Sound. Speech. Virtuosity. Sense.

 Press notices have been effusive in their praise of the stylistic assuredness, riveting virtuosity and rich auditory colour displayed by the German-Japanese violinist Elisabeth Yohko Glass, with Berlin’s Der Tagesspiegel lauding the musician’s “exquisite interiority and refinement” and her “somnambulatory certitude in addressing the laws of musical logic”.

Audiences are captivated by her performances, on the huge stage of the Berlin Philharmonic hall, as in the intimate occasion of a chambermusic concert.

Elisabeth is one of the most versatile violinists of her generation. In addition to her engagement as stellvertretender 1. Konzertmeister in the orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin, she performs solo, gives chamber music recitals and is also in demand as a teacher.

Since she got first noticed as wunderkind, she has developed herself towards a highly accomplished, expressive and sovereign artist personality.

She continues to enjoy a sparkling career as a solo violinist. From the moment she took 1st Prize and the J.S.Bach Prize at the International Yehudi Menuhin Competition in England, triumphing as the youngest musician, she has attracted plaudits for her performances on the stages of Europe and Japan. She has taken up repeated engagements at the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, the Orquestra Nacional d´Espagna, the London Symphony Orchestra, the “Rai” Orchestras in Italy and the Gewandhausorchester in Leipzig, to name but a few. Yehudi Menuhin, Kurt Masur, Herbert Blomstedt, Christian Thielemann have all mentored her at various stages.

In her capacity as chamber violinist she has collaborated with renowned musicians of the likes of Wenzel Fuchs, Hagai Shaham, Markus Groh, Ib Hausmann, Viviane Hagner, Thomas Zehetmair and Erika Le Roux on occasions such as the Kuhmo Chambermusic Festival, the Berliner Festwochen and the Bebersee Festival.

Elisabeth Glass studied in Berlin, Cologne and Lübeck under Thomas Brandis, Zakhar Bron and Uwe-Martin Haiberg. One major figure in Glass’s artistic development was Nathan Milstein, whose masterclass in Zurich she attended on several occasions.

Together with members of her family she leads an own concert series in her hometown. Concert engagements recently led her to Japan and Europe. 

Teaching takes up a substantial portion of her time. While still a student she assisted Prof. U.-M. Haiberg. Today she gives music classes as part of the instruction offered by the orchestra’s academy. Her three children are all award-winning string players and in tertiary education. When at home, they enjoy family sessions of chamber music, with Elisabeth often accompanying on viola.

In october 2021 she was appointed by the Folkwang University in Essen as a substitude professor for her instrument.

She plays a beautifully preserved instrument built by Joseph Rocca in 1847, on loan from a private source.

December 2019