Violinist Daniel Kurganov has been described as a musician of “extraordinary fervor, commitment, and technical prowess” (Classics Today, 2021). Recent concert seasons have included recitals at Merkin Hall (NYC) BargeMusic (NYC), The Roerich Museum (NYC), the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, the Harvard Musical Association, and the Harvard ArtLab. Daniel was also invited to Sion, Switzerland for the Violins of Hope project and performed on an instrument rescued from the Auschwitz Concentration Camp.
Formulating new approaches to learning the craft is equally at the heart of Daniel’s activities. He founded the Boston Violin Intensive, a 10-day intense training for violinists, and runs a popular YouTube channel, producing in-depth violin masterclasses for 65,000 subscribers. Additionally, Daniel does workshops and masterclasses around the world, most recently at the Boston Conservatory of Music. His music and writing are featured regularly in The Strad magazine, and he was voted “Best of The Strad 2021."
Studio Recordings [2018] Debut album (Spice Classics) featuring works by Brahms, Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky, Wagner, Rachmaninoff and Schemmer. [2021] World-premiere recordings of the music of Lera Auerbach and Richard Beaudoin and works by Cage an Messiaen (Orchid Classics). [2023] Complete Brahms Violin Sonatas pairing a 1706 Guarneri violin (strung with sheep gut) with original 19th-c pianos (Haenssler Classics)
Daniel was born in Minsk, Belarus, and grew up in Chicago. He began playing the violin at the age of 16 and completed his studies at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK) under Rudolf Koelman, himself a protégé of Jascha Heifetz. He is also an alumnus of the Keshet Eilon International Mastercourse.
"The extremely close recording captures every last sound as bow contacts string or left-hand shifts position…it adds a vivid immediacy to Kurganov’s already searing performance.” —The Strad Magazine (2022)
“…with contagious, dramatic musicality they bring the program together beautifully…the expression remains elegant and unsentimental.” —Klassisk Magazine, Copenhagen (2021)
“Kurganov gives a tour de force performance, superbly impassioned.” —ArtsFuse Journal (2018
"...a top-notch CD...an outstanding performance of Messiaen's Thème et variations" —The WholeNote (2021)
"Kurganov's violin empowered with penetrating colors and expert phrase shapes..." —The Boston Musical Intelligencer (2018)
"The duo’s fine musicianship was on display throughout, channeling pathos and joy using the full possibilities of their instruments." —The Boston Musical Intelligencer (2021)
The Violins of Hope are a collection of restored instruments that survived the Holocaust. Each tells its own story. I had the incredible honor of performing on them in Sion Switzerland with Maestros Shlomo Mintz and Rudolf Koelman. They are now now on display and can be heard live in Cleveland, Ohio
My YouTube channel is my hub for my own recording projects, my collection of rare recordings and videos of inspiring classical artists, and the recently started Violin Masterclass video series. Join the already millions of viewers.
Photography is my biggest passion outside of music. In both photography and music, there is the idea of a 'decisive moment' as coined by the great H. Cartier-Bresson, where there is no past and no future - only the perfection and immediacy of 'now'.