
About
Belgian-American violinist, Maximilian Haft resides in Geneva, Switzerland and has lived on the European continent since 2009. A multifaceted musician performing a wide array of repertoire, Max specializes in contemporary solo, chamber, ensemble music and free improvisation. He has performed on major stages and intimate venues across Europe, North America, South America, and the Middle East in formal concert setting, theatrical contexts and spatial installations.
As a soloist, Max has performed and premiered contemporary violin concertos with the Northern Netherlands Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Contrechamps, the Geneva Chamber Orchestra (l’OCG), the UC Davis Symphony Orchestra, Collegium Novum Zurich, and the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra. He has recorded for Mode Records, Kairos, Klarthe, Wergo, Col Legno, Edition RZ, Fyo, Megadisc, Centaur, Neu Records, and Musique Suisse labels as a soloist, chamber or ensemble musician.
Max has held the position of 1st violin solo with Ensemble Contrechamps since 2015 and is a founding member of Ensemble Proton Bern, two new music institutions based in Switzerland. Max has also been a regular guest performer with Musik Fabrik, Asko-Schoenberg Ensemble, Ensemble Klang, E-Mex Ensemble, the Callithumpian Consort and was a former member of Ensemble Garage in Cologne. As an orchestral musician, Max has been a guest concertmaster with the Orchestre de la Suisse Romande and has worked with the Bern Camerata, the United Strings of Europe, the Metropole Orchestra, and was a former 1st violinist of the New Utrecht Philharmonie. He has premiered solo and chamber works by such composers as Samuel Andreyev, Michael Jarrell, Dominique Schafer, and has worked closely with Heinz Holliger, Oliver Knussen, Hans Zender, Beat Furrer, and Michael Gordon. He has appeared at such festivals as Donaueschingen, Eclat, Acht Brücken, Warsaw Autumn, Archipel, Pori Jazz, Orvieto Winter Jazz, Edinburgh World Festival, The Lucerne Festival, Re-musik, and the Festival for New American Music in Sacramento.
Beyond the classical and contemporary music world, Max has performed and collaborated with a diverse cast of jazz, electronic, pop, and folk musicians including Marc Ribot, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, Roscoe Mitchell, Eef van Breen, Matmos, Colin Self, Tesla, White Hinterland, Anais Mitchell and Sam Amidon. He was a founding member of the New York based band Cuddle Magic. In 2021, Max transcribed and premiered the first live performance of Tony Conrad’s 4 Violins. He continues to develop his own electro-acoustic compositions using collected field recordings and string drones.
Currently a doctoral candidate at University of Leiden’s artistic research program, Max’s research revolves around the organology of the Stroh violin. The subject of his PhD dissertation is entitled: The Strings of a Horn: demystifying the past and provoking the future of the Stroh Violin. He has taken part in performance residencies at Stanford University, University of California, Berkeley, University of California, Davis, The University of Texas, Austin, and The Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, and has been a guest lecturer at La Manufacture in Lausanne, the Conservatory of Geneva (HEM) and the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki. He is currently an invited professor for contemporary violin performance and chamber music at the Conservatory of Geneva.
Max studied at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music pre-college division with Zaven Melikian and Wei He. He has a Bachelor’s in Violin Performance from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston where he studied with Masuko Ushioda†. He graduated with a Master’s degree cum laude from the Royal Conservatory of The Hague having studied with Vera Beths. During his Master’s studies, Max was a finalist in De Link Prijs (2011) and in the Storioni Chamber Music Competition, as well as a recipient of the HSP Huygens Scholarship (2010).
Max plays on a violin made by Andranik Gaybarian and a bow from Randy Steenburgen. He is a native of Sacramento California where he returns during the summer to teach chamber music to young aspiring musicians of his former youth symphony and as a performer with the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music Orchestra in Santa Cruz.
