Oliver Drechsel (born 10 May 1973) is a German concert pianist and composer.

Life

Drechsel was born in Langenfeld (Rheinland). After initial lessons with his mother, the concert pianist Ruth Drechsel-Püster, he studied at the

Hochschule für Musik Köln ' (, 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 ...

with Roswitha Gediga-Glombitza and

Pavel Gililov Pavel Lvovich Gililov (russian: Павел Львович Гилилов; born 23 June 1950) is a Russian classical pianist who has held German citizenship since 2003. Life Born in Donezk, Gililov's musical talent was discovered by the Russi ...

. Master classes with, among others,

Peter Feuchtwanger Peter Bernhard Feuchtwanger (26 June 1930 – 18 June 2016)Karl-Heinz Kämmerling Karl-Heinz Kämmerling (6 May 1930 – 14 June 2012) was a notable German academic teacher of classical pianists, who trained pianists at the Mozarteum in Salzburg and the Hochschule für Musik, Theater und Medien Hannover for careers as performer ...

and the

Alban Berg Quartet The Alban Berg Quartett was a string quartet founded in Vienna, Austria in 1970, named after Alban Berg. Members Beginnings The Berg Quartet was founded in 1970 by four young professors of the Vienna Academy of Music, and made its debut in ...

complemented this education, which he completed in 1998 with the

Konzertexamen The Konzertexamen is a degree at conservatoires in postgraduate courses of study.Hochschule für Musik Freiburg. Konzertexamen. As a postgraduate education degree, it is the highest degree to be awarded by the university. The postgraduate cours ...

. In the same year he released his debut CD "

Jürg Baur Jürg Baur (11 November 1918 – 31 January 2010) was a German composer whose works include ''Incontri and Mutazioni.'' Baur studied at the Cologne University of Music and taught there in his later years. Baur was also awarded the Federal Cro ...

- Das Klavierwerk" and received the (support prize). For his compositions he received, among others, the 1st prize of the 2007 . Drechsel is dedicated to the performance of 18th and 19th century piano music on original historical instruments from the Dohr Collection (Cologne). This includes piano works by the composers

Ferdinand Hiller Ferdinand (von) Hiller (24 October 1811 – 11 May 1885) was a German composer, Conductor (music), conductor, pianist, writer and music director. Biography Ferdinand Hiller was born to a wealthy Jewish family in Frankfurt am Main, where his fat ...

Friedrich Kiel Friedrich Kiel (8 October 182113 September 1885) was a German composer and music teacher. Writing of the chamber music of Friedrich Kiel, the scholar and critic Wilhelm Altmann notes that it was Kiel’s extreme modesty which kept him and his e ...

Christian Gottlob Neefe Christian Gottlob Neefe (; 5 February 1748 – 28 January 1798) was a German opera composer and conductor. He was known as one of the first teachers of Ludwig van Beethoven. Life and career Neefe was born in Chemnitz, Saxony. He received a m ...

Christian Heinrich Rinck Johann Christian Heinrich Rinck (18 February 1770 – 23 July 1846) was a German composer and organist of the late classical and early romantic eras. Life and career Rinck was born in Elgersburg (in present-day Thuringia), and died in Darms ...

and Johann Wilhelm Wilms, most of which are world

premiere A première, also spelled premiere, is the debut (first public presentation) of a play, film, dance, or musical composition. A work will often have many premières: a world première (the first time it is shown anywhere in the world), its first ...

recordings. In addition to solo performances at home and abroad (including in the "Best of NRW" series) as well as radio recordings and CD productions, a further focus of his pianistic work lies in the field of

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small numb ...

, in which he performs with Christoph Lahme (

harmonium The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. T ...

) as a "liaison extraordinaire" as well as with Gernot Süßmuth (violin) and Dagmar Spengler (cello) as the "Piano Trio Cologne-Weimar". In 2003, Drechsel was

artist in residence Artist-in-residence, or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs which involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs which provide artists with space a ...

at the Rinck Festival Cologne. Drechsel teaches music and mathematics at the

Otto-Hahn-Gymnasium Europaschule Otto-Hahn-Gymnasium is a '' Gymnasium'' (high school) in Gifhorn, Lower Saxony, Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Euro ...

in his home town

Monheim am Rhein Monheim am Rhein ( li, Monnem) is a town on the right (eastern) bank of the river Rhine in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Monheim belongs to the Mettmann (district), district of Mettmann – with the southern suburbs of Düsseldorf to the north, ...

as well as piano at the

. Most of his work (CDs, books, sheet music) is published by Verlag Dohr.

Recordings

* on concert grand Ibach: ** Jürg Baur: Das Klavierwerk, Telos Records 024, 1998. * on concert grand

Steinway & Sons Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway (), is a German-American piano company, founded in 1853 in Manhattan by German piano builder Henry E. Steinway, Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (later known as Henry E. Steinway). The company's growth led to ...

: ** Jürg Baur: mit wechselndem schlüssel. Klavierlieder (zus. m. Matthias Güdelhöfer, bass-baritone), Verlag Dohr, DCD018, 2001. ** dialogo. 20th century works for violoncello and piano by

Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...

