Maximilian Hornung is regarded as one of the most remarkable cellists on the international stage.
Alongside his exceptional technical mastery and versatility, his playing is characterised by an extraordinary depth of tone, a boundless range of colours, and a natural sophistication. The sincerity of his performances allows him to channel the purest expression of the music he plays, connecting with audiences in a profound and meaningful way. In addition to much-loved core repertoire, Hornung carries an impressive and wide-ranging repertory, and devotes himself to lesserknown cello masterpieces.
In the 2025/26 season, Hornung makes his debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker, giving three performances of the Dutilleux Cello Concerto under the baton of Thomas Guggeis. He also makes debuts with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Oslo Philharmonic, Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia, and Zürcher Kammerorchester, and is Artist-in-Residence at the Staatstheater Nürnberg as a soloist, chamber musician, and conductor for performances in and around Nürnberg. Recent orchestral highlights include engagements with the Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Wiener Symphoniker, Swedish Radio Symphony, London Philharmonic, Czech Philharmonic, Bamberger Symphoniker, Philharmonia Orchestra, WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln, Dallas Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, and Orchestre National de France. Hornung is much in demand with many of today’s leading conductors including Daniel Harding, Yannick Nézét-Séguin, Paavo Järvi, Marie Jacquot, Esa-Pekka Salonen, David Zinman, Lorenzo Viotti, Pablo Heras-Casado, Semyon Bychkov, Manfred Honeck, Antonello Manacorda, John Storgårds, Michael Francis, Thomas Søndergård, Krzysztof Urbański, and Robin Ticciati. In recent years, Hornung has also established himself as a soloist and conductor, and regularly directs projects, most recently with the Münchner Symphoniker.
As a recitalist, Hornung is a regular guest at world-class venues such as the Berliner Philharmonie, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, Vienna’s Musikverein and Konzerthaus, and London’s Wigmore Hall, as well as festivals including Salzburg, Rheingau, Lucerne, Verbier, Schleswig-Holstein, Ravinia, and Hong Kong. His chamber music partners include Anne-Sophie Mutter, Julia Fischer, Antje Weithaas, Hélène Grimaud, Daniil Trifonov, Hisako Kawamura, Christian Tetzlaff, Lisa Batiashvili, François Leleux, Joshua Bell, Yefim Bronfman, and Herbert Schuch. This season, Hornung embarks on an extensive trio tour across Europe with long-time collaborators Vilde Frang and Denis Kozhukhin. Hornung’s extensive discography spans solo performances and collaborations with prominent chamber musicians. He received an ECHO Klassik Prize in both 2011 for his debut album Jump! (Sony, 2010) and again in 2012 for his recording of Dvořák’s Cello Concerto with the Bamberger Symphoniker under the direction of Sebastian Tewinkel (Sony, 2012). Further recordings include Richard Strauss’ major cello works with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks under Bernard Haitink
(Sony, 2014) and Joseph Haydn’s cello concerti with the Kammerakademie Potsdam under Antonello Manacorda (Sony, 2015). In 2017, Deutsche Grammophon released a highly acclaimed recording of Schubert’s Trout Quintet in which Hornung performed together with Anne-Sophie Mutter and Daniil Trifonov, among others. In 2018, myrios classics released his recording of Dmitri Shostakovich’s Cello Concerto No. 2 and Sulkhan Tsintsadze’s Cello Concerto No. 2 with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin under Andris Poga. Further recordings have been released on Genuin, Linn Records, NEOS, Bridge Records, and CPO.
Born in Augsburg in 1986, Hornung began his cello studies at the age of 8, receiving considerable training from Eldar Issakadze, Thomas Grossenbacher, and David Geringas. Until 2011, he served as cellist of the Tecchler Trio, winning First Prize at the ARD International Music Competition in 2007. At the age of only 23, he was appointed first principal cellist of the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, a position that he held until 2013. Hornung has been supported and sponsored by the Borletti-Buitoni Trust in London and his mentor Anne-Sophie Mutter. Since 2022, he has been Artistic Director of the Traunsteiner Sommerkonzerte.
