Veronika Hagen

Veronika Hagen, born in Salzburg, began playing the violin at a very young age before discovering her love for the viola at the age of 11.

From the sensational children's quartet with her three siblings, the Hagen Quartet emerged (since 1987 with Rainer Schmidt on the second violin), with which she has performed on the world's major stages for over 40 years, continually shaping and influencing the string quartet culture in new and surprising ways.

Her teachers and most important chamber music partners, in ensembles up to the size of an octet, include Hatto Beyerle, Gidon Kremer, Heinrich Schiff, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Ivry Gitlis, Mitsuko Uchida, Krystian Zimerman, Sabine Meyer, Sol Gabetta, and Jörg Widmann, among others. With them, she shares her deep and selfless dedication to music.

Among the countless and award-winning CD recordings, which have been released by Deutsche Grammophon since 1985 and by Myrios Classics since 2011 (including, at the latter, two Echo Klassik Awards and two Diapason d’Or), are recordings of her solo work, such as the Brahms Viola Sonatas with Paul Gulda or Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante with Augustin Dumay and the Camerata Salzburg.

Since 1988, Veronika Hagen has been teaching at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg, and since 2003, she has held a professorship there for viola and chamber music. She also passes on her vast experience to the next generation through masterclasses, including in Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, Lisbon, Lucerne, Leipzig, Brussels, Bern, Verbier, and at the International Summer Academy in Salzburg.