Biography
Raphael Gisbertz was born in Germany in 2008. He received his first violin lessons at the age of six and a half. Currently, he’s being taught by Emir Imerov.
He gained additional inspiration through his work with the conductor and violinist Christoph Poppen, the violinists Ingolf Turban, Rainer Schmidt, Shlomo Mintz, Gwendolyn Masin, Ariane Matthäus, Rudens Turku, Leonid Kerbel, Alexandra Soumm, Prof. Yamei Yu, Jan Talich, Stefan Arzberger, Prof. Ute Hasenauer, Benjamin Ramirez, the violist Ivo Bauer and the pianists Prof. Florence Millet, Prof. Anthony Spiri and Prof. Annette von Hehn. He is a scholarship holder of the Music Academy of Liechtenstein and takes part in the intensive weeks and activities held there.
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Raphael has won numerous prizes at renowned national and international competitions. Most recently, he was awarded at the “Grand Prize Concours Grumiaux” 2023 in Brussels and at the “Concertino Praga, Second Grade Honorable Mention”, also in 2023. In 2021, he was the 1st prize winner (unanimously with the highest score) to receive the “Ferdinand Trimborn Förderpreis NRW” up to and including 20 years of age and the 2nd prize in the international “Ysaye Competition 2021” in the age group up to 18 years of age. In 2020, he received the highest award at the renowned “Singapore Violin Festival”, won the Grand Prix at the “Odin International Music Online Competition” and the First Great Award at the “Vienna International Music Competition” in the under 19 age group, a Golden Medal with High Distinction at the “Manhattan International Music Competition” and the 1st Prize at the “France Music Competition”. Raphael has won multiple prizes in the “Jugend musiziert” competition at regional, state and federal level. In the violin solo category, he was only awarded the maximum number of points. In 2016, at the age of eight, he won the Peter Sesterhenn Prize for the best interpretation of a Baroque or Classical work at the “3rd Alfred Csammer Violin Competition” in Karlsruhe and was the only one to win the 1st prize in his age group.
Just nine years old, Raphael made his debut with Vivaldi's Frühling as a soloist with the Niederrheinische Symphoniker, conducted by Mihkel Kütson. His performance with the New Symphonics, conducted by Maurice Luttikhuis, was broadcast on Dutch television (NPO 1) in 2019. In 2020, he made his debut with Sarasate's Gypsy Melodies at the Wiener Konzerthaus. In November 2021, he played Mozart's Violin Concerto KV211 with the Sinfonietta Ratingen under the baton of Thomas Gabrisch.
Raphael was the youngest participant in the Gstaadt String Academy as part of the Gstaadt Menuhin Festival 2021. He most recently took part in the Langenberg Festival Academy in October 2023 in the Wuppertal Music Summer and in the Valdres Sommersymfoni at Latica Honda-Rosenberg in June/July 2023. He also attended including the Austrian Master Classes
2017, the Accademia Perosi in Biella 2017, the Stringtime Niederrhein in Goch 2018 and 2019, the Starnberger Musiktage 2018, the chamber music festival Musica Mundi in Waterloo, Belgium 2018, 2019 and 2023 and the Holzhauser Musiktage 2021.
Since 2020, he has been playing a fine old Tyrolean violin, which is on loan to him from the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben. At the 2023 German Musical Instrument Fund competition he received a Carlo Guiseppe Testore violin on loan.