Daniel Hope – The Violinist, who wears many hats

“ Music is a higher revelation than all wisdom and philosophy. Music is the electrical soil in which the spirit lives, thinks and invents.” Ludwig van Beethoven

Trying to introduce Daniel Hope is in some ways similar to describing the colours within a kaleidoscope. One doesn’t even know what to begin with. On the other hand, when it comes to gifted people, it is very often more about what they lack rather than what they possess. One would expect them to have gained their legitimate right to be a bit vain, a bit annoying and fussy, a bit too much. No, not with these people. They carry no useless baggage. Deep down in the chambers of their soul, they are guided by mysterious laws that keep them far beyond pettiness or vanity fair. Around these people there is a feeling of mere joy and serenity, while they are being down-to-earth, relatable and almost annoyingly modest. They would probably resent a tirade of pompous words, however one needs to assert, that their soul must have been somehow impregnated with a different kind of solution, during the alchemy of creation. Or maybe they were exposed to singular moments throughout their journey, which moulded their features into bizarre reflections of life.

Musical chameleon

It is difficult to summarize a prolific career that is constantly shifting and reinventing itself. Irish-German award-winning classical violinist, music director of the Zurich Chamber Orchestra, broadcaster, musical activist, author of several books and producer. He is relentless, ever-evolving and constantly seeking for new forms of expression, https://www.danielhope.com/.

As much as he loves playing and performing music, all the other activities involving music have become essential elements of his whole musical experience. He wouldn’t want to be without any of those parts. Throughout his teenage years, music was about the violin, he was focused exclusively on being a violinist. When he turned 20, he started to realize that as much as he loves and adores playing the violin, it is more about being a musician and not just a violinist. It was a key moment in his life because at that point he realized that playing was about using the violin in order to communicate his obsessions about music.

He loves and he needs to perform, playing always invariably dominates but he also loves to be able to exchange ideas about music, to speak about music or to write about it. All these activities are a continuation of that unique feeling that has never left him during the 43 years since he has been playing, the exact same exaltation and obsession with music, every time he plays the violin.

His music is being constantly absorbed due to his ability to address wide ranges of melomanes from different age categories. The distinctive characteristic of his musical topos is a reiteration of the classical repertoire, moulded into a modern context. The result is an intricate collage of refined music and extravagant taste. There is an inescapable power within vulnerability, a nostalgic and romantic air that pervades his tunes, a mesmerizing flow that carries you to unexpected edges of sensuality.

Music is his religion
Each of us relates to music in different ways. For most of us music is a means of amusement and relaxation, for others music is a refuge, a consolation, a way of escaping the banality of life, to others music is more than a lifestyle but there are a few lucky ones, to whom music is the quintessence of life, a most perfect medium for rendering feelings, hopes, dreams, life itself. When he is not making music, Daniel Hope is writing about music or he is involved in other musical projects like producing, broadcasting, musical activism and the list could go on. Music is engraved in everything he does.

Whenever he is talking about music there is a strange sensation as if you would enter the premises of a secret, hidden place. This man has a most intimate relationship with this magical world of sounds and harmonies. Whereas some musicians may have had the genetic factor in their pocket, in Daniel Hope’s family there were no musicians. However, through some most wonderful twist of fate he landed in the house of Yehudi Menuhin and from that moment on his life was to be defined by music.

From the very first second music was addictive to him, it was like a huge buzz, a feeling of elation, listening and hearing it. Once he had listened and heard it, he wanted to do it. It was a very short step between experiencing it and performing it. Children in general are amazing at resonating and responding to everything that involves music and sounds in general. They tend to have very strong reactions to music. Exposure is the most important thing.

He believes that everyone should have the right to access music as it opens a huge world of imagination, an endless fountain of stimuli and emotions. However, music is not about creating more musicians in the world but it is about opening the soul and opening the mind, because music has this power and it can literally change lives for the better.

Hope@Home  
We are all affected in different ways under these circumstances but we need to find solutions in order to cope with this new reality. Each of us has a very personal way of dealing with emotional distress and if along the process some of us are able to come in support of others as well, then the result could be an innovative act of humanism. Hope@Home is an authentic testimony that come what may, we will find solutions to redefine ourselves, building bridges to reconnect by means of music.

The livestream project will restart on Monday, November the 2nd but this time, besides reconnecting with people around the world, Hope’s main objective is to support young, freelance musicians, whose future is severely compromised during these lockdown measures. All the featured artists will receive a fee for their contribution and performances. Hope’s partners in this endeavour are the following public broadcasters ZDF, Arte, WDR and ARTE Concert.

Hope’s musical activism finds new ways of coming to surface by supporting musicians but most of all young people who are at the beginning of their career. The expression “sharing is caring” is not just another cliché. He is taking it to the next level, encouraging other well-established artists, to take action. Hope@Home is an excellent proof that we can reinvent ourselves in the face of adversity.

Further information
Hope@Home on Tour
Hope@Home – Daniel Hope

About the author:

Orsolya Farkas Miron is 40 years old, married with two kids. She comes from a bilingual family, Hungarian and Romanian. She has a BA in Linguistics and a MA in Intercultural Communication. After teaching English for 7 years at primary and secondary level, she landed in Zurich, where she had the chance to try out herself during several interesting projects. For the time being she is a freelance writer and painter. Last year she had an exhibition that lasted a month, in Volketswil. She is passionate about digital drawing and acrylic painting. She also organizes a public event for women, once a month. During these events they tackle issues like integration, language courses, job searching opportunities and many other topics that concern minorities in the Swiss society.

• classical music
• Daniel Hope
• Hope@Home
• music
• violonist
• Zurich Chamber Orchestra