Ensembles
Ensemble Contrechamps
https://www.contrechamps.ch/biographie-haft
Ensemble Proton
https://ensembleproton.ch/en/artist/maximilian-haft

EVENTS 2023 / 2024
JANUARY 27th
GENEVA, CH
LES 6 TOITS
CONTRECHAMPS / ELECTRO ACOUSTIC EVENING
https://www.contrechamps.ch/en_gb/saison/nuit-electroacoustique_6toits
FEBRUARY 25th
GENEVA, CH
VICTORIA HALL
CONTRECHAMPS / JURG FREY
https://www.contrechamps.ch/en_gb/saison/mobilite-et-mouvement
MARCH 1st & 2nd
GENEVA, CH
ASSOCIATION POUR LE PATRIMONE INDUSTRIEL
CONTRECHAMPS / DENIS ROLLET
https://www.contrechamps.ch/en_gb/saison/le-microphone-2_geneve
MARCH 6th & 7th
BARCELONA, ES
L'AUDITORI
GLIA / MARYANNE AMACHER
https://www.auditori.cat/en/event-2/subsonic-maryanne-amacher-glia/
MARCH 17th
BRUSSELS, BE
MAISON DE LA POSTE
CONTRECHAMPS + ICTUS / ASHLEY + COX
https://www.contrechamps.ch/en_gb/saison/liquid-room_bruxelles
APRIL 3rd
NANTES, FR
SALON MAUDUIT
GLIA / AMACHER
https://metropole.nantes.fr/infonantes/agenda/57506-ensembles-contrechamps--zwischentone--glia---de-maryanne-amacher---saison-lieu-unique
APRIL 12th
GENEVA, CH
SALLE COMMUNALE DE PLAINPALAIS
CONTRECHAMPS + ICTUS / ASHLEY + COX
https://www.contrechamps.ch/en_gb/saison/liquid-room_geneve
APRIL 13th
GENEVA, CH
SALLE COMMUNALE DE PLAINPALAIS
THRIPS / IF & ONLY IF
https://2024.archipel.org/fr
APRIL 23rd
BERN, CH
DAMPFZENTRALE
ENSEMBLE PROTON / PROTONWERK 13
https://ensembleproton.ch/konzerte
MAY 8th
BASEL, CH
GARE DU NORD
ENSEMBLE PROTON / PROTONWERK 13
https://www.garedunord.ch/de/programm/2742/protonwerk-13
JUNE 18th
BERN, CH
DAMPFZENTRALE
ENSEMBLE PROTON / MARTINA LUSSI
https://ensembleproton.ch/konzerte
JUNE 22nd
GENEVA, CH
FETE DE LA MUSIQUE
CONTRECHAMPS / CHOEUR
https://www.contrechamps.ch/en_gb/saison/choeur-en-fusion_saison23-24
PAST EVENTS 22/23
SEPTEMBER 14 & 15th
GENEVA, CH
LES 6 TOITS
CONTRECHAMPS / MARINA ROSENFELD
https://www.contrechamps.ch/fr/saison/a-lesser-privacy_geneve_labatie
SEPTEMBER 21st
STRASBOURG, FR
FESTIVAL MUSICA / EGLISE SAINT PAUL
CONTRECHAMPS / MARINA ROSENFELD
https://festivalmusica.fr/manifestation/2021/my-body-a-lesser-privacy
OCTOBER 1st
GENEVA, CH
VICTORIA HALL
MICHAEL JARRELL VIOLIN CONCERTO w/ CONTRECHAMPS
https://www.contrechamps.ch/fr/saison/joyeux-anniversaire
OCTOBER 6th
LA CHAUX-DE-FONDS, CH
ENSEMBLE PROTON / DURRENMATTS HIRN - LANG
TEMPLE ALLEMAND
https://ensembleproton.ch/en/concerts/duerrenmatts-hirn
OCTOBER 16th
VENICE, IT
VENICE BIENALLE
CONTRECHAMPS / GLIA - MARYANNE AMACHER
https://www.labiennale.org/en/music/2023/biennale-musica-2023/morton-subotnick-i-live-and-breathe-maryanne-amacher-glia-2023-10-16-20-00
NOVEMBER 2 - 4th
FREIBURG AM BREISGAU, DE
SWR STUDIOS
ENSEMBLE PROTON / OMELCHUK & KREBBER KRECORDING
NOVEMBER 11th
GENEVA, CH
MUSEE d'ETHNOGRAPHIE de GENEVE
CONTRECHAMPS / JULIE SEMOROZ
https://www.contrechamps.ch/fr/saison/in-between
NOVEMBER 20th
HUDDERSFIELD, UK
HUDDERSFIELD CONTEMPORARY MUSIC FESTIVAL
TONY CONRAD - 4 VIOLINS w/ ELISSA CASSINI
https://hcmf.co.uk/hcmf-shorts-2023-artists-announced/
NOVEMBER 30th & DECEMBER 2nd
ZURICH, CH
SONIC MATTER FESTIVAL
CONTRECHAMPS / TORAMAN, HABIBIAN, ROLLET, KOOCHAKZADEH-YAZDI
https://www.contrechamps.ch/fr/saison/sonic-matter_jeudi
DECEMBER 12th, 15th & 16th
BERN & BASEL, CH
DAMPFZENTRALE & GARE DU NORD
