Martin Helmchen (born 1982) is a German pianist. He has played with international orchestras and has recorded discs of many classical composers.

Life

Helmchen was born in Berlin. He began his piano studies at the age of six, and graduated from the

Hanns Eisler Music Conservatory Hanns is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Hanns Blaschke (1896–1971), Austrian politician *Hanns Bolz (1885–1918), German expressionist and cubist painter *Hanns Brandstätter (born 1949), Austrian fencer * Hanns Braun (18 ...

as a student of Galina Iwanzowa, and in 2001 from the

Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover ' (, plural: ') is the generic term in German for institutions of higher education, corresponding to ''universities'' and ''colleges'' in English. The term ''Universität'' (plural: ''Universitäten'') is reserved for institutions with the right to ...

as a student of

Arie Vardi Arie Vardi ( he, אריה ורדי; born 1937) is a classical pianist, conductor, and piano pedagogue. He is laureate of the Israel Prize in 2017. Biography Vardi was born in Tel Aviv and graduated from the Rubin Academy (renamed the Buchmann-Me ...

Career

He was a featured soloist in the BBC New Generation Artists program from 2005 to 2007. Helmchen has given concerts with the San Francisco Symphony, the

Vienna Philharmonic The Vienna Philharmonic (VPO; german: Wiener Philharmoniker, links=no) is an orchestra that was founded in 1842 and is considered to be one of the finest in the world. The Vienna Philharmonic is based at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria. It ...

, the Deutschen Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and the NHK Symphony Orchestra. His specialty is chamber music, where he has performed extensively with

Heinrich Schiff Heinrich Schiff (18 November 1951 – 23 December 2016) was an Austrian cellist and conductor. Early life Heinrich Schiff was born on 18 November 1951 in Gmunden, Austria. His parents, Helga (née Riemann) and Helmut Schiff, were composers. H ...

and

Marie-Elisabeth Hecker Marie-Elisabeth Hecker (born 5 March 1987 in Zwickau) is a German cellist. In 2005 she was one of the youngest participants to win first prize at the Concours de violoncelle Rostropovitch, the most important cello competition held every four y ...

. Collaborations with further artists have included

Gidon Kremer Gidon Kremer ( lv, Gidons Krēmers; born 27 February 1947) is a Latvian classical violinist, artistic director, and founder of Kremerata Baltica. Life and career Gidon Kremer was born in Riga. His father was Jewish and had survived the Holo ...

Christian Tetzlaff Christian Tetzlaff (born 29 April 1966) is a German violinist. Biography Tetzlaff was born in Hamburg. His parents were amateur musicians and met in a church choir. He began playing the violin and piano at the age of 6, and made his concert debu ...

, Sharon Kam,

Tabea Zimmermann Tabea Zimmermann (born 8 October 1966) is a German violist. Born in Lahr, she began learning to play the viola at the age of three, and commenced piano studies at age five. At the age of 13, she studied viola with Ulrich Koch at the Conservat ...

Juliane Banse Juliane Banse (born 10 July 1969 in Tettnang, Germany) is a German opera soprano and noted singer. Banse received her vocal training at the Zürich Opera, and with Brigitte Fassbaender in Munich. She won first prize in the singing competition o ...

Julia Fischer Julia Fischer (born 15 June 1983) is a German classical violinist and pianist.Sabine Meyer Sabine Meyer (born 30 March 1959) is a German classical clarinetist. Biography Born in Crailsheim, Baden-Württemberg, Meyer began playing the clarinet at an early age. Her first teacher was her father, also a clarinetist. She studied with Otto ...

and

Lars Vogt Lars Vogt (8 September 1970 – 5 September 2022) was a German classical pianist, conductor and academic teacher. Noted by ''The New York Times'' for his interpretations of Brahms, Vogt performed as a soloist with major orchestras, including the ...

