about me

Viola Fricke is currently studying viola (diploma) under Prof. Thomas Selditz at the University of Music and Performing Arts (Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst, mdw) in Vienna (Austria). Prior to her studies in Vienna she studied with Prof. Wolfram Christ at the University of Music (Hochschule für Musik, HfM) in Freiburg (Germany) as well as with Anna Krimm at the University of Music and Performing Arts (Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst, HfMDK) in Frankfurt on the Main (Germany), which she graduated from with a Bachelor of Music. Alongside her studies she gathered valuable knowledge and experiences concerning the interpretation of music as well as the technical aspects of viola playing from Prof. Volker Jacobsen, Prof. Hariolf Schlichtig, Prof. Roland Glassl, Prof. Hartmut Rohde, Prof. Lars Anders Tomter, Garth Knox, Raphael Sachs, Philipp Nickel and Prof. Ulrich Schönauer.

​

In addition to her work on classical, romantic and modern repertoire, she follows her interest in historically informed performance practice and baroque style playing. During her studies in Frankfurt she took baroque viola lessons with Werner Saller (Freiburger Barockorchester) as well as multiple classes at the Institute for Historically Informed Performance Practice of the HfMDK. She is continuing her education in this field at the early music department of the mdw in Vienna, where she receives baroque viola lessons from Hiro Kurosaki and is part of the baroque orchestra, lead by Stefan Gottfried. Furthermore, she participated in the Baden-Württembergische Ensemble Academy Freiburg by the Freiburger Barockorchester and the Ensemble Recherche, during which she took baroque viola lessons with Corinna Golomoz.

​

Viola is an active orchestra, ensemble and chamber musician.

She is a member of Junge Deutsche Philharmonie, the Webern Kammerphilharmonie as well as Kammerphilharmonie Landshut, and a casual player in different orchestras, such as Spira Mirabilis and the Philharmonic State Orchestra in Mainz (Germany), where she had the viola-intern position for the 2019/20 season.

Furthermore, she is a member of the Asambura Ensemble, an Ensemble that strives to have an intercultural and interreligious exchange and discourse on a musical level. It therefore recontextualizes and reinterpretes classical music and surpasses its boundaries by using music and musical elements from other musical traditions as well as sounds and composition techniques used in contemporary music. Each new composition aims to bring new perspectives to a different spectrum of topics related to the intercultural and interreligious focus of the ensemble.

In 2020 Viola founded Opus Trium, together with Karl Rauer (clarinet) and Rang Lee (piano). Their work is mentored by Prof. Hansjacob Staemmler. The ensemble also regularly works with specialists for their respective repertoire, such as Prof. Petra Müllejans and Jörg Widmann.

​

The young violist won a Deutschlandstipendium (scholarship) from the Oscar und Vera Ritter-Stiftung in 2020 as well as a Deutschlandstipendium from the Musica Aeterna Foundation in 2021.

Furthermore, she holds a Bayreuth scholarship from the Richard-Wagner-Verband Frankfurt am Main for the Bayreuth Festival 2022.
 

Aside from her artistic work Viola is a passionate teacher and pedagogue for violin, viola, chamber music and orchestral playing. During her Bachelor she not only completed the artistic, but also the pedagogic degree. In her work as a music pedagogue it is important to her to go beyond the teaching of technical skills and convey a holistic understanding of music, which enables her students to be musically active in a free and diverse way. Her pedagogical work has led her to be a lecturer at the German-Skandinavian Music Week at Scheersberg (Germany), the Marburg and Music youth orchestra as well as the string-player club of Herder Gymnasium Minden.

 

Viola was born in Minden in Westfalen (Germany) as the oldest daughter of a musical family. Her father is a high-school music teacher who playes the violin as well as the viola, her mother plays and teaches the recorder. As a child she initially learned to play the violin and meanwhile gained experience as a chamber- and orchestra musician from playing with her family as well as in multiple youth orchestras .

After graduating from high school she decided, inspired by multiple stays abroad and her previous voluntary work, to do a voluntary social service year (FSJ) at an orphanage in Tuzla (Bosnia and Herzegovina). Subsequently, she studied Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies (major) and psychology (minor) at the Albert-Ludwigs-University in Freiburg, which she graduated from with a Bachelor of Arts.

At the beginning of her studies in Freiburg, Viola decided to start a new musical project as well: To make the transition from violin to viola. The following experiences in the student orchestras in Freiburg as well as her chamber music groups led her to delve deeper into music and the playing of her new instrument. In her fourth semester she started to take viola lessons with Manuel Druminski and Tanja Christ and less than a year later she passed the entrance exam at the Conservatory for Music (HfM) in Freiburg and became a student of Prof. Wolfram Christ.

​

As an artist it is important to Viola to go beyond studying solely the standard repertoire and the matter of a traditional education of a classical violist. Thus, she is continuously looking for less known, original viola repertoire, especially by female composers, and researches and reflects on different interpretation practices and options. Furthermore she seeks to get to know and learn about different sound traditions, aesthetics and ways of expression. She participates regularly in projects in which contemporary music and music from other musical traditions is worked with and played, e. g. with the Asambura Ensemble. Her work with baroque music and historically informed performance practice is closely linked to that.