ENSEMBLE PROTON / ANDREAS FRANK - PLATZEN
https://ensembleproton.ch/en/concerts/platzen-platzen-platzen
PAST EVENTS 2023
MARCH 16 & 18th
BERGEN, NO
HAKENSHALLEN & BERGEN KUNSTHALL
CONTRECHAMPS / BOREALIS FESTIVAL /ABBASSI, COX, FURRER, JERNBERG & AMACHER
https://www.borealisfestival.no/en/events2023/ensemble-contrechamps/
APRIL 5 & 9th
GENEVA, CH
MAISON COMMUNALE DE PLAINPALAIS
CONTRECHAMPS / ARCHIPEL FESTIVAL / ABBASI, COX, & AESCHIMANN
https://2023.archipel.org/fr/program/ensemble-contrechamps-etudiant-x-es-hem
APRIL 25 & MAY 26th
BERN & BASEL, CH
DAMPFZENTRALE & GARE DU NORD
ENSEMBLE PROTON / PROTONWERK12
https://ensembleproton.ch/konzerte/protonwerk-no-12
MAY 4th
GENEVA, CH
SALLE FRANZ LISZT, HAUTE ECOLE DE MUSIQUE
LIGETI HORN TRIO w/ CHARLES PIERRON & ANTOINE FRANCOISE
https://editions-contrechamps.org/rencontres/rencontre-no-4/
MAY 13th
GENEVA, CH
CATHEDRALE ST-PIERRE
CONTRECHAMPS / FESTIVAL DE PRINTEMPS / CHIYOKO SLAVNICS
https://www.contrechamps.ch/en_gb/saison/immersion-chiyoko-szlavnics
MAY 15 - 17th
GUEBWILLER, FR
LES DOMINICAINS DE HAUTE-ALSACE
ENSEMBLE PROTON / RECORDING / CATHERINE LAMB - CURVA TRIANGULUS
https://soundcloud.com/catherine-lamb/curva-triangulus-excerpt-2018
MAY 20 & 22nd
WIESBADEN, DE & LAUSANNE, CH
WALKMUHLE & CENTRE CULTUREL DES TERREAUX
THRIPS TRIO / ERIC WUBBELS - IF & ONLY IF EURO PREMIERE
https://www.smclausanne.ch/archives/interpretes-359.html
JUNE 3rd
GENEVA, CH
SALLE FRANK-MARTIN
CONTRECHAMPS / FURRER, LACHENMANN & SAUNDERS
https://www.contrechamps.ch/en_gb/saison/feu-sacre
JUNE 20th
BERN, CH
DAMPFZENTRALE
ENSEMBLE PROTON / NEW MUSIC FROM UKRAINE
https://ensembleproton.ch/konzerte/neue-musik-aus-der-ukraine
JUNE 26th - JULY 1st
SACRAMENTO, CA
CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, SAC.
FACULTY / SUMMER CHAMBER MUSIC WORKSHOP
https://www.sacramentoyouthsymphony.org/summer-workshops-scmw
JULY 11 - 16th
SACRAMENTO, CA
UC DAVIS HEALTH PAVILION
MUSIC CIRCUS / THE MUSIC MAN
https://www.broadwaysacramento.com/production/themusicman-2023/
JULY 23 - 30th
SANTA CRUZ, CA
CIVIC AUDITORIUM
CABRILLO FESTIVAL OF CONTEMPORARY MUSIC
https://cabrillomusic.org/
PAST EVENTS 2022
JANUARY 19 & 20th
GENT, BE
MIRY CONCERTZAAL
RECORDING SESSION w/ JESSE BROEKMAN
JANUARY 23 - 26th
GENEVA, CH
LES 6 TOITS
CONTRECHAMPS / ATELIER w/ INFOPOLI, DENIS ROLLET, JESSICA EKOMANE
https://www.contrechamps.ch/en_gb/saison/atelier-jessica-ekomane
JANUARY 27, 28, 29th
LAUSANNE, LA CHAUX-DE-FONDS & GENEVA, CH
QUARTIER DU VALLON, VICTORIA HALL
CONTRECHAMPS / MASSICOT
https://www.contrechamps.ch/en_gb/saison/vers-la-flamme_geneve
FEBRUARY 2 & 3rd
BERLIN, DE
RADIALSYSTEM
CONTRECHAMPS / CTM FESTIVAL / MARYANNE AMACHER
https://www.ctm-festival.de/festival-2023/programme/artists/c/contrechamps
FEBRUARY 5th
GENEVA, CH
LES 6 TOITS
SOLO / BACH & YSAYE
https://www.contrechamps.ch/en_gb/saison/contrechamps-fait-le-grand-ecart/fevrier
FEBRUARY 16 & 17th
GENEVA, CH
LES 6 TOITS
CONTRECHAMPS / STOCKHAUSEN & SEMOROZ
https://www.contrechamps.ch/en_gb/saison/kontakte
FEBRUARY 19 & 20th
BIEL & BERN, CH
FARELHAUS & DAMPFZENTRALE
ENSEMBLE PROTON / RESILIENZ
https://ensembleproton.ch/konzerte/resilienz
MARCH 1 - 5th
GENEVA, CH
Théâtre AM STRAM GRAM
CONTRECHAMPS / SCHLOMOWITZ - ELECTRIC DREAMS
