Violinist Daniel Kurganov, praised for his “extraordinary fervor, commitment, and technical prowess” (Classics Today), has recently given recitals at venues including Merkin Hall and BargeMusic in NYC, the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, The Harvard Musical Association, The Boston Conservatory, The University of Maryland, and the Harvard ArtLab. In Sion, Switzerland, he worked with 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. Daniel is also a professional audio and video engineer and producer, runs the Spice Classics classical label and the production company Overtone Artists.

Committed to innovative music education, Daniel founded the Boston Violin Intensive, a 10-day training program. His YouTube channel offers in-depth educational content 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, and Musikhochschule Münster. His sessions explore a wide range of topics, from approaching fundamental technique through first principles, to leveraging AI for musicians, to understanding the rich string-playing traditions of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.. Regularly featured in The Strad magazine, he was voted “Best of The Strad 2021.”

As a former lead team member at Tonebase, Daniel has produced workshops and courses in collaboration with renowned artists such as Pinchas Zukerman, Seymour Bernstein, and Ron Carter. He also directed Tonebase’s East Coast operations, violin live-streaming, managed an AI-powered localization campaign, and helped the company become the world’s premiere online classical music platform. Daniel is also the founder of ARCO, a forthcoming AI-powered 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 completed his Masters studies 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.

Kurganov-Finehouse Studio Discography:
[2018] Debut album featuring works by Brahms, Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky,Wagner, Rachmaninoff and Schemmer (Spice Classics)
[2021] World-premiere recordings of the music of Lera Auerbach and RichardBeaudoin and works by Cage an Messiaen (Orchid Classics).
[2023] Complete Brahms Violin Sonatas pairing a 1706 Guarneri violin (strung withsheep gut) with original 19th-c pianos (Haenssler Classics)

“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, (2021)

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

“Kurganov gives a tour de force performance, superbly impassioned.”— ArtsFuse Journal (2018)

”…a top-notch CD… an outstanding performance of Messiaen’s Thème et variations.”— The WholeNote (2021)

“Kurganov’s violin empowered with penetrating colors and expert phrase shapes…”— The Boston Musical Intelligencer (2018)

“The duo’s fine musicianship was on display throughout, channeling pathos and joy using the full possibilities of their instruments.”— The Boston Musical Intelligencer (2021)

“With their combined dramatic musicality, they bring the Brahms sonatas to life.”— Uwe Krusch, Pizzicato Magazine

“Kurganov and Finehouse achieve alluring lightness and transparency, along with an uncommon equality of ensemble blend where nothing gets buried in the mix.”— Jed Distler (2023)

“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)