Valerie Fritz
Cello
ECHO Rising Star 2025/26
supported by "Concerto21 Stiftung "
supported by "Concerto21 Stiftung "
Valerie Fritz
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Biography
The Austrian cellist Valerie Fritz is an explorer on her instrument. From electronics to gut
strings, from the classical to the contemporary repertoire, she approaches a composition
both with an open mind and a close attention to detail. She communicates with audiences
in a similar way, curating her own concert programs and inventing new performance
formats. Each of the styles in her wide repertoire benefits from her feeling for the whole.
strings, from the classical to the contemporary repertoire, she approaches a composition
both with an open mind and a close attention to detail. She communicates with audiences
in a similar way, curating her own concert programs and inventing new performance
formats. Each of the styles in her wide repertoire benefits from her feeling for the whole.
As a soloist or a chamber musician, Valerie Fritz has performed at festivals such as Salzburg
Festival, Klangspuren Schwaz, the Schumannfest of the Tonhalle Düsseldorf, and listening
closely. She has prepared her repertoire in close contact with composers such as Helmut
Lachenmann, Georg Friedrich Haas and Thomas Larcher. In the 2025/26 season she will be
heard in Europe's concert halls as an ECHO Rising Star. She is a member of Ensemble
NAMES - winner of the Ernst von Siemens ensemble prize - and plays regularly with the
Camerata Salzburg. “I’m not the sort to think in extremely technical terms - that all goes
over my head,” she says. “To me, the most important thing is how it should sound. From
there, I explore the work on my instrument and figure out how to do it justice.”
Festival, Klangspuren Schwaz, the Schumannfest of the Tonhalle Düsseldorf, and listening
closely. She has prepared her repertoire in close contact with composers such as Helmut
Lachenmann, Georg Friedrich Haas and Thomas Larcher. In the 2025/26 season she will be
heard in Europe's concert halls as an ECHO Rising Star. She is a member of Ensemble
NAMES - winner of the Ernst von Siemens ensemble prize - and plays regularly with the
Camerata Salzburg. “I’m not the sort to think in extremely technical terms - that all goes
over my head,” she says. “To me, the most important thing is how it should sound. From
there, I explore the work on my instrument and figure out how to do it justice.”
Valerie Fritz is a winner of the Berlin Prize for Young Artists and of the Mainardi Cello
Competition and is a scholarship holder of the concerto21 foundation. She studied cello at
the Mozarteum in Salzburg with Clemens Hagen and Giovanni Gnocchi. As the head of the
International Society for Contemporary Music, Section Tirol, Austria, she also curates the
concert series noiz//elektrorauschen. In workshops at schools and universities, she shares
her fascination with new sounds with children and youth. Valerie Fritz made her first forays
into contemporary music as a child: At the age of eight, her mother composed her a piece,
titled “Geisterstunde” (“The Witching Hour”), which introduced Valerie Fritz to
contemporary music techniques. Since then, she has performed with the European Union
Youth Orchestra and the orchestra of the Lucerne Festival Academy and taken part in the
International Music Institute in Darmstadt and in the International Ensemble Modern
Academy - a range of institutions which shows her versatility as an artist. On stage today,
Valerie Fritz sees herself as a sort of musical tour guide, sharing enthusiasm, knowledge, and
her own experiences with the audience while giving the listener space to explore at her own
pace. “I don’t want to say that a concert should ‘touch’ me, that sounds too romantic,” she
says, “but I want to come out of it different from how I went in.”
november/2024
Competition and is a scholarship holder of the concerto21 foundation. She studied cello at
the Mozarteum in Salzburg with Clemens Hagen and Giovanni Gnocchi. As the head of the
International Society for Contemporary Music, Section Tirol, Austria, she also curates the
concert series noiz//elektrorauschen. In workshops at schools and universities, she shares
her fascination with new sounds with children and youth. Valerie Fritz made her first forays
into contemporary music as a child: At the age of eight, her mother composed her a piece,
titled “Geisterstunde” (“The Witching Hour”), which introduced Valerie Fritz to
contemporary music techniques. Since then, she has performed with the European Union
Youth Orchestra and the orchestra of the Lucerne Festival Academy and taken part in the
International Music Institute in Darmstadt and in the International Ensemble Modern
Academy - a range of institutions which shows her versatility as an artist. On stage today,
Valerie Fritz sees herself as a sort of musical tour guide, sharing enthusiasm, knowledge, and
her own experiences with the audience while giving the listener space to explore at her own
pace. “I don’t want to say that a concert should ‘touch’ me, that sounds too romantic,” she
says, “but I want to come out of it different from how I went in.”
november/2024
This biography is to be reproduced without any changes, omissions or additions, unless expressly authorized by artist management.
Images
© Verena Bruening
© Verena Bruening
© Verena Bruening
© Logo: Stiftung Concerto21
Videos
Georg Friedrich Haas: Hochwald (2023) - behind the scenes
Contact
