Babette Hierholzer

Last updated

Babette Hierholzer (born March 27, 1957, in Freiburg im Breisgau) is a German American pianist.

Contents

Biography

Hierholzer started playing the piano at the age of five, and received her first lessons with Elisabeth Dounias-Sindermann and Wolfgang Saschowa in Berlin. At the age of eleven she made her debut at the Berlin Philharmonic Hall with Mozart's Piano Concerto KV 488. Her other teachers included Herbert Stessin, Lili Kraus, Claude Frank, Paul Badura-Skoda, Maria Tipo and Bruno Leonardo Gelber. Herbert von Karajan for whom she auditioned, invited her spontaneously to concerts with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra with conductors Klaus Tennstedt, Sir Colin Davis, Leopold Hager, Semyon Bychkov. Babette Hierholzer performed extensively in Europe, North and South America and Africa. Her artistic activities focused especially on the works of Robert and Clara Schumann. She played both: Clara Schumann's Piano Concerto in A minor, Op. 7 and the lesser-known concerto movement in F Minor (1847). She published Clara Wieck's 'Quatre Polonaises pour le pianoforte' op. 1 for Ries & Erler, Berlin. In 1983, Ms. Hierholzer performed the soundtrack and double/stand-in role for Clara Schumann, played by Nastassja Kinski, in Peter Schamoni’s Schumann movie 'Spring Symphony’.

In the early 1990s Hierholzer moved to the United States, where she continued her career.

In addition to her solo commitments she founded the Duo Lontano together with pianist Jürgen Appell in 2004. The two artists can look back on years of successful concertizing on extended tours to Italy, Germany, Venezuela, Mexico, Russia, Poland, and the USA. Their engagements have included an invitation to Caracas, Venezuela, to perform Mozarts 'Concerto for two pianos and orchestra in E-flat-Major' with the Orquesta Juvenil Simón Bolívar conducted by Gustavo Dudamel. In March 2016 Duo Lontano was invited to Havana, Cuba, to perform in addition to several four-hand piano recitals 'The Carnival of Animals' by Camille Saint-Saëns for two pianos and orchestra with the Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Cuba under Enrique Pérez Mesa. Recent concert highlights have included appearances in Würzburg (Germany), Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Spain), White Plains (USA), and Petrópolis (Brazil). In January 2019 they gave their debut in China. [1] Duo Lontano recorded for GENUIN Classics at the Gewandhaus in Leipzig (Germany). The first was a CD with original four-hand works, comprising the famous 'Octet' and the 'Hebrides Ouverture' by Felix Mendelssohn. A recording with works by Schubert was released early 2019. A CD with music from Latin America is in preparation.

Babette Hierholzer is the artistic director of the German Forum, Inc. in New York since 2005, an organization that has made it its mission to invite young performers from the German speaking World for debut concerts to New York. [2] In 2014 The German Forum celebrated its 10th anniversary with a concert at the Bruno Walter Auditorium (Lincoln Center). The German Forum has presented more than 100 young instrumentalists and singers.

Since 2015, Babette Hierholzer is the new artistic director of the RCMS, Rhinebeck Chamber Music Society, in Rhinebeck, N.Y.

Babette Hierholzer is a Steinway & Sons Artist. [3]

Babette Hierholzer lives with her husband and dog in Upstate New York.

Recordings

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isaac Stern</span> American violinist (1920–2001)

Isaac Stern was an American violinist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Schumann</span> German composer, pianist and critic (1810–1856)

Robert Schumann 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 as a virtuoso pianist. His teacher, Friedrich Wieck, a German pianist, had assured him that he could become the finest pianist in Europe, but a hand injury ended this dream. Schumann then focused his musical energies on composing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clara Schumann</span> German pianist and composer (1819–1896)

Clara Josephine Schumann was a German pianist, composer, and piano teacher. Regarded as one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era, she exerted her influence over the course of a 61-year concert career, changing the format and repertoire of the piano recital by lessening the importance of purely virtuosic works. She also composed solo piano pieces, a piano concerto, chamber music, choral pieces, and songs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artur Schnabel</span> Austrian pianist

