CV

"The meeting with the art of Barbara Doll was one of the happiest moments of my life. Her playing is of brilliant creative authority and suggestive power."
Sofia Gubaidulina


"Barbara Doll set an impressively high standard at the Wigmore Hall... Her absolute technical control coupled with an innate musical understanding was apparent from the outset... Dolls potent command of the Romantic repertoire was apparent in Strauss's Violin Sonata in E-flat major; she never over-sentimentalised, her broad, free-wheeling vibrato always subservient to demands of phrasing and tone colour."
THE STRAD


Barbara Doll performs in the international music scene both as a soloist and as a chamber musician. Since 2014 she is professor of violin at the Music Academy in Basel, Switzerland, having hold a similar position at the University of the Arts in Bern since 2004.

Barbara has given concerts at such venues as the Wigmore Hall and the Barbican in London, the Philharmonie in Berlin, the Gasteig in Munich and the Auditorio Nacional in Madrid, as soloist e.g. with the English Chamber Orchestra and the European Union Chamber Orchestra. A passionate chamber musician both as violinist and violist she is a regular guest at Chamber Music festivals such as the Schleswig Holstein Festival, Steven Isserlis' Chamber Music Festival Prussia Cove or the Ravinia Festival, USA, partnering artists as Miriam Fried, Homero Francesch, Heinz Holliger, Patricia Pagny, Silke Avenhaus, Adrian Oetiker, Filippo Gamba, Christopher Hinterhuber, Nicolas Altstaedt, Natalie Clein, Dieter Flury and Dimitri Ashkenazy.

For nearly 20 years Barbara has formed a duo with the pianist Cristina Marton-Argerich. Their interpretations of both mainstream and rarely performed repertoire have been internationally acclaimed for their personal and authentic approach.

Since 2014 Barbara is a member of the ARIA String Quartet.

Barbara Doll was born near Munich. She was taught by Ana Chumachenko in Munich, Thomas Zehetmair and Thomas Brandis in Berlin and David Takeno in London. Masterclasses with Sandor Vegh, Ivry Gitlis and Gyorgy Kurtag had an important impact on her.
Barbara is a laureate of the International Schubert Competition Graz, winner of the Schubert Prize, and of the Kuhmo International Duo Competition, Finland.

Barbara Doll has been guest leading and directing prestigious chamber orchestras such as the English Chamber Orchestra, the European Union Chamber Orchestra, the Basle Chamber Orchestra, the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, the Kammerphilharmonie Amadé, the Ensemble Resonanz and the German Kammerakademie Neuss. For nearly twenty years she has been playing in the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, often under Claudio Abbado and Nikolaus Harnoncourt.

Barbara is regularly invited to give masterclasses and coach orchestra academies. Recent and upcoming engagements include Villa Musica Mainz, Künstlerhaus Boswil, Hindemith Foundation Blonay, the Aurora Chamber Music Festival Sweden, the Teatro del Lago Chile.
Since 2006 she is president of the ESTA (European String teachers’ Association) Switzerland.

Barbara lives in Zurich with her husband and their two children.