Günter Ludwig (born 1931) is a German pianist.

Life and career

Born in

Großkrotzenburg Großkrotzenburg is a municipality in the Main-Kinzig district, in Hesse, Germany. It has a population of around 7,500. The town is mainly known for its swimming lake and its coal-fired power station. Geography Location Großkrotzenburg is loc ...

, Ludwig attended the

Musisches Gymnasium Frankfurt The Musisches Gymnasium Frankfurt was an educational institution leading to a university entrance qualification within the framework of the Reich Ministry of Science, Education and Culture, National Socialist Education System. It was founded in 1 ...

. He then studied piano with August Leopolder and

Marguerite Long Marguerite Marie-Charlotte Long (13 November 1874 – 13 February 1966) was a French pianist, pedagogue, lecturer, and an ambassador of French music. Life Early life: 1874–1900 Marguerite Long was born to Pierre Long and Anne Marie Antoin ...

and conducting with Kurt Thomas. He achieved his first successes by participating in international competitions, winning third prizes at the

Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition The Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition is a music competition for young pianists that takes place in Bolzano, Italy. It was founded in 1949 by Cesare Nordio in memory of the pianist and composer Ferruccio Busoni. History The fir ...

in 1954 and 1955. During his tours through Europe, America and Asia, he played in orchestral concerts with conductors such as István Kertész, Georg Solti,

Horst Stein Horst Walter Stein (born 2 May 1928 in Elberfeld, Germany; died 27 July 2008 in Vandœuvres, Switzerland) was a German conductor. Biography Stein's father was a mechanic. At school in Frankfurt, he studied piano, oboe, and singing. Later, ...

and

Günter Wand Günter Wand (7 January 1912, in Elberfeld, Germany – 14 February 2002, in Ulmiz near Bern, Switzerland) was a German orchestra conductor and composer. Wand studied in Wuppertal, Allenstein and Detmold. At the Cologne Conservatory, he was a co ...

and in chamber music formations with performers such as

Arthur Grumiaux Baron Arthur Grumiaux (; 21 March 1921 – 16 October 1986) was a Belgian violinist, considered by some to have been "one of the few truly great violin virtuosi of the twentieth century". He has been noted for having a "consistently beautiful t ...

Nathan Milstein Nathan Mironovich Milstein ( – December 21, 1992) was a Russian-born American virtuoso violinist. Widely considered one of the finest violinists of the 20th century, Milstein was known for his interpretations of Bach's solo violin works and ...

János Starker János Starker (; ; July 5, 1924 – April 28, 2013) was a Hungarian-American cellist. From 1958 until his death, he taught at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, where he held the title of Distinguished Professor. Starker is consider ...

Henryk Szeryng Henryk Szeryng (usually pronounced ''HEN-r-ik SHEH-r-in-g'') (22 September 19183 March 1988) was a Polish violinist. Early years He was born in Warsaw, Poland on 22 September 1918 into a wealthy Jewish family. The surname "Szeryng" is a Poli ...

and the Amadeus Quartet. Ludwig was professor of piano at the

Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln The Cologne University of Music ( is a music college in Cologne, Germany. Founded in 1850, it is Europe's largest academy of music. History The academy was founded by Ferdinand Hiller in 1850 as ''Conservatorium der Musik in Coeln''. In 1895 Ger ...

and visiting professor at

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington (IU Bloomington, Indiana University, IU, or simply Indiana) is a public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. It is the flagship campus of Indiana University and, with over 40,000 students, its largest ca ...

. His master students include Ulrich Windfuhr, Udo Schneberger, Alfredo Perl, Sung-Hee Kim-Wüst, Friedrich Höricke,

Raymund Havenith Raymund Havenith (17 July 1947 – 15 July 1993) was a German classical pianist. Life Raymund Havenith was born in Aachen into a family of musicians receiving his first lessons from his father Josef Havenith (1919–1978), a church musician an ...

Ulrich Leyendecker Ulrich Leyendecker (29 January 1946 — 29 November 2018) was a German composer of classical music. His output consisted mainly of symphonies, concertos, chamber and instrumental music. Life Leyendecker studied composition with Ingo Schmitt (196 ...

, Gereon Krahforst, Andreas Rothkopf, Florian Wiek, Johannes Cernota and Franz-Josef Birk. Ludwig is a freelancer for Schott-Verlag and Wiener Urtext Edition and a member of several juries of international competitions such as Bolzano and Genève. Ludwig is married to the Korean singer Mi-Sun Choi-Ludwig and father of two sons. He performs with his wife as a Lied

accompanist Accompaniment is the musical part which provides the rhythmic and/or harmonic support for the melody or main themes of a song or instrumental piece. There are many different styles and types of accompaniment in different genres and styles of ...

and with his sons as "Trio Ludwig".

Cologne Piano Trio

Together with Walter Schreiber (violin) and Joanna Sachryn (cello), Ludwig formed the "Kölner Klaviertrio" in the late 1980s, founded by Walter Schreiber in 1983. The ensemble has made guest appearances in several European countries, Brazil, Japan and Korea and has played at international music festivals such as the

Festival van Vlaanderen Festival of Flanders ( nl, Festival van Vlaanderen) is an annual music event at different locations in Flanders. It started initially as a "Summer Festival", but now its activities are spread from January to May, with a peak in late summer and earl ...

