Conductor, soloist, and chamber musician –
the talents of Christoph Poppen are varied indeed. He has become
renowned not only as a musician but also as a superb teacher.
Christoph Poppen presents Claudio Abbado
with an Honorary Doctorate from Conservatoire Hanns Eisler
Berlin (1997)
Between 1988 and 1995
Christoph Poppen held the position of Professor of Violin and
Chamber music at the Conservatoire in Detmold.
President of the Hanns Eisler Conservatoire
Berlin
From Detmold his path took him to the Hanns
Eisler Conservatoire Berlin, where he was president between 1996
and 2000.
Christoph
Poppen and Annerose Schmidt, former president of Hanns Eisler
Conservatoire Berlin
In 2000 he was awarded the prestigious Order
of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany by the State of
Berlin. In an interview at the time for ARTEtv he said: “My work
as President was probably the least musical of all my jobs,
however learning this role was of immeasurable help in other
areas. Even today I still benefit from those days. I have
learned to enter into dialogue with people, to address problems
with an open mind, and to solve them through collaboration.”
Receiving
the award from Eberhard Diepgen, Mayor of Berlin (2000)
ARD International Music Competition
In 2001 Christoph Poppen followed his
calling to Munich, where he took over as Artistic Director of
the renowned ARD International Music Competition, a position he
held until 2005.
Conservatoire Munich
Since October 2003 Christoph Poppen has been
Professor of Violin and Chamber music at the University of Music
and Performing Arts Munich. Steeped in tradition, this is one of
Germany’s oldest and most respected institutions for music and
the performing arts. Anyone wishing to study with Christoph
Poppen has to be especially gifted. And he champions the next
generation. Being an internationally renowned conductor and
soloist himself, he is only too aware of the high expectations
placed on musicians.
Apart from technical excellence and
virtuosity, prospective students must bring with them a truly
artistic personality. His students learn from the start how to
relate to the or-chestra, be it as a soloist, a chamber musician
or concert master.