Peter Ritzen (born 21 January 1956) is a Flemish pianist composer and conductor.

Life and career

Peter Ritzen studied piano and chamber music at the Royal Conservatory of his native city

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded i ...

. His teachers were Louis Pas and François Glorieux. He continued his training at the

Mozarteum Mozarteum University Salzburg (German: ''Universität Mozarteum Salzburg'') is one of three affiliated but separate (it is actually a state university) entities under the “Mozarteum” moniker in Salzburg municipality; the International Mo ...

Salzburg Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label= Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872. The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, with the

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, ja ...

Tatiana Nikolayeva Tatiana Petrovna Nikolayeva (russian: Татья́на Петро́вна Никола́ева, ''Tat'jana Petrovna Nikolajeva''; May 4, 1924November 22, 1993) was a pianist, composer, and teacher from the Soviet Union. Life Nikolayeva was born ...

. He graduated with the Diplôme Supérieure d'Exécution for

Piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

from the Ecole Normale de Musique de Paris ' Alfred Cortot'. His teacher there was the

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

pedagogue Marian Ribicky. As a concert pianist, Ritzen has played throughout Europe, Asia and the US. He cooperated as a soloist with many well-known orchestras and ensembles. He is an acclaimed interpreter of Franz Liszt &

Theodor Leschetizky Theodor Leschetizky (sometimes spelled Leschetitzky, pl, Teodor Leszetycki; 22 June 1830 – 14 November 1915 was an Austrian- Polish pianist, professor, and composer born in Landshut in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, then a crown land of ...

. His contact with the

Chinese Culture Chinese culture () is one of the world's oldest cultures, originating thousands of years ago. The culture prevails across a large geographical region in East Asia and is extremely diverse and varying, with customs and traditions varying grea ...

resulted in a whole repertoire of own China related compositions. As a result of free classical improvising in concerts on the piano, he transcribed numerous Chinese folk songs, award-winning movie themes and Viennese waltzes. Ritzen is a composer of massive works with many performers (+400). His transcendental symphony 'Heavenly Peace', world premiered in 2005 is a typical work in this magnitude. Ritzen is a performing artist for Naxos Records. Ritzen is the founder and artistic director of the International

Summer

Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...

at the

Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien The University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (german: link=no, Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien, abbreviated MDW) is an Austrian university located in Vienna, established in 1817. With a student body of over three thousa ...

(

University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna The University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna (german: link=no, Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien, abbreviated MDW) is an Austrian university located in Vienna, established in 1817. With a student body of over three thousa ...

) since 1991. In 2000 & 2004 he was invited to be the artistic director and chairman of the

Jury A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence and render an impartial verdict (a finding of fact on a question) officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a penalty or judgment. Juries developed in England du ...

of the International Piano Competition '

' in Taipei. Between 2009 and 2014, Ritzen was invited by the

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: *Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) * Ministry of Culture (Algeria) *Ministry of Culture (Argentina) *Minister for the Arts (Australia) *Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan) * Ministry of ...

to perform large scale piano concerts all over China. In 2015, Ritzen was appointed artistic director of the New Cosmos International Music Festival. The inaugural concert was held at the Haydnsaal of

Schloss Esterházy Schloss Esterházy ( hu, Esterházy-kastély) is a palace in Eisenstadt, Austria, the capital of the Burgenland state. It was constructed in the late 13th century, and came under ownership of the Hungarian Esterházy family in 1622. Under Paul ...

in Eisenstadt,

under Ritzen's baton. The world-famous cellist

Christine Walevska Christine Walevska (born March 8, 1945, Los Angeles) is an American classical cellist. She is known for her numerous recordings with Philips Records and performing concerts worldwide. In 1975, she became the first concert musician to perform in ...

was one of the featured soloists. The festival intends to combine Far East Musicians with European Music traditions. Since 2016, Ritzen has been music director of the Vienna-based New Cosmos Philharmonic. The orchestra is featured as the festival orchestra at the annual New Cosmos International Music Festival in Vienna. In 2017, Ritzen conducted at the Golden Hall of Musikverein in Vienna, the New Cosmos Philharmonic, the world premiere of his Symphonic Poem, 'Die Wildrose'. A work for grand orchestra, organ, chorus and soloists. The libretto is based on Flemish translated poems (to German language) by Anton van Wilderode (1918–1998). One of the soloists was the famous Baritone Peter Edelmann (son of the legendary Otto Edelmann), besides Ritzen's wife Stella Zhang-Ritzen, soprano. In 2018, Ritzen became the president of Gesellschaft der New Cosmos Freunde in Wien/Vienna New Cosmos society. This non-profit organization combines the International Leschetizky Academy (1992), New Cosmos International Music Festival (2015) and New Cosmos Philharmonic (2016). The organization aims to progress intercultural links with European Traditions and the Far East, China in particular. On 28 November 2018, Ritzen was knighted Officer in the Order of Leopold. Flemish Culture Minister Sven Gatz awarded the merit, granted by the Belgian King Filip, to Ritzen at the Belgian Embassy of Beijing in China. Ritzen was appointed in June 2019 as intendant of the Leschetizky World Congress on 3–5 October 2019 in