. Helmchen's first orchestral CD was released in 2007 with piano concerti from Mozart, and his first solo CD with works of

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 ...

was released in 2008. In 2009, two further CDs were released: * with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg: Robert Schumann, Piano Concerto a minor op. 54 and Antonín Dvořák, Piano Concerto g minor op.33 * with Sharon Kam und

Gustav Rivinius Gustav Rivinius (born in 1965 in Saarland) is a German cellist and professor for cello at the Hochschule für Musik Saar. Life Rivinius began his cello studies at the age of six with Hermann Dirr in Munich. Later he studied in Saarbrücken for s ...

, Johannes Brahms, Two Sonatas for Clarinet and Piano, op. 120 and Trio for Piano, Clarinet, and Violoncello op. 114 He made his American debut in 2011 when he played at

Tanglewood Tanglewood is a music venue in the towns of Lenox and Stockbridge in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts. It has been the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1937. Tanglewood is also home to three music schools: the ...

with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The same year he performed with Dohnanyi and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Awards

In 2001 he won the Clara Haskil International Piano Competition. In 2003 he won the International Kissinger Klavierolymp Competition, related to the festival

Kissinger Sommer The Kissinger Sommer is a classical music festival held every year in the summer in the city of Bad Kissingen in Bavaria, Southern Germany. History The festival was founded in 1986. At the beginning the focus of the festival was on the improve ...

. In 2006 he was awarded the Crédit Suisse Award, for his debut with the

, directed by

Valery Gergiev Valery Abisalovich Gergiev (russian: Вале́рий Абиса́лович Ге́ргиев, ; os, Гергиты Абисалы фырт Валери, Gergity Abisaly fyrt Valeri; born 2 May 1953) is a Russian conductor and opera company d ...

, playing Schumann's Piano Concerto at the

Lucerne Festival Lucerne Festival is one of the leading international festivals in the world of classical music and presents a series of classical music festivals based in Lucerne, Switzerland. Founded in 1938 by Ernest Ansermet and Walter Schulthess, it curren ...

. In the same year he received the ECHO Klassik Prize as together with cellist Danjulo Ishizaka for their CD with works from Felix Mendelssohn,

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 ...

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

(2005, Sony Classical).

Selected discography

Franz 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 wo ...

- Complete Works for Violin and Piano.

Julia Fischer Julia Fischer (born 15 June 1983) is a German classical violinist and pianist.PENTATONE PTC 5186519 (2014 – re-issue) * ''Creating Timeless Classics''. Works by Robert Schumann,

Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky , group=n ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer of the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music would make a lasting impression internationally. He wrote some of the most popu ...

Johann Sebastian Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...

Ludwig van 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 ...

Howard Blake Howard David Blake (born 28 October 1938) is an English composer, conductor, and pianist whose career has spanned more than 50 years and produced more than 650 works. Blake's most successful work is his soundtrack for Channel 4’s 1982 film ' ...

. Martin Helmchen, Arabella Steinbacher, Nareh Arghamanyan, Mari Kodama, Julia Fischer, Russian National Orchestra, Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. PENTATONE PTC 5186531 (2014). * Mozart - Piano Concertos Nos. 15 & 27. Martin Helmchen, Gordan Nikolić,

Netherlands Chamber Orchestra The Netherlands Chamber Orchestra (NKO; Dutch, ''Nederlands Kamerorkest'') is a Dutch chamber orchestra based in Amsterdam. The NKO is part of the ''Stichting Nederlands Philharmonisch Orkest'' (Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra Foundation), alon ...

. PENTATONE PTC 5186508 (2013). * Robert Schumann - Waldszenen, Symphonische Etüden, Arabeske. Martin Helmchen PENTATONE PTC 5186452 (2012) *

Vincent D'Indy Paul Marie Théodore Vincent d'Indy (; 27 March 18512 December 1931) was a French composer and teacher. His influence as a teacher, in particular, was considerable. He was a co-founder of the Schola Cantorum de Paris and also taught at the P ...

