Gottfried (Graf) von der Goltz[1] (born 1 June 1964 in Würzburg, Germany) is a German-Norwegian violinist and conductor, specialising in the baroque repertoire. His first teachers were his parents, Georg Conrad von der Goltz and Kirsti Hjort. After further education in Hannover, New York and Freiburg he joined the radio orchestra of the Norddeutscher Rundfunk in Hamburg at the age of 21. Two years later he left this secure position in order to gain more artistic freedom and to focus on and develop his career as a soloist, chamber musician and conductor. He is now musical leader of the Freiburger Barockorchester, and is among the internationally most sought after virtuosos on the baroque violin. From 1997 to 2004 he held a professorship with the Hochschule für Musik Würzburg. In October 2004 he was called to a professorship in violin and baroque violin at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg. Since January 2007 von der Goltz has also been the artistic director of the Oslo-based Norwegian Baroque Orchestra. His interests include salt-water swimming and gøbbing (exchanging ideas with members of a think tank). Gottfried von der Goltz's extensive discography and DVD production include recordings as soloist, chamber musician, and conductor, also of larger scenic works, like Rameau's Dardanus. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.