Sophie Kiening
Born in:
Starnberg, Germany
Current center of life:
Frankfurt, Leipzig
Instrument:
Viola
My career aspirations as a child:
When I was very little, I wanted to be a dolphin diver. And later, a violin maker
My parents imagined this profession for me:
They didn’t really have any plans for me, but always let me decide for myself, for which I’m very
grateful. For a while, my mother thought being a scientist would be a good fit for me!
Works or concert experiences that shaped me:
The concerts with my Youth Orchestra! Making music together with friends was always the most
amazing experience for me!
Work with the greatest musical pleasure (and why?):
Garth Knox’s works are definitely a favorite of mine! They explore modern playing techniques,
incorporate a certain humor, and you can play chamber music with other violists!
From this composer I would like a work for my instrument (and why?):
It would be fantastic if Alban Berg had a viola concerto! I’ve always been fascinated by his violin
concerto, and I sometimes wish there was a viola equivalent.
For this I would get up in the middle of the night:
To be standing on a mountain peak at sunrise!
My most valuable tip for the next generation of musicians:
I sincerely hope that the current trend toward a more holistic approach to musical artistic education will
become even stronger for future generations, perhaps even starting before university! Integrating
bodywork, acting, singing, etc., into instrumental training seems to me to be the right path to long-term
artistic pursuits!
This is what I wish for the future of the classical music scene:
That even small formats in more rural areas can continue to be financed
My next project:
In the coming season apart from playing concerts I will also have my final recital exam for my master’s
degree at HMT Leipzig!
This is what I associate with the music city of Leipzig:
My studies actually! I started studying with Pauline Sachse in March 2025 and I am grateful for the
opportunity to experience Leipzig’s cultural life from the inside by taking part in orchestra- and
chambermusic-festivals in this wonderful city!
Biography:
Sophie Kiening, born in 2001, began her studies in October 2019 at the Hochschule für Musik “Hanns Eisler” in Berlin where she has the privilege of studying under Tabea Zimmermann and German Tcakulov. She started her musical education at the age of five on the violin in Bad Tölz and switched from violin to viola at the age of 14.
For three years, from 2016 onwards, she learned with the deputy solo violist of the BRSO, Ben Hames. Moreover, masterclasses with Prof. Roland Glassl and Prof. Pauline Sachse broadened her education on the viola. In addition, she profited from promotion initiatives like the Bavarian youth orchestra or chamber music courses such as the renowned Mit Musik Miteinander-project of the Kronberg academy and the Deutscher Kammermusikkurs.
At the national youth competition Jugend Musiziert Sophie won several first prizes both as a soloist and a chamber musician and achieved the highest prize awarded that year in the viola category at the International Szymon Goldberg Competition for violin and viola. Since February 2022 she sometimes plays as a substitute in the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra.
Photo: Pia Gugetzer