- Camille Saint-Saëns -

Ernest Chausson Amédée-Ernest Chausson (; 20 January 1855 – 10 June 1899) was a French Romantic composer who died just as his career was beginning to flourish. Life Born in Paris into an affluent bourgeois family, Chausson was the sole surviving child of ...

Orchestral Works. Martin Helmchen,

Marek Janowski Marek Janowski (born 18 February 1939 in Warsaw) is a Polish-born German conductor. He is currently chief conductor of the Dresden Philharmonic. Childhood Janowski grew up in Wuppertal, near Cologne, after his mother traveled there at the st ...

Orchestre de la Suisse Romande The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (OSR) is a Swiss symphony orchestra, based in Geneva at the Victoria Hall. In addition to symphony concerts, the OSR performs as the opera orchestra in productions at the Grand Théâtre de Genève. History Er ...

. PENTATONE PTC 5186357 (2011). *

- Complete Works for Violin and Piano, Volume 2.

Julia Fischer Julia Fischer (born 15 June 1983) is a German classical violinist and pianist.Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy The Piano Concertos & Rondo brilliant. Martin Helmchen,

Philippe Herreweghe Philippe Maria François Herreweghe, Knight Herreweghe (born 2 May 1947) is a Belgian conductor and choirmaster. Herreweghe founded La Chapelle Royale and Collegium Vocale Gent and is renowned as a conductor, with a repertoire ranging from Re ...

Antwerp Symphony Orchestra The Antwerp Symphony Orchestra is the symphony orchestra of Flanders (Belgium), based in the Queen Elisabeth Hall in Antwerp. The orchestra is led by chief conductor Elim Chan and honorary conductor Philippe Herreweghe. The organisation, which is o ...

. PENTATONE PTC 5186366 (2010). *

- Trout Quintet & Variations on Trockne Blumen & Piano Trio. Martin Helmchen, Christian Tetzlaff, Antoine Tamestit, Marie-Elisabeth Hecker, Alois Posch, Aldo Baerten. PENTATONE PTC 5186334 (2009). *

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 ...

& Dvořák - Piano Concertos.

Marc Albrecht Marc Albrecht (born 1964) is a German conductor who lives in The Netherlands. He was chief conductor of the Dutch National Opera, the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra, and the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra from 2009 to 2020. Biography Born in ...

, Martin Helmchen,

Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg The Orchestre philharmonique de Strasbourg (Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra) is a French orchestra based in Strasbourg. It is one of the two permanent orchestras of the Opéra national du Rhin (the other being the Orchestre symphonique de Mulh ...

. PENTATONE PTC 5186333 (2009). *

- Complete Works for Violin and Piano, Volume 1. Julia Fischer, Martin Helmchen. PENTATONE PTC 5186347 (2009) *

- Piano Sonata & 6 Moments musicaux. Martin Helmchen. PENTATONE PTC 5186329 (2008). * Mozart - Piano Concertos Nos. 13 & 24. Gordan Nikolić, Martin Helmchen,

. PENTATONE PTC 5186305 (2007). *

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 ...

- Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 5.

Andrew Manze Andrew Manze (born 14 January 1965) is a British conductor and violinist living in Germany. Born in Beckenham, United Kingdom, Manze read Classics at Cambridge University. Manze studied violin and worked with Ton Koopman (his director in ...

, Martin Helmchen,

Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin The Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin (DSO) is a German broadcast orchestra based in Berlin. The orchestra performs its concerts principally in the Philharmonie Berlin. The orchestra is administratively based at the ''Rundfunk Berlin-Branden ...

. ALPHA ALPHA-555 (2019).

References

External links

Official website

Schmidt Artists International - Martin Helmchen's North American Manager

Interview mit dem Schweizer Klassikportal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Helmchen, Martin German pianists 1982 births Living people 21st-century pianists