Violinist Christian Tetzlaff is widely admired for his command of a repertory ranging from Bach to contemporary music. In demand as a concerto soloist, he often plays chamber music as well with his sister Tanja Tetzlaff in the Tetzlaff Quartet.

Christian Tetzlaff was born in Hamburg on April 29, 1966. His parents sang in the choir where his father was a preacher, and he showed talent early on both violin and piano. Gravitating toward the violin, he made his debut with the Beethoven Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 61, at the age of 14. Tetzlaff attended the Musikhochschule Lübeck, studying with Uwe-Martin Haiberg, and went on to the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, where his teacher was Walter Levine. He began to draw international attention in 1988 when his performances of Schoenberg's Violin Concerto, Op. 36, with the Cleveland Orchestra and the Munich Philharmonic, drew wide acclaim for their precise playing and for an unsentimental style that he has continued to cultivate. In 1991, he released a recording of Haydn's three violin concertos on the Virgin Classics label, remaining associated with that imprint for many years. Tetzlaff suffers from neurodermatitis, which causes him pain in the left hand when the hand's fingers are applied to the strings of a violin. He has used various measures, including wearing thimbles, to control the condition.

Tetzlaff has performed with most of the world's major orchestras, and ever since his New York recital debut at the 92nd Street Y in 1993, his recital career has taken him to similarly hallowed halls. In 1994, he and his sister Tanja Tetzlaff formed the Tetzlaff Quartet, which has had an international career; he has also partnered in duo repertory with such artists as pianists Leif-Ove Andsnes and Christoph Eschenbach, and cellist Yo-Yo Ma. Tetzlaff recorded for CAvi-Music, Decca, and other labels before moving to Ondine in 2013. He has remained on that label's roster, issuing a recording of the Beethoven and Sibelius violin concertos there in 2019, with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. In 2021, he was heard on an Alpha-label recording of Schubert's String Quintet in C major, D. 956. ~ James Manheim, Rovi