Buxton Orr Buxton Orr (18 April 1924 – 27 December 1997) was a Glasgow-born Anglo-Scottish composer and teacher. Life Originally trained as a doctor, Orr gave up medicine and switched to music in 1952, studying composition at the Guildhall School of Mu ...

and

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 ...

(together with Dagmar Spengler, cello), Verlag Dohr DCD017, 2001. ** fantasia. Piano fantasies by

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (8 March 1714 – 14 December 1788), also formerly spelled Karl Philipp Emmanuel Bach, and commonly abbreviated C. P. E. Bach, was a German Classical period musician and composer, the fifth child and sec ...

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period, who wrote primarily for solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown as a leadin ...

Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one o ...

and

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 wor ...

, Verlag Dohr DCD007, 2001. **

: XII Piano Sonatas,

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 classical ...

: Electoral Sonatas, Verlag Dohr DCD027, 2006/07. ** Stockholm@Köln: Neue Kammermusik für Fagott und Klavier, together with Berthold Große (bassoon), works by Oliver Drechsel, Andreas Herkenrath and Johan Ullén, arcantus, arc19018, 2019. ** Liaison extraordinaire: Beethoven, together with Christoph Lahme (harmonium), works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Oliver Drechsel and

Sigfrid Karg-Elert Sigfrid Karg-Elert (November 21, 1877April 9, 1933) was a German composer in the early twentieth century, best known for his compositions for pipe organ and reed organ. Biography Karg-Elert was born Siegfried Theodor Karg in Oberndorf am Neckar, ...

, VDE Gallo CD1621, 2020. * on concert grand Theodor Stöcker, Berlin 1868 ( Haus Eller): ** Friedrich Kiel, Das Klavierwerk Vol. 1, Verlag Dohr DCD009, 2002. ** Friedrich Kiel, Das Klavierwerk Vol. 2 (together with Wilhelm Kemper), Verlag Dohr DCD011, 2003. ** Friedrich Kiel, Das Klavierwerk Vol. 3 (together with Wilhelm Kemper), Verlag Dohr, DCD013, 2004. ** Friedrich Kiel, Das Klavierwerk Vol. 4 (together with Wilhelm Kemper), Verlag Dohr, DCD023, 2007. * On

fortepiano A fortepiano , sometimes referred to as a pianoforte, is an early piano. In principle, the word "fortepiano" can designate any piano dating from the invention of the instrument by Bartolomeo Cristofori in 1698 up to the early 19th century. Mo ...

Christian Erdmann Rancke, Riga 1825 (Haus Eller): ** Johann Christian Heinrich Rinck, Das Klavierwerk Vol. 1 (publisher Dohr, DCD018, 2002). ** Johann Christian Heinrich Rinck, The Piano Works Vol. 2 (together with Egino Klepper; publisher Dohr, DCD019, 2003) ** Johann Wilhelm Wilms, Works for Piano Solo Vol. 1 (publisher Dohr, DCD024, 2004) ** Johann Wilhelm Wilms, Works for Piano Solo Vol. 2 with narrator

Claus Biederstaedt Claus Biederstaedt (28 June 1928 – 18 June 2020) was a German actor. He studied in Hamburg and began his career working with Joseph Offenbach. Among the actors for whom he dubbed were Yves Montand, Peter Falk, Marlon Brando, Vittorio Gassma ...

(publisher Dohr, DCD029, 2007) * on

clavichord The clavichord is a stringed rectangular keyboard instrument that was used largely in the Late Middle Ages, through the Renaissance, Baroque and Classical eras. Historically, it was mostly used as a practice instrument and as an aid to compositi ...

Wilhelm Heinrich Bethmann 1799 (copy J. C. Neupert,

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main. The town dates back to the 9th century, when its name was derived from the nearby ' castle. C ...

1999 (Haus Eller)): ** Christian Gottlob Neefe: XII Piano Sonatas, Ludwig van Beethoven: Electoral Sonatas, Verlag Dohr DCD026, 2006/07.

Publications

* as author: ** Jürg Baur: ''Das Klavierwerk''. Verlag Dohr 1998 () * as editor: ** Jürg Baur: ''Drei frühe Klavierstücke'' (1943/60). Verlag Dohr 1998 () ** Jürg Baur: ''Werkverzeichnis''. Verlag Dohr 2000 () ** Jürg Baur: ''Annotationen zur Musik. Ausgewählte Schriften, Aufsätze und Vorträge''.''Annotationen zur Musik. Ausgewählte Schriften, Aufsätze und Vorträge''
on WorldCat Verlag Dohr 2003 () ** Johann Wilhelm Wilms: ''Klavierwerke Vol. 1'' (with CD). Denkmäler Rheinischer Musik Vol. 25, Verlag Dohr 2005 () ** Daniel Friedrich Eduard Wilsing: ''Sonate für Pianoforte und Violine'' (1832). First edition. Verlag Dohr 2005 ()

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Drechsel, Oliver German classical pianists Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln faculty 1973 births Living people People from Mettmann (district)