Annette Bartholdy is one of the most sought after violists of the young generation. Born in Berne, Switzerland, she is a winner of many national and international competitions and awards (“Schweizer Jugend Musikwettbewerb”, study awards from the “Schweizerische Tonkünstler Verein”, “Orpheus Förderungspreis”, Pro Musicis International Award). Annette Bartholdy has worked with masters such as Vladimir Ashkenazy and Andras Schiff and has appeared as a soloist with leading European ensembles such as the European Camerata.
During her studies in Switzerland she took part in numerous master classes with internationally renowned names such as Yuri Bashmet (Isle of Man, England), Dorothy DeLay (Aspen, USA), Zachar Bron (Wiesbaden, Germany) and Paul Neubauer (Juilliard School, New York). She finished her studies at the Basle Music Academy “with maximum distinction”.
Annette Bartholdy is a passionate chamber musician. She has been invited to festivals all over the world: to Bath and Prussia Cove (England), Davos and Lucerne (Switzerland), Warzaw (Poland), Elverum (Norway), Versailles and La Prée (France) and to Perth (Australia). Since 2000 Annette Bartholdy has been playing as a duo with the English pianist Julius Drake. It was with him that she gave her London Wigmore Hall début. Her Bach-Shostakovich recital was hailed as a great success by the public and the press alike: “music-making of rare intensity” and “one leaves such a concert with a great sense of gratitude – something words can’t capture” (Martin Anderson).
Her edition of the Shostakovich Cello Sonata in the version for viola and piano was published by Boosey&Hawkes and a CD of Shostakovich’s Viola and Cello Sonatas appeared on the label Naxos. The critics are full of praise: “effortlessly beautifully playing” and “the recording from Yuri Bashmet is generally considered to be the finest but this searching and compelling Naxos recording is more than its equal” (Michael Cookson). For the centenary of Dimitri Shostakovich’s birth in 2006, Annette Bartholdy was invited to take part in the film “The Unknown Shostakovich” in which she interprets Shostakovich’s Viola Sonata together with Vladimir Ashkenazy.
Annette Bartholdy is artistic director of the concert series “Vier Jahreszeiten”, which she founded in 2005, in Meilen at Lake Zurich, where she lives with her family. Within a short time the concert series made a name for itself for chamber music concerts at the highest level.
In 2022 her recording with Johann Sebastian Bachs Gamba Sonatas in the version for viola and piano and Arvo Pärts «Spiegel im Spiegel» and « Fratres», performed with pianist Benjamin Engeli, was released by the label Prospero Classical.