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 the Frederick Collection’s 1868 Brahms era Streicher 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. He conducts workshops and masterclasses worldwide, including recent engagements at the Boston Conservatory, the University of Maryland, and Musikhochschule Münster. Regularly featured in The Strad magazine, he was voted “Best of The Strad 2021.” In 2025, Daniel was a visiting teacher at Boston University, working with graduate/doctoral violin students of Bayla Keyes.

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.

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.