Alexander Schimpf
Over the past few years Alexander Schimpf has risen to prominence by impressively winning a series of competitions. He won the 2008 German Music Competition (a distinction no pianist had earned 14 years previous to that), earned First Prize at the 2009 International Beethoven Competition in Vienna, and most recently emerged as the first German pianist ever to win First Prize at the 2011 Cleveland International Piano Competition. His final round performance at Severance Hall with the Cleveland Orchestra was given a standing ovation and additionally honored with the Audience Favorite Prize. Since winning these notable awards, Alexander Schimpf’s career has gained momentum with regular appearances at important music centers around the world. In 2011 alone he is giving debut recitals at the Vienna Konzerthaus, Berlin’s Konzerthaus and in Zankel Hall at New York’s Carnegie Hall.
Born in Göttingen, Germany in 1981, he initially studied piano with Wolfgang Manz in Hannover and subsequently studied with Winfried Apel at the Musikhochschule Dresden as well as with Bernd Glemser in Würzburg. Pianists Cécile Ousset and Janina Fialkowska also played an important role in his artistic development.
He has performed in recital throughout Germany (including appearances at Gasteig München, NDR Hannover, Beethovenhaus Bonn, Musik- und Kongresshalle Lübeck) as well as at festivals such as Oberstdorfer Musiksommer, Heidelberger Frühling and the Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele. Mr. Schimpf has appeared in recital in France (Auditorium du Louvre and Salle Cortot in Paris), Italy, Austria, Switzerland, and England and also undertaken two concert tours of South America. His concert performances have been recorded, among others, by the three German broadcasters BR, NDR, SWR, Austria’s ORF, Radio France and WCLV (USA). He is making his debut appearance at Carnegie Hall in December 2011, with many other appearances planned in the United States.
Released in 2009, his first CD was co-produced by Deutschlandradio Kultur and GENUIN. In a coproduction with Bayrischer Rundfunk, in early 2012 Alexander Schimpf will release his first CD as an exclusive artist on the OEHMS Classics label.
