violin and Wind Orchestra under the direction of Marie Jacquot with the scholarship holders of the Karajan Academy. In this interview, Blacher talks about the work of the composer, who was just 24 years old when it was written, his student days in New York, and his father, the composer Boris Blacher. He is interviewed by Oliver Hilmes, who works as an editor and curator and has written biographies on Alma Mahler-Werfel and Cosima Wagner.