Alexander Schimpf
Piano
Artist Images
Program
Piano Pieces, Op. 76
Piano Sonata No. 7, Op. 64, White Mass
Piano Sonata No. 29 in B-flat Major, Op. 106, Hammerklavier
About the Artist
Over the past few years Alexander Schimpf has risen to prominence by impressively winning a series of competitions, first winning the 2008 German Music Competition (a distinction no pianist had earned for 14 years), winning First Prize at the 2009 International Beethoven Competition in Vienna and finally emerging as the first German pianist ever to win First Prize at the 2011 Cleveland International Piano Competition. His final round performance at Severance Hall with the renowned Cleveland Orchestra was given a standing ovation and additionally honored with the Audience Favorite Prize. Since winning these notable awards, Mr. Schimpf’s career has gained momentum with regular appearances at important music centers around the world; since 2011 he gave debut recitals at the Vienna Konzerthaus, Berlin’s Konzerthaus, Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall in New York, the Marinsky Concert Hall in St. Petersburg, and the Great Hall of “Alte Oper” in Frankfurt.
Born in Göttingen, Germany in 1981, he initially studied piano with Wolfgang Manz in Hannover and subsequently studied with Winfried Apel at the Musikhochschule Dresden as well as with Bernd Glemser in Würzburg. The pianists Cécile Ousset and Janina Fialkowska also played an important role in his artistic development.
He has performed in recital throughout Germany (including appearances at Gasteig München, NDR Hannover, Beethovenhaus Bonn, Musik- und Kongresshalle Lübeck, and Alte Oper Frankfurt) as well as at festivals such as Oberstdorfer Musiksommer, Heidelberger Frühling and the Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele. Mr. Schimpf has appeared in recital in France (Auditorium du Louvre and Salle Cortot in Paris), Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Poland, and England, and several times in South America. He made his debut appearance at Carnegie Hall in December 2011 and has been performing in the USA frequently since then; future engagements include solo recitals in Indianapolis, Boston, and Chicago among others, and performances with numerous symphony orchestras throughout the country.
His engagements in the recent seasons included appearances as a soloist with the St. Petersburg Marinsky Theatre Orchestra, the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie in Frankfurt am Main, and with the Dresden Philharmonic.
Released in 2009, his first CD was co-produced by Deutschlandradio Kultur and GENUIN; his second CD recording - as an exclusive artist on the OEHMS Classics label – features works by Ravel, Scriabin, and Schubert and was released in January 2013.
In 2013, Alexander Schimpf received the “Bavarian State Award for the Advancement of Art” in Munich.