Bad Ischl Bad Ischl (Austrian German ) is a spa town in Austria. It lies in the southern part of Upper Austria, at the Traun River in the centre of the Salzkammergut region. The town consists of the Katastralgemeinden ''Ahorn'', ''Bad Ischl'', ''Haide ...

, Austria

Compositions

''Piano''

*Chinese

Rhapsody Rhapsody may refer to: * A work of epic poetry, or part of one, that is suitable for recitation at one time ** Rhapsode, a classical Greek professional performer of epic poetry Computer software * Rhapsody (online music service), an online m ...

Nr.1 (1987) *Chinese

Nr.2 'Dance of the little happy Buddhas' (1989) *Chinese

Nr.3 'Chinese Market' (1989) * Sonata for

('Adamant Variations') (1991) *Award Winning Movie Themes (1999) 3 free transcriptions on famous movie themes*4 Transcriptions on Viennese Waltzes of Johann Strauss II,

Franz Lehár Franz Lehár ( ; hu, Lehár Ferenc ; 30 April 1870 – 24 October 1948) was an Austro-Hungarian composer. He is mainly known for his operettas, of which the most successful and best known is ''The Merry Widow'' (''Die lustige Witwe''). Life a ...

Robert Stolz Robert Elisabeth Stolz (25 August 188027 June 1975) was an Austrian songwriter and conductor as well as a composer of operettas and film music.Stanley Sadie Ed. (2002) ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', Oxford University Press Biogra ...

(2008) *4 Transcriptions on Chinese folk songs (2009)

'' Chamber music''

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

Songs for soprano & piano on poems by Santiago Rupérez-Durá (1989) *15 Transcriptions on Chinese folk songs for soprano & strings. (1998) *

Piano Quintet In classical music, a piano quintet is a work of chamber music written for piano and four other instruments, most commonly a string quartet (i.e., two violins, viola, and cello). The term also refers to the group of musicians that plays a pian ...

in F♯ minor (2006) * Eyskens Lieder Nr.1-2 for soprano, baritone and piano on text of

Mark Eyskens Marc Maria Frans, viscount Eyskens (born 29 April 1933), known as Mark Eyskens, is a Belgian economist, professor and politician in the Christian People's Party, now called Christian Democratic and Flemish, and briefly served as the prime minis ...

(2015) *Eyskens Lieder: 3 songs for Soprano & Piano on Flemish poems by

(2016) *Pauls Lieder'':'' 5 songs for Soprano and Piano on German poems by Ilse Pauls (Vienna) (2016)

'' Concertos for piano and orchestra''

*Concerto Nr.1 'China in the Year of the Dragon'. (A

paraphrase A paraphrase () is a restatement of the meaning of a text or passage using other words. The term itself is derived via Latin ', . The act of paraphrasing is also called ''paraphrasis''. History Although paraphrases likely abounded in oral tra ...

on Southern Chinese Opera: 'A Fantastic Dream in the Garden') (1989) *Concerto 'The Last Empress' (

Paraphrase A paraphrase () is a restatement of the meaning of a text or passage using other words. The term itself is derived via Latin ', . The act of paraphrasing is also called ''paraphrasis''. History Although paraphrases likely abounded in oral tra ...

on the Chinese

Peking Opera Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became fully developed and recognize ...

'Last Empress' 1908) (1994) *Concerto for

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

(2000)

'' Orchestral works''

*Chinese requiem for soprano,

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

, grand

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

en Chinese

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Ex ...

, on a poem by Santiago Rupérez Durá. (1990–1994) *Chinese Violin Rhapsody (1994) *Chinese Flute Concerto (1995) *Symphonic Poem 'Hua Chiao' verseas Chinesefor soprano and orchestra. (Libretto:Santiago Rupérez Durá) (1997) *Transcendental Symphony 'Heavenly Peace' for organ,

, grand

- & instruments and soloists. ibretto: Santiago Rupérez Durá(2003) *Sacred symphonic poem:'Finis est infinitus' for soprano,

, large ensemble and