Daniel Hope Daniel Hope

Daniel Hope (born 17 August 1973, Durban, South Africa) is a British-Irish classical violinist.

Early life and education

Hope is of German descent, as his grandparents, formerly from Berlin, escaped Nazism. His father is the novelist Christopher Hope, FRSL, and his mother Eleanor Hope worked as an assistant to Yehudi Menuhin. At age six months, his family moved from South Africa to London, because of his father's anti-apartheid views. In the UK Hope was educated at Highgate School and studied at the Yehudi Menuhin School in Stoke d'Abernon. In 2011 he was appointed Visiting Professor in Violin by the Royal Academy of Music, where he had studied under Zakhar Bron and gained a diploma (DipRAM) and a fellowship (FRAM).

Career

Hope became the violinist of the Beaux Arts Trio in 2002. His burgeoning career led to his decision to leave the Beaux Arts Trio, which in turn led to the decision to disband the ensemble. The Beaux Arts Trio, with Hope as the final violinist in the history of the ensemble, gave its final concerts in August 2008.

Hope has served as an associate artistic director of the Savannah Music Festival. In April 2015 he was named the new music director of the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, effective in 2016.

Hope plays the 1737 Guarneri "ex-Lipinski" violin. He presented the 2013 documentary film The Secrets of the Violin, which explored the history of violin making from Amati, Stradivari and Guarneri to modern makers like Samuel Zygmuntowicz.

He has recorded commercially for Deutsche Grammophon.

Hope and Tamina Kallert (de) were the presenters for the Eurovision Young Musicians 2016 in Cologne, Germany on 3 September 2016.

Personal life

Hope is married to the painter Silvana Hope. The couple lived in Vienna and moved to Berlin in 2016.

Awards

• 2004: ECHO Klassik: Newcomer of the Year (Violin Concertos – Alban Berg, Benjamin Britten)
• 2006: ECHO Klassik: Chamber Music Recording of the Year (East Meets West)
• 2006: ECHO Klassik: Musician of the Year (Dmitri Schostakovitsch, Violin Concertos 1 & 2)
• 2008: ECHO Klassik: Concert Recording of the Year (Mendelssohn (with Chamber Orchestra of Europe, conductor Thomas Hengelbrock))
• 2009: ECHO Klassik: Concert Recording of the year (Vivaldi)
• 2013: ECHO Klassik: Classic without Borders (Recomposed by Max Richter)
• 2017: ECHO Klassik: Classic without Borders (For Seasons)
• 2017: German Federal Cross of Merit on Ribbon for his merits in the musical constitution of commemorative culture