Vienna Philharmonic and State Opera Announce New Concertmaster

The Vienna Philharmonic and Vienna State Opera have today announced the appointment of 30 year old Brazilian-German violinist Jose Maria Blumenschein as their new Concertmaster - effective from September 2016.

A student of Vera Kramarova at the Mannheim University of Music and the-late Joseph Silverstein at the Curtis Institute of Music, he has served as Concertmaster of the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne since 2010.

Jose, a former prize winner at the Tibor Varga and Louis Spohr International Violin Competitions, he has previously served as Associate Concertmaster with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Guest Concertmaster roles with the Bamberg Symphony, Bavarian State Orchestra and the Staatskapelle Dresden.

He will replace Rainer Küchl who will retire next year after 45 years in the role.