The Austrian artist with Hungarian roots, Eszter Haffner is one of the most exciting and respected violinists of our time. Over the last 30 years, she has been captivating audiences around the world with her distinctively rich sound, superb musicianship and outstanding interpretations. She has established close relationships with the most prestigious conductors and orchestras. Always willing to expand her musical horizons, Eszter is also much sought after as a violist. Her social missions and her tireless commitment of the arts to the Republic of Austria was rewarded in summer 2021 with the federal award "Golden Decoration of Honor“ for artistic services to the Republic of Austria“and in 2024 the Golden Medal Culture prize of the Lower Austrian government.
In 2023 she has been appointed for a professorship for violin at the University of Music MDW in Vienna Austria, and since 2000 she has been professor for violin at the Royal Academy of Music Copenhagen (Denmark), at the University of Art in Graz KUG ,
as well as a visiting professor at the Royal College of Music London, the Sibelius Academy Helsinki, the Franz Liszt Academy Budapest, at the Academy of Music Oslo, Shanghai and Beijing Conservatories, Shanghai Middle School, JMC Jerusalem and Tijanjin Middle School. She was Jury member at many international violin competitions as: Spohr Competition Germany, Isang Yung Competition Korea, Piccolo Magico Violin Competition Italy, Andrea Postacchini Competition Italy, Szymanowsky Competition Poland, Baczewich Competition Poland, Serguei Azizian Competition Denmark, LIVE Music Now Austria, Singapur Violin Competition, Brahms Competition Austria, Dubai Violin Olympia and Khatchaturian Competitions. She was given masterclasses at the NYU New York, Jacobs School Bloomington, Stanford University and Yale University, UCLA, USCI and Colburn School in the USA and Geidai University in Japan.
Eszter plays the "ex Hamma Segelmann" Violin by Nicola Bergonzi 1780 on loan to her courtesy of the National Bank of Austria.
Her strings are kindly sponsored by „Jargar Strings“ and Thomastik Infeld Vienna, her bows by Mr.Charles Shih and her CD recordings by NEIRO Productions,Vienna.
Her latest recordings of the Mozart violin concertos with the Salzburg Soloists were released in 2025.
She works as a consultant for the organization “Live Music Now” in Vienna founded by Lord Yehudi Menuhin; the Auror and Old Ox Festivals Sweden; EMIV Vienna; CIMS and Verao Classico Portugal and the “Virtuoso Belcanto” Festival in Lucca, Italy. As the organizer of the “Serguei Azizian” competition in Denmark and as a member of the jury faculties for major international competitions, she promotes young talents from all over the world.
She is faculty member of the “PE-Förderkreis der Studierenden” Mannheim (Germany) and professor at the “Villa Musica” Mainz (Germany).
Since 2017 she is curator of the Arts at the Austrian Embassy in Copenhagen. Eszter is member of the Ensembles Haffner Strings, Haffner Trio.
After studying with Prof. Gerhard Schulz, Sandor Vegh, Philippe Hirshorn, György Kurtág and Thomas Kakuska at the Academy of Music in Vienna, Budapest and Utrecht, she played her debut in 1991 in the Golden Hall of the Vienna Musikverein under the direction of Karl Österreicher. Since then she has been at home in the world's largest concert halls. She is winner of numerous international competitions and awards, as well she participates in countless music festivals around the world.
She devotes herself enthusiastically to the works of contemporary composers. Countless compositions by Alfred Huber, Peter Eötvös, Aleksey Igudesman and Volker David Kirchner have already been written for her.