Name: Johanna Burnheart
Occupation: Violinist, composer
Nationality: German
Current release: Johanna Burnheart's new full-length album Bär, is out December 1st 2023 via her own Burnheart Records.

If you enjoyed this interview with Johanna Burnheart and would like to stay up to date with her work, visit her official homepage. Or check out her profiles on Instagram, Soundcloud, and Facebook for recent updates.

We also have a previous 15 Questions Johanna Burnheart interview for an even deeper dive as well as an interview with her about improvisation. We also have a conversation with her about how to listen to improvisation.



Tell me about your instrument and/or tools, please. What made you seek it out, what makes it “your” instrument, and what are some of the most important aspects of playing it?

The violin is my main instrument. I studied piano and violin an equal amount during my childhood but the violin took over eventually as my primary instrument.

[Read our feature on the violin]

When I started improvising and switching genres, I sometimes cursed the fact that my instrument happens to be the violin as it is such a difficult instrument to amplify, which made it a very irritating instrument to go to jazz jams with. Jamming is such an important part of learning jazz and I often had to worry about asking the guitarist to share or hand over the amp whereas horn players could just walk up and blow over the entire band with their acoustic sound.

It takes years to perfect your acoustic technique and become a strong classical violinist. But if you then seek out amplification, it adds further years of finding your sound and figuring out what works best for your setting.

Playing jazz also demands very different techniques so a lot of my classical technique I had to adapt to be able to achieve the new sounds I was trying to make. At the same time it was my strong classical technique that gave me the freedom to learn anything I wanted as I had spent years learning meticulous control over my hands, wrists and arms.

I amplify my acoustic violin which is a copy of a Guarneri violin, built by Jamie Lazzara. My pickup was made by Olivier Pont who sadly does not seem to be making pickups anymore. But it is my favourite pickup out there so I am hoping it will serve me a little longer.

I then have a collection of pedals that help me create my desired timbre and I always amplify through an AER amp. This amp was just perfectly built for acoustic instruments as it creates warmth and depth. I go through phases where I only practise with my loop, experimenting with my pedals, and then other times where I only want to practise my violin acoustically without anything added to keep my chops up.

Mostly I practise acoustically these days as I want to work on tuning and rhythm when I have time to work on my craft.

The partner of a musician once told me that he often felt jealous of her guitar. How would you describe your own relationship with your instrument – is it an extension of your self/body, a partner and companion, a creative catalyst, a challenge to be overcome, something else entirely?

My violin is definitely a companion.

I have grown away from the point where I was entirely dependent on my violin and solely identifying through this instrument. When I started writing my own music, I found I had more channels than I thought. It allowed me to make peace with the fact that maybe I won’t physically be able to play the violin my entire life and if that moment ever comes, I will not fall apart.

A few years ago the thought of never playing the violin again would have thrown me into a deep depression. I found this realisation to be far from how I’d like to live so I am proud to say I have found I am more than “just a violinist”. Which is already a lot of course, not to judge anyone who solely identifies through playing their instrument. This was just my personal journey with this topic and I am now in a much happier place with my instrument.

I sometimes worry about letting the violin go a little too much as it gets overshadowed by working on other things - writing (which I mostly do on the piano) and so on. But the violin is at my core and that will always be the case.