Austrian concertmaster Rainer Honeck has been appointed Honorary Doctor of the Faculty of Fine and Performing Arts, 2026.
Rainer Honeck has been concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra since 1992. As concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Rainer Honeck has taken the Stehgeiger tradition to an outstanding artistic level.
Rainer Honeck's distinguished career includes solo performances with leading orchestras around the world, under renowned conductors, as well as extensive work in chamber music as leader of several ensembles.
Interview with Rainer Honeck
An honorary doctorate is the highest distinction a faculty can award. The award is given to individuals who have demonstrated particular expertise or skill in their field. But upon first receiving the news, Honeck felt suspicious.
How did you first react when you learned you were to receive an honorary doctoral title?
Frankly speaking I thought it was a scam. But somehow it turned out to be true.
How would you describe your artistry?
Now reviewing my musical life I wouId describe myself as being a musician, with main focus on violin playing. When I joined the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra as a violin player, I was quite young, only 20 years old. Becoming a concertmaster soon after I found myself in a leading position at an early stage. After many years it was a natural step to also leading as a conductor.
I feel very privileged and grateful that in my career I could get to know and perform a very wide ranging repertoire of music, such as opera, (Vienna State opera), Symphonic Music (Vienna Philharmonic) Chamber Music with many different artists and ensembles, Solo performances with major orchestras, teaching at the Barenboim Said Academy in Berlin and now the conducting experience.
What does this recognition mean to you at this stage in your career?
I’m very humbled to receive this honor, I am realizing it’s a reward for my musical career and of course my work with the Malmö Symphony Orchestra.
What do you think musicians can offer universities, and what can universities offer musicians?
Especially orchestra musicians depend very much on good teamwork, putting personal differences aside and work on a common goal, bringing the music alive in the best possible way.
In the end with all the technical preparations and skills there is the single and unique moment in the performance which nobody can foresee. It happens at the moment when emotions come into play. I don’t know if this could have a positive impact in developing a scientific progress. As a musician we are trained to respect the intentions of the composer, the traditions, the style when the works were created, nevertheless as a performer it is important always to be open minded for all kinds of different developments.
Rainer Honeck will attend the doctoral conferment ceremony in Lund on 29 May 2026.
About the doctoral conferment
An honorary doctorate is the highest distinction a faculty can award. The distinction is given to individuals who have demonstrated particular expertise or skill in their field.
Honorary doctors are invited to participate in the doctoral conferment ceremony. This is a formal ceremony in which doctors who have completed their postgraduate education and defended their doctoral thesis during the past year are conferred their degrees in Lund.