Violinist Daniel Kurganov has been lauded for his “extraordinary fervor, commitment, and technical prowess” (Classics Today). His recent performances include recitals at venues such as Merkin Hall and BargeMusic in NYC, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, The Boston Conservatory, The University of Maryland, and the Harvard ArtLab. In Sion, Switzerland, he participated in the Violins of Hope project, performing on an instrument rescued from Auschwitz alongside Maestros Shlomo Mintz and Rudolf Koelman.
Daniel’s 2018 debut album with pianist Constantine Finehouse received universal acclaim. In 2021, he recorded world premieres by Lera Auerbach and Richard Beaudoin for Orchid Classics. His 2023 release of the complete Brahms Violin Sonatas on Hänssler Classics features a 1706 Guarneri violin (strung with sheep gut) and an 1868 Streicher “Brahms Piano.” This project, which he designed as a collaboration between instrument and string makers, historians, piano and violin collections, was praised by The Strad for “vivid immediacy” and a “searing performance,” while Jed Distler awarded it a 10/10 rating.

Committed to innovative music education, Daniel founded the Boston Violin Intensive, a 10-day training program. His YouTube channel offers in-depth violin masterclasses to over 80,000 subscribers. Daniel’s pedagogy is rooted in a spirit of experimentation, intense listening, and deep study of violinists past and present—the same approach that enabled him to progress rapidly on the instrument despite starting at age 16. He conducts workshops and masterclasses worldwide, including recent engagements at the Boston Conservatory, the University of Maryland, the Royal Northern College of Music, and Musikhochschule Münster. His sessions cover topics from right-hand technique to leveraging AI in music and exploring historic string playing traditions. Regularly featured in The Strad magazine, he was voted “Best of The Strad 2021.”

As a former lead team member at Tonebase, the premier online classical music platform, Daniel developed masterclasses and workshops on many topics of violin playing, and went on to direct all East Coast operations, live-streaming, and localization efforts. He also collaborated with artists like Pinchas Zukerman, Seymour Bernstein, and Ron Carter. Daniel is also the founder of ARCO, an upcoming AI-driven knowledge base for violinists and teachers, enhancing access to centuries of pedagogical wisdom.
Born in Minsk, Belarus, and raised in Chicago, Daniel began playing piano at six, later studying guitar, and finally taking up the violin at sixteen. He studied under Rudolf Koelman, a protégé of Jascha Heifetz, at the Zurich University of the Arts (ZHdK), and is an alumnus of the Keshet Eilon International Mastercourse.

"The extremely close recording captures every last sound as bow contacts string or left-hand shifts position…it adds a vivid immediacy to Kurganov’s already searing performance.” —The Strad Magazine (2022)

“They play with extraordinary fervor, commitment, and technical prowess, and it would be hard to beat these exceptionally well-engineered world-premiere recordings.”— ClassicsToday (2021)

“The extremely close recording captures every last sound as bow contacts string or left-hand shifts position… it adds a vivid immediacy to Kurganov’s already searing performance.”— The Strad Magazine (2022)

“Ingratiatingly idiomatic violinistic personality.”— Fanfare Magazine

”…with contagious, dramatic musicality they bring the program together beautifully… the expression remains elegant and unsentimental.”— Klassisk Magazine, Copenhagen (2021)

“Kurganov and Finehouse display uncanny synchronicity in shaping Brahms’ cross-rhythmic phrases across the barlines, generating tension by way of the subtlest tempo adjustments. Kurganov employs vibrato judiciously, and on occasion sneaks in just a hint of upward portamento à la Kreisler or Elman when reiterating a motive.”— Jed Distler (2023)