German Tcakulov is the new viola professor at the Mozarteum University in Salzburg, having previously held roles in Berlin, Munich and Karlsruhe
The Mozarteum University in Salzburg has appointed German Tcakulov as professor of viola from autumn 2024. He succeeds Thomas Riebl, who has held the post since 1983.
’I am delighted to be joining the faculty of the Mozarteum University Salzburg as professor of viola and look forward to contributing to the rich musical tradition of this esteemed institution,’ Tcakulov told The Strad. ’I am very grateful to my teachers, colleagues and friends who have supported me and continue to do so!’
Tcakulov’s previous teaching experience includes working as a lecturer at his alma mater, the Hanns Eisler University of Music in Berlin, where he was assistant to his former teacher, Tabea Zimmermann. He taught his own viola class at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich from 2021 to 2023 and was appointed professor of viola at the University of Music in Karlsruhe in 2022.
Additionally, he has taught at the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole in Florence and gives masterclasses worldwide. Invitations to festivals have taken him to the AIMS Festival in Spain, Murten Classics, the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival and the Otzberg Summer Concerts, among others.
Tcakulov was a member of the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra from 2018 to 2022 and has worked with numerous internationally renowned conductors.
Tcakulov began his musical education on violin, viola and piano in his hometown of Vladikavkaz, Russia. He studied viola with Vladimir Stopichev at the special music school of the St. Petersburg Conservatory, before transferring to the St. Petersburg Conservatory after four years. Following his move to Germany aged 21, Tcakulov completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in viola at the Hanns Eisler University of Music in Berlin with Tabea Zimmermann.
He has won prizes at numerous international competitions, including Charles Hennen in Holland, Jyväskylä in Finland, Mravinsky in Russia and the ‘start-up! music’ prize from the Hanns Eisler University of Music, as well as the 2013 scholarship recipient of the Lucia Loeser Foundation.
Tcakulov plays two modern French violas by Patrick Robin and Roland Belleguic.
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