Carsten Neumann began playing the violin with Ludwig Ellegiers and was taught by Igor Ozim before Helmut Zehetmair took him into his class at the Mozarteum University in 1986. After his instrumental studies, he transferred to the master class of Ruggiero Ricci. While still a student, he regularly attended master classes with, among others, Waleri Klimov, Ivry Gitlis as well as Dénes Zsigmondy and began his extensive activities as a soloist and chamber musician. As a member of the Mozarteum Piano Trio, he recorded a disc in 1990 and undertook extensive concert tours to Japan, England and Italy. From 1993-1998, he played under the direction of Sandor Vegh and Roger Norrington in the Camerata Salzburg and has been 1st principal of the Mozarteum Orchestra since 1998.