Violist
Teacher Composer
IONEL UNGUREANU
Videos
Solo
Composition
Arrangement
Chambermusic
Discography
My vision
On my journey, I did not choose the straight path to a destination, but rather a voyage of discovery with all its supposed detours.
My curiosity led me beyond classical literature to an intensive exploration of early and contemporary music, jazz and improvisation, folk music from Germany and the Balkans, film and video game music, as well as composition and arrangement.
I have performed as a soloist, orchestra and ensemble musician on a wide variety of stages – from intimate house concerts to the Berlin Philharmonic.
In addition, I have designed numerous educational projects with children and, in addition to my university work, have also been teaching students privately for many years.
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My experiences have led me to a clear conclusion: the classical music world is under pressure from a rapidly changing entertainment industry.
I see it as my task to open its doors wide - to make the viola and classical music as a whole accessible, lively, and relevant. This includes innovative concert and online formats, educational projects for all age groups, and training a new generation of independent-minded and creative performers who not only master their instrument but also learn to communicate on stage and position themselves online as artistic personalities.
Biography
Ionel Ungureanu – Viola
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Ionel Ungureanu is currently principal violist with the MDR Symphony Orchestra and lecturer in viola at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich, where he has been teaching his own major class in viola since 2024.
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His artistic profile extends far beyond the conventional horizon of an instrumentalist: In addition to his orchestral and teaching activities, he composes and arranges music across genres and eras, mostly performed with his Balkan/Jazz/Contemporary ensemble Borsch4Breakfast
His greatest successes include the 3rd prize and the prize for the best interpretation of the commissioned work at the 2023 ARD Competition in the viola category and his debut as a soloist at the Berlin Philharmonie with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin.
Ionel is a sought-after solo viola player in Germany's top orchestras and also maintains a lively chamber music career with up-and-coming talents of his generation.
His central passion, however, is teaching, in which he passes on his experiences to his students with methodical rigor and unwavering dedication.
Ionel was born into a family of musicians in 1995 and began studying violin with his parents at the age of four. After studying in Cologne and Mannheim with Ute Hasenauer and Marco Rizzi, he initially studied violin with Nachum Erlich. During this time, his fascination with composition, early music, jazz, string quartet, and improvisation blossomed. Over the years, he deepened his interests in various ensembles and discovered the viola, which has played a special role in his life ever since. He subsequently studied viola with Roland Glassl and received valuable inspiration in masterclasses with Hartmut Rohde, Nobuko
Imai and Atar Arad.
Ionel plays a viola by Wolfgang Scharff from Wolfratshausen near Munich.
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