https://www.contrechamps.ch/fr/saison/electric-dreams
AUGUST 27th
PONTRESINA, CH
KONGRESSZENTRUM RONDO PONTRESINA
ENSEMBLE PROTON / WORLD ETHIC FORUM / ZINNSTAG
https://ensembleproton.ch/konzerte/world-ethic-forum-1
SEPTEMBER 6th
GENEVA, CH
VICTORIA HALL
ENSEMBLE CONTRECHAMPS / HEINZ HOLLIGER
https://contrechamps.ch/date/parcours-heinz-holliger-06-09-2022
SEPTEMBER 10th
BERN, CH
REITSCHULE
ENSEMBLE PROTON / BERN MUSIK FESTIVAL / CAGE
https://ensembleproton.ch/konzerte/long-john-cages-walk-into-the-night
SEPTEMBER 21st
WIESBADEN, DE
WALKMUHLE
ENSEMBLE PROTON
https://ensembleproton.ch/konzerte/next-to-your-fire-1
SEPTEMBER 24th & 25th
GENEVA, CH
BATIMENT DE FORCES MOTRICES
ENSEMBLE CONTRECHAMPS / MARINA ROSENFELD
https://contrechamps.ch/date/performance-marina-rosenfeld-24-09-2022
OCTOBER 7th
WIESBADEN, DE
WALKMUHLE
ENSEMBLE PRAESENZ / VORTEX TEMPORUM /GRISEY
OCTOBER 18th
GENEVA, CH
LES 6 TOITS
ENSEMBLE PROTON
https://ensembleproton.ch/konzerte/next-to-your-fire
OCTOBER 19th
BERN, CH
DIE HEITERE FAHNE
ENSEMBLE PROTON
https://ensembleproton.ch/konzerte/das-heitere-proton-lotto
NOVEMBER 2nd & 3rd
SAN DIEGO, USA
THEODORE & ADELE SHANK THEATRE, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SD
ANATOMIES COMPARÉES RESIDENCY
NOVEMBER 15th
BERN, CH
DAMPFZENTRALE
ENSEMBLE PROTON
https://ensembleproton.ch/konzerte/from-plank-to-plank
DECEMBER 3rd
GENEVA, CH
LES 6 TOITS
CONTRECHAMPS / XENAKIS
https://contrechamps.ch/date/perspectives-iannis-xenakis-03-12-2022
DECEMBER 10th & 11th
BERLIN, DE
UNIVERSITAT DER KUNST
ENSEMBLE PROTON
DECEMBER 13th & 16th
BERN, CH & LUZERN, CH
DAMPFZENTRALE & HOCHSCHULE LUZERN
ENSEMBLE PROTON / DOMINIQUE SCHAFER MEMORIAL
https://ensembleproton.ch/konzerte/west-coast-reloaded
DECEMBER 17th
BASEL, CH
GARE DU NORD
ENSEMBLE PROTON / BERNHARD LANG
https://ensembleproton.ch/konzerte/duerrenmatts-hirn
DECEMBER 18th & 19th
ZURICH, CH
SRF RADIO STUDIO
ENSEMBLE PROTON / BERNHARD LANG RECORDING
Research
Over the course of the last century,
The Stroh violin has been utilized in a variety of different musical contexts. Named after its inventor, John Matthias Augustus Stroh, this unique stringed instrument is amplified by a resonating diaphragm attached to an aluminum horn. The Stroh violin found initial commercial success in the recording studio when acoustic recording was at its height. The moveable horn of the Stroh violin made it possible to project the sound directly into a recording phonograph and was considered to be significantly louder and thus superior than a traditional violin. Its success as a recorded instrument however was short lived following the development of electrical recording in 1925. At around the same time of its obsolescence in the recording studio, the Stroh violin was being performed in dance hall and cabaret bands in the United States, Europe and the British colonial spheres of India and Australia during the prewar period. Its influence spawned the manufacture and adaptation of several similar instruments such as the Tiebel violin and the Romanian Vioara cu Goarna, a folk instrument which continues to be performed today. Despite these feats, The Stroh violin has gradually faded in to relative obscurity and as a result remains the subject of limited investigation and acoustical analysis.
