Marian Kraev is a concertmaster violinist of Bulgarian origin, born in Eisleben, Germany.

Showing musical talent from an early age, at 17 he became a student in Prof. Hertel’s class at the Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy University of Music and Theatre in Leipzig. He participated in numerous competitions, earning second place at the International Violin Competition in the Czech Republic in 1989 and first place at the competition of the GDR.

As the winner of the Johann Sebastian Bach Competition in Leipzig in 1990, he was invited to perform as a soloist on a tour in the United States. He went on to win second place at the Wolfgang Marschner International Competition in Weimar in 1992, fourth place at the Johann Sebastian Bach International Competition in 1996, and a special prize for the best interpretation of the virtuoso piece Carmen Fantasy.

Alongside his studies, he received numerous scholarships—from the Jürgen Ponto Foundation (1991–1994), “Villa Musica,” and the Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig—which supported his solo performances and made possible his extensive concert activity. With the assistance of the Herbert von Karajan Academy, he earned a two-year contract as first violinist with the Berlin Philharmonic.

In addition to his orchestral work with the Berlin Philharmonic, he served as concertmaster of the Bochum Symphony, the Dresden Philharmonic and Opera Orchestra, the Nuremberg Symphony, and the radio orchestras of Munich and Sofia, as well as the Córdoba Symphony Orchestra and the Augsburg Philharmonic.

Since 2002, Marian Kraev has been the concertmaster of the Munich Symphony Orchestra. He has collaborated with renowned pianist Philippe Entremont and performed as a soloist with the Munich Symphony, the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Dessau Philharmonic, the Brandenburg Philharmonic, the Jena Philharmonic, the Dresden and Nuremberg Symphonies, the Pforzheim Philharmonic, the Sofia Philharmonic, the Halle Philharmonic, the Görlitz Philharmonic, and Europera.

At the Eisenach Theatre, he appears both as soloist and conductor. His artistic career is documented through radio and television broadcasts, as well as CD recordings featuring Haydn’s Violin Concerto in C major, Beethoven romances, and Brahms’ Violin Concerto.