Karin Wolf

Karin Wolf initially studied musicology, philosophy, and German studies before undertaking her musical training at the Hochschule für Musik in Cologne. After completing her pedagogical and solo studies in violin, she turned to the viola, studying with Prof. Max Rostal in Bern and Prof. Bruno Giuranna in Berlin.

She was awarded scholarships from the Karl Klingler Foundation and the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, and early in her career appeared at international chamber music festivals across Europe, Asia, Africa, and the United States.

From 1985 to 2021, she was violist of the Verdi Quartet, which she co-founded. The ensemble received important artistic impulses through its collaboration with the Amadeus Quartet, the Melos Quartet, and the Shostakovich Quartet in Moscow. With the Verdi Quartet, she performed worldwide, collaborated with broadcasters including ARD, Deutschlandradio, Radio France, and RAI, and produced numerous recordings, among them the complete string quartets of Franz Schubert and the complete chamber works for strings by Johannes Brahms, released by Hänssler Classic.

In Füssen, the Verdi Quartet developed the festival “vielsaitig”, first presented in 2003, which Karin Wolf shaped over many years. The festival brings together chamber music, contemporary music, and jazz, alongside courses and concerts within a thematic framework, creating a space for diverse artistic exchange.

In 2003, Karin Wolf was appointed Professor of Viola and Chamber Music at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Rostock, and in 2009 she took up a professorship at the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Mannheim.

In response to the evolving demands of the concert profession and the associated physical and psychological pressures faced by her students, she expanded her pedagogical approach to include new methodologies. She trained as a systemic coach and change manager at the INeKO Institute at the University of Cologne, and further deepened her work through additional qualifications in supervision, hypnosystemic coaching (Milton Erickson Institute, Heidelberg), and neurosystemic body therapy (Scola Academy, Speyer). Her work with ACT methods further enriches her professional practice.

Since leaving her university post in 2022, Karin Wolf has been active as a lecturer and member of the leadership team at the INeKO Institute at the University of Cologne, where she is involved in curriculum development and quality management within coaching programmes.