Susanne Zapf
violinist | performer
Susanne Zapf
violinist | performer
About me
Susanne Zapf
Susanne Zapf sees herself above all as a flexible artist: “I take every musical genre seriously and practise from the very old to the very new, and I love to perform. In my view, there is no contradiction between embracing the historical performance practice of Baroque and Classical periods, exploring free improvisation, participating in multi media projects and performing contemporary music.”
In her recent ‘violin-playing-body’ project (supported by the Uncool scholarship of the city of Poschiavo in 2017, and by a working scholarship from the Berlin Senate in 2018), she explored the physical relationship to her instrument, questioning how the body and the movements of the performer are connected to the music, and whether they can be considered separately from the music itself.
Her new solo programme „new senses“ deals with expectations, perceptions, (breaking with) habits, and with the sensations that arise from new impressions and feelings. It was created through commissions by Alwynne Pritchard and Ruth Wiesenfeld, with whom she has worked intensively.
Susanne founded the Sonar Quartett in 2006 and continued to influence its artistic development until her departure in 2023.
Next to her various chamber music projects she is also a member of Kammerakademie Potsdam and plays regularly with the Sheridan Ensemble.
She has been teaching at the Berlin University of the Arts since 2021.
Live
11. September 2022 – Berlin – Musikfest Berlin; Ensemblekollektiv
20. September 2022 – Hamburg – Resonanzraum; Sonar Quartett
27. September 2022 – Berlin – Musikbrauerei; Sonar Quartett with Ziur
14. 0ctober 2022 – Berlin – Atonale Festival; Sonar Quartett
27.-30. 0ctober 2022 – Tour – Kammerakademie Potsdam
10. November 2022 – s’Hertogenbosch– November Music; Ensemble Resonanz
3.-10. December 2022 – Tour – Kammerakademie Potsdam
5. January 2023 – Potsdam – KAPmodern Ensemble
14. January 2023 – Potsdam – Kammerakademie Potsdam
22. January 2023 – Berlin – Ultraschall Festival; Ensemble Resonanz
9. February 2023 – Basel – Sonar Quartett with Sofia Labropoulou (qanun)
11. February 2023 – Darmstadt – Sonar Quartett with Sofia Labropoulou (qanun)
18. March 2023 – Köln – Urania; Sonar Quartett
24. March 2023 – Berlin – Kammerakademie Potsdam
26. March 2023 – Potsdam – Kammerakademie Potsdam
2. April 2023 – Potsdam – Kammerakademie Potsdam
3. April 2023 – Heidelberg – Heidelberger Frühling; Kammerakademie Potsdam
7. April 2023 – Zepernick – Passionsmusik; chamber music with choir
24. April 2023 – Hamburg – Körber Stiftung; Sonar Quartett
6. May 2023 – Potsdam – Kammerakademie Potsdam
26. May 2023 – Schloß Werdenberg CH – Schloßmediale; solo performance
27. May 2023 – Schloß Werdenberg CH – Schloßmediale; Sonar Quartett
15. June 2023 – Berlin – Forum Neue Musik
18. June 2023 – Gut Holzhausen – Sheridan Ensemble
25. June 2023 – Gut Holzhausen – Sheridan Ensemble
8./9. July 2023 – Berlin – Sonar Quartett
29. July 2023 – Ulrichshusen – Kammerakademie Potsdam
2./3. September 2023 – Potsdam – Kammerakademie Potsdam
20. September 2023 – Beethovenfest Bonn – Kammerakademie Potsdam
28. September 2023 – Potsdam – Kammerakademie Potsdam
15. October 2023 – Essen – Kammerakademie Potsdam
25. October 2023 – Potsdam – KAP modern Ensemble
27. October 2023 – Spandau – CUT_YOUR_HAIR
3. November 2023 – München – MKO
16./17. November 2023 – Berlin – Festival Klangwerkstatt with Duo Tocar
21.-26. November 2023 – Berlin – Lose Combo
2. December 2023 – München – MKO
9. December 2023 – Potsdam – Kammerakademie Potsdam
15. December 2023 – Potsdam – Kammerakademie Potsdam string quartet
20. December 2023 – Potsdam – Kammerakademie Potsdam kids concert
Projects
Media
Video
György Kurtág
Signs, Games and Messages
Hommage à J.S.B.
György Kurtág
Signs, Games and Messages
Hommage à John Cage
Ruth Wiesenfeld
AGAiJ (2022)
für Violine solo
Gerhard Stäbler
Messenger of Spring (2013)
für verstärkte Violine
Alwynne Pritchard
A violin remembers (2022)
für Violine solo UA
Iñigo Giner Miranda
enlightened (2013)
für Violine solo
Audio
George Crumb
Excerpt from „4 Nocturnes“ for violin and piano
Johannes Boris Borowski „Twin“
world premier „Twin“ Johannes Boris Borowski 2020
2016 No1
with Marcello Lussana, Rieko Okuda, Antoine Mermet
Walter Zimmermann
Die Sorge geht über den Fluß
Mimesis 2
Live Performance near Borgo Pace (Italy)
Ligeti
G. Ligeti – Horntrio 3. Movement