Upon hearing a Stroh violin, one can easily distinguish its brazen timbre from a traditional violin. It is in essence a violin, for the simple fact that any capable violinist can pick up a Stroh and play it as if it were their own. Their accessibility is relatively widespread given that there are horn violin luthiers in Myanmar, Romania, Germany, and the United States. Why then is the Stroh violin considered more as a relic from a bygone era, a museum piece, than a practical musical instrument? My research aims to expose the capacity of these particular horn violins through the examination of acoustics, musicological analysis, and performance practice. Is the Stroh violin in fact louder than a conventional violin? How might its unique sound qualities and its extended techniques appeal to composers or improvisers and ultimately to a 21st century audience? The fact is, these instruments still remain under researched in both the fields of musicology, organology, and artistic research and, therefor, it is my intention to … shine a light, academically into this corner of “musica obscuritas.”
*docARTES - Orpheus Institute
http://www.docartes.be/en/persons/maximilian-haft
*University of Leiden
https://www.universiteitleiden.nl/en/staffmembers/maximillian-haft#tab-1
Media
Michael Jarrell’s Dornröschen (Nachlese IVb) (2015)
Witold Lutoslawski’s - Chain II for violin and orchestra
Christopher Trapani, Târgul for vioara cu goarna & mégaphone (2019)
Stroh Violin Improvisation No. 1
Ensemble Proton Bern's Youtube page
https://www.youtube.com/user/ensembleprotonbern
Soundcloud Page
https://soundcloud.com/maximilian-haft
RECORDINGS + Publications
1* CHRISTOPHER TRAPANI - HORIZONTAL DRIFT
https://www.newfocusrecordings.com/catalogue/christopher-trapani-horizontal-drift/
2* MARCIN STANCZYK - ACOUSMATIC MUSIC
https://pwm.com.pl/en/sklep/publikacja/acousmatic-music,marcin-stanczyk,24554,shop.htm
3* STEVE REICH - MUSIC FOR 18 MUSICIANS
https://megadisc-classics.com/album/music-for-18-musicians/
4* VARESE, LIGETI, LUTOSLAWSKI, BALDINI
5* BRYN HARRISON - Time Becoming
https://www.neurecords.com/timebecoming/
6* DOMINIQUE SCHAFER - Vers une présence réelle ...
https://www.kairos-music.com/cds/0015036kai
7* GRAMMONT SÉLECTION 9
https://prohelvetia.ch/en/shop/grammont-selection-9/
8* SAMUEL ANDREYEV - Moving
http://www.klarthe.com/index.php/en/records-en/moving-detail
9* CLARA IANNOTTA - A failed entertainment
https://www.edition-rz.de/3383-107,2,0.html
10* BEAT FURRER - Komponisten-Portrait
https://www.musiques-suisses.ch/en/products/Beat-Furrer-Komponisten-Portrait.html
11* JAGODA SZMYTKA - Bloody cherries
https://en.schott-music.com/shop/bloody-cherries-no331111.html
12* BRIGITTA MUNTENDORF - It may be all an illusion
https://www.col-legno.com/en/shop/40411-brigitta-muntendorf-it-may-be-all-an-illusion
13* PETER STREIFF - Vokal/Instrumental
https://www.soundohm.com/product/vokal-instrumental/pid/25421/
14* GRAMMONT SÉLECTION 5
https://www.musiques-suisses.ch/products/Grammont-Selection-5-Urauffuehrungen-aus-dem-Jahr-2011.html
15* ENSEMBLE KLANG - Walden - Heiner Goebbels
https://ensembleklangrecords.com/album/walden-heiner-goebbels-2
16* PIERRE BOULEZ - Lucerne Festival Academy
http://accentus.com/discs/double-cd-pierre-boulez-and-the-lucerne-festival-academy-orchestra
17* LEI LIANG - brush-stroke
http://www.moderecords.com/catalog/210liang.html
18* BENJAMIN BRITTEN - War Requiem
http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=198431
19, 20, 21* CUDDLE MAGIC - Info Nympho, Picture, Cuddle Magic
https://cuddlemagic.bandcamp.com/album/info-nympho
https://cuddlemagic.bandcamp.com/album/picture
https://cuddlemagic.bandcamp.com/album/cuddle-magic
22* ANTONIO D. LUCA - Musik wozu
https://antoniodluca.bandcamp.com/releases
Stay Tuned! Publications Coming Soon…