Ragna Schirmer (born 1972) is a German classical pianist.
on Bach Cantatas Website

Life

Born in

Hildesheim Hildesheim (; nds, Hilmessen, Hilmssen; la, Hildesia) is a city in Lower Saxony, Germany with 101,693 inhabitants. It is in the district of Hildesheim, about southeast of Hanover on the banks of the Innerste River, a small tributary of the Lei ...

, from 1991 Schirmer studied with

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 ...

at 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 ...

. From 1993, she continued her studies in Paris with

Bernard Ringeissen Bernard Ringeissen (born 15 May 1934) is a French classical pianist. He was born in Paris in 1934. His first teacher, at age 7, was Georges de Lausnay. He entered the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique in 1947, aged 12, and won the Pr ...

. In 1995 she completed her studies with a diploma (with top marks), and in 1999 she completed her soloist training with a concert exam. Since then she has taken part in several master classes. From 2001 to 2011 Ragna Schirmer was professor of piano at the

Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Mannheim The Staatliche Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Mannheim is a Hochschule, a university for music and performing arts in Mannheim, Germany, of the state Baden-Württemberg History The Hochschule dates back to the 1762 ''Academie ...

and today promotes young talents in Halle. Schirmer received a scholarship from both

Deutscher Musikrat The Deutscher Musikrat (DMR, ''German Music Council''; ) is an umbrella organization for music associations and the 16 music councils of the German federal states.musikrat.deÜberblick über Organisationsstruktur des DMR(retrieved on 10 May 2019) ...

and the Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes. She is the only pianist to have won the

International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition The International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition (german: Internationaler Bach Wettbewerb Leipzig, links=no) is a music competition in Leipzig, Germany, held by the Bach-Archiv Leipzig. It was founded in 1950 and was held every four years from 1 ...

Leipzig Leipzig ( , ; Upper Saxon: ) is the most populous city in the German state of Saxony. Leipzig's population of 605,407 inhabitants (1.1 million in the larger urban zone) as of 2021 places the city as Germany's eighth most populous, as wel ...

twice, in 1992 and 1998. As her first CD, she released a recording of Bach's

Goldberg Variations The ''Goldberg Variations'', BWV 988, is a musical composition for keyboard by Johann Sebastian Bach, consisting of an aria and a set of 30 variations. First published in 1741, it is named after Johann Gottlieb Goldberg, who may also have ...

in 2000. This and other CDs have received awards in professional music journals. She 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 ...

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

in 2010. In 2012 she was honoured with the

Handel Prize The Handel Prize (german: Händel-Preis) is an annual award, instituted in 1956, which is presented by the city of Halle, in Germany, in honour of the celebrated Baroque composer George Frideric Handel. It is awarded, "for exceptional artistic, ...

of Halle, and in 2019 she received – together with the musicologist Janina Klassen – the

Robert Schumann Prize of the City of Zwickau The Robert Schumann Prize of the City of Zwickau is a classical music award. Since 1964 it has been awarded by the Lord Mayor of Zwickau. Robert Schumann was born in Zwickau. Between 1964 and 2002 the prize was awarded annually, since 2003 bienni ...

References

External links

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Ragna Schirmers Homepage
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schirmer, Ragna 1972 births Living people People from Hildesheim Women classical pianists German classical pianists 21st-century classical pianists 21st-century German musicians Handel Prize winners 21st-century women pianists