, the Carinthischer Sommer and the

Berliner Festspiele The Berliner Festspiele (German for Berlin Festivals) are a series of festivals, art exhibitions, and other cultural events organized all year long by a common organization in Berlin. Events are held at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele, a pre-ex ...

. Contemporary composers such as Dieter Salbert and

Violeta Dinescu Violeta Dinescu (born 13 July 1953, in Bucharest) is a Romanian composer, pianist and professor, living in Germany since 1982. Romania Violeta Dinescu began her studies of music in 1972 at the conservatory ''Ciprian Porumbescu'' in Bucharest, c ...

have dedicated works to the Cologne Piano Trio, and since 2003, there has been a collaboration with the Polish composer and pianist

Krzysztof Meyer Krzysztof Meyer (born 11 August 1943) is a Polish composer, pianist, and music scholar, formerly Dean of the Department of Music Theory (1972–1975) at the State College of Music (now Academy of Music in Kraków), and president of the Union of P ...

Recordings

Ludwig has recorded piano music by

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classic ...

, Mozart,

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid-Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped with ...

Busoni Ferruccio Busoni (1 April 1866 – 27 July 1924) was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor, editor, writer, and teacher. His international career and reputation led him to work closely with many of the leading musicians, artists and literary f ...

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

and

Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and influential music critic. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest composers of the Romantic era. Schumann left the study of law, intending to pursue a career a ...

, among others. Among them are all the piano trios by Mozart and Beethoven and the duo sonatas by Beethoven, Brahms and Busoni. With the violinist

Alois Kottmann Alois Kottmann (20 June 1929 – 4 December 2021) was a German violinist, music pedagogue, university professor and patron. He was based in Frankfurt, where he founded several ensembles, and taught at both the Hoch Conservatory and the Musikhoch ...

, he recorded violin sonatas by Max Reger and Robert Schumann. Together with the former 1st violinist of the Amadeus Quartet,

Norbert Brainin Norbert Brainin, OBE (12 March 1923 in Vienna – 10 April 2005 in London) was the first violinist of the Amadeus Quartet, one of the world's most highly regarded string quartets. Because of Brainin's Jewish origin, he was driven out of Vie ...

, he recorded Beethoven's complete violin sonatas.. * Johannes Brahms: ''Piano Quartet in G minor op. 25.'' With the Slovenian String Trio. Colosseum, Nuremberg 1985. * Max Reger: ''Sonata in D major op. 3 for violin and piano.'' With Alois Kottmann, violin. Cappella, Wiesbaden 1986. * Robert Schumann: ''Sonata in A minor op. 105.'' With Alois Kottmann, violin. Cappella, Wiesbaden 1988. * Robert Schumann: ''Sonata in D minor op. 121.'' With Alois Kottmann, violin. Cappella, Wiesbaden 1988. * Franz Schubert: ''Sonata in C major. D 840.'' Arranged by Gunter Elsholz. Cappella, Wiesbaden 1993. * Johannes Brahms: ''Sonata No. 2 in A major op. 100.'' With Alois Kottmann, violin. Cappella, Wiesbaden 1993. * Robert Schumann: ''Kreisleriana op. 16.'' Cappella, Wiesbaden 1997. * Johannes Brahms: ''The Sonatas for Violin and Piano.'' With Alois Kottmann, violin. Cappella, Wiesbaden 1998. * Ludwig van Beethoven: ''Complete Violin Sonatas.'' 3 CDs. With Norbert Brainin, violin. Preiser, Vienna 2007. * Robert Schumann: ''Sonata in D minor op. 121''; ''Sonata in A minor op. 105''; Clara Schumann: ''Three Romances op. 22.'' Performers: Collegium Instrumentale Alois Kottmann. Melisma 7101, Oestrich-Winkel. * Johannes Brahms: ''Sonata No. 1 in G major, op. 78''; ''Sonata No. 2 in A major, op. 100''; ''Sonata No. 3 in D minor, op. 108.'' Performers: Collegium Instrumentale Alois Kottmann. Melisma 7102, Oestrich-Winkel. *

César Franck César-Auguste Jean-Guillaume Hubert Franck (; 10 December 1822 – 8 November 1890) was a French Romantic composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher born in modern-day Belgium. He was born in Liège (which at the time of his birth was pa ...

: ''Sonata in A major''; Max Reger: ''Sonata No. 2 in D major op. 3.'' Performers: Collegium Instrumentale Alois Kottmann. Melisma 7018, Oestrich-Winkel. * Ludwig van Beethoven: ''Piano Quartet No. 1 in E flat major WoO 36''; ''Piano Quartet No. 2 in D major WoO 36''; ''Piano Quartet No. 3 in C major WoO 36.'' Performers: Mannheim Piano Quartet. ZYX Classic, Merenberg.

References

External links

*
Website des Kölner Klaviertrios
with Günter Ludwig * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ludwig, Gunter German classical pianists Academic staff of the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln 1931 births Living people People from Main-Kinzig-Kreis