Artur Schnabel was an Austrian-American classical pianist, composer and pedagogue. Schnabel was known for his intellectual seriousness as a musician, avoiding pure technical bravura. Among the 20th century's most respected and important pianists, his playing displayed marked vitality, profundity and spirituality in the Austro-German classics, particularly the works of Beethoven and Schubert.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leif Ove Andsnes</span> Norwegian pianist and chamber musician

Leif Ove Andsnes is a Norwegian pianist and chamber musician. Andsnes has made several recordings for Virgin and EMI. In 2012, Leif Ove Andsnes has signed to Sony Classical, and recorded for the label the "Beethoven Journey" project, which included the composer's five piano concertos with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. The works were recorded over three years, beginning with Piano Concertos Nos 1 and 3 in 2012, followed by Concertos Nos 2 and 4 in 2013 and the Fifth Piano Concerto and Choral Fantasy in 2014. He is represented by IMG.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Murray Perahia</span> American pianist and conductor

Murray David Perahia is an American pianist and conductor. He is widely considered one of the greatest living pianists. He was the first North American pianist to win the Leeds International Piano Competition, in 1972. Known as a leading interpreter of Bach, Handel, Scarlatti, Mozart, Beethoven, and Schumann, among other composers, Perahia has won numerous awards, including three Grammy Awards from a total of 18 nominations, and 9 Gramophone Awards in addition to its first and only "Piano Award".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solomon Cutner</span> British pianist

Solomon Cutner was a British pianist known professionally as Solomon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Geringas</span> Lithuanian cellist and conductor

David Geringas is a Lithuanian cellist and conductor who studied under Mstislav Rostropovich. In 1970 he won the gold medal at the International Tchaikovsky Competition. He also plays the baryton, a rare instrument associated with music of Joseph Haydn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edda Moser</span> German operatic soprano (born 1938)

Edda Moser is a German operatic soprano. She was particularly well known for her interpretations of music by Mozart. Her 1973 recital LP Virtuose Arien von W.A. Mozart received the Grand Prix du Disque.

Richard Goode is an American classical pianist who is especially known for his interpretations of Mozart and Beethoven.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrei Gavrilov</span> Russian-Swiss pianist (born 1955)

Andrei Gavrilov is a Russian-Swiss pianist.

Karl Ulrich Schnabel was an Austrian pianist. Schnabel was the son of pianist Artur Schnabel and operatic contralto and lieder singer Therese Behr and elder brother of the American actor Stefan Schnabel. An internationally celebrated teacher of the piano, his students include, among others, Leon Fleisher, Claude Frank, Richard Goode, Kwong-Kwong Ma, Stanislav Ioudenitch, Jon Nakamatsu, Murray Perahia, and Peter Serkin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Biss</span> American pianist

Jonathan Biss is an American pianist, teacher, and writer based in Philadelphia. He is the co-artistic director of the Marlboro Music Festival.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lars Vogt</span> German concert pianist and conductor (1970–2022)

Lars Vogt 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 Berlin Philharmonic. He was the music director of the Orchestre de chambre de Paris at the time of his death and also served as the music director of the Royal Northern Sinfonia. He ran a festival of chamber music, Spannungen, from 1998, and succeeded his teacher Karl-Heinz Kämmerling as professor of piano at the Musikhochschule Hannover.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dezső Ránki</span> Hungarian virtuoso concert pianist (born 1951)

Dezső Ránki is a Hungarian virtuoso concert pianist with a broad repertoire and a significant discography of solo, duo and concerto works.

Till Fellner is an Austrian pianist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hans Richter-Haaser</span> German musician (1912–1980)

Hans Richter-Haaser was a noted German classical pianist, who was known for his interpretations of Beethoven, Schubert and Schumann. He was also a teacher, a conductor, and a composer.

Leonard Hokanson was an American pianist who achieved prominence in Europe as a soloist and chamber musician.

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

Hai-Kyung Suh is a South Korean classical pianist living in New York. She is known for her rich, round tone, and singing voice-like phrasing, characteristics of the Romantic style of piano playing that was predominant in the Golden Age of pianism.

References

  1. "Stralsund – New York – Xi'an – port kreativ".
  2. "The German Forum". Archived from the original on 2015-08-24. Retrieved 2015-06-09.
  3. "- Steinway & Sons".