In recent years, Markus has established himself as a highly respected leader, specializing in conducting ensembles and orchestras from the concertmaster’s stand. His repertoire ranges from early and baroque music to compositions for large orchestras, including symphonic and romantic works of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Born in the former East Berlin, after living and working in Frankfurt am Main, Leipzig, Hamburg and Italy, he returned to settle in Berlin. He studied at the Hochschule für Musik „Hanns Eisler“ in Berlin and the Hochschule für Musik „Franz Liszt“ in Weimar.
He currently performs mainly as a leader and director of various ensembles in Italy, including Solisti di Pavia, Leonore Orchestra, Colibrì Ensemble, LaFil Milano, among others. He gives masterclasses in the United States and South Korea.
Markus’ experience as a leader is based on his work with great conductors past and present, but especially on his experience with Claudio Abbado and Daniel Harding. With Abbado and other musicians he founded the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, which he conducted for several years, and the Lucerne Festival Orchestra. After leaving the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, he helped establish the Orchestra Mozart di Bologna and collaborated for many years with Abbado on the El Sistema Venezuela project. He also works in other social music projects such as Neojiba in Brazil.
Inspired by Abbado, he founded the elite ensemble Aldeburgh Strings in the UK (recordings available on Linn Records), which he has conducted in highly prestigious and acclaimed recordings, naturally conducting from the first violin stand. In the same role he has performed with the Munich Chamber Orchestra, the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and the Ensemble Modern, among others.
Markus has conducted major symphony orchestras, both as Konzertmeister and as leader of the second violins, including the BBC Philharmonic, the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig and many others.
He gained further orchestral experience by playing for many years with the Berlin Philharmonic as a guest in the first and second violin sections.
Over the years he has become an avid chamber musician, collaborating with artists such as Alexander Lonquich, Louis Lortie, Christian Zacharias, Martha Argerich, Bruno Canino, Maria João Pires, Ricardo Castro and others.
He has founded three trios, ardeTrio and Massa Trio, and currently performs in a duo with Danusha Waskiewicz (former first viola of the Berlin Philharmonic) and in a piano trio with Louis Lortie and Knut Weber (Berliner Philharmoniker).
He plays a violin called Apollo, made by the German violin maker Christoph Götting (Mainz).
