Martin Helmchen (born 1982) is a German pianist. He has played with international orchestras and has recorded discs of many classical composers.

Life

Helmchen was born in Berlin. He began his piano studies at the age of six, and graduated from the

Hanns Eisler Music Conservatory Hanns is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Hanns Blaschke (1896–1971), Austrian politician *Hanns Bolz (1885–1918), German expressionist and cubist painter * Hanns Brandstätter (born 1949), Austrian fencer * Hanns Braun ( ...

as a student of Galina Iwanzowa, and in 2001 from the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover as a student of Arie Vardi.

Career

He was a featured soloist in the BBC New Generation Artists program from 2005 to 2007. Helmchen has given concerts with the

San Francisco Symphony The San Francisco Symphony (SFS), founded in 1911, is an American orchestra based in San Francisco, California. Since 1980 the orchestra has been resident at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall in the city's Hayes Valley neighborhood. The San Fr ...

, the Vienna Philharmonic, the Deutschen Symphonie-Orchester Berlin and the

NHK Symphony Orchestra The is a Japanese broadcast orchestra based in Tokyo. The orchestra gives concerts in several venues, including the NHK Hall, Suntory Hall, and the Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall. History The orchestra began as the ''New Symphony Orchestra'' o ...

. His specialty is chamber music, where he has performed extensively with Heinrich Schiff and Marie-Elisabeth Hecker. Collaborations with further artists have included Gidon Kremer, Christian Tetzlaff, Sharon Kam, Tabea Zimmermann, Juliane Banse, Julia Fischer, Sabine Meyer and Lars Vogt. Helmchen's first orchestral CD was released in 2007 with piano concerti from

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 (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

, and his first solo CD with works of Schubert was released in 2008. In 2009, two further CDs were released: * with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg:

Robert Schumann Robert Schumann (; 8 June 181029 July 1856) 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 a ...

, Piano Concerto a minor op. 54 and

Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8 September 1841 – 1 May 1904) was a Czechs, Czech composer. Dvořák frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravian traditional music, Moravia and his native Bohemia, following t ...

, Piano Concerto g minor op.33 * with Sharon Kam und Gustav Rivinius,

Johannes Brahms Johannes Brahms (; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, he spent much of his professional life in Vienna. He is sometimes grouped wit ...

, Two Sonatas for Clarinet and Piano, op. 120 and Trio for Piano, Clarinet, and Violoncello op. 114 He made his American debut in 2011 when he played at Tanglewood with the

Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the " Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in 1881, ...

. The same year he performed with Dohnanyi and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

Awards

In 2001 he won the Clara Haskil International Piano Competition. In 2003 he won the International Kissinger Klavierolymp Competition, related to the festival Kissinger Sommer. In 2006 he was awarded the Crédit Suisse Award, for his debut with the Vienna Philharmonic, directed by Valery Gergiev, playing Schumann's Piano Concerto at the Lucerne Festival. In the same year he received the ECHO Klassik Prize as together with cellist Danjulo Ishizaka for their CD with works from

Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sy ...

, César Franck, Benjamin Britten (2005, Sony Classical).

Selected discography

* Franz Schubert - Complete Works for Violin and Piano. Julia Fischer, Martin Helmchen. PENTATONE PTC 5186519 (2014 – re-issue) * ''Creating Timeless Classics''. Works by

, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Johann Sebastian Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Howard Blake. Martin Helmchen, Arabella Steinbacher, Nareh Arghamanyan, Mari Kodama, Julia Fischer, Russian National Orchestra, Concertgebouw Chamber Orchestra, Academy of St Martin in the Fields, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. PENTATONE PTC 5186531 (2014). *

- Piano Concertos Nos. 15 & 27. Martin Helmchen,

Gordan Nikolić Gordan Nikolitch, also spelled Gordan Nikolić, ( sr, Гордан Николић; born 1968) is a Franco-Serbian violinist. He was the first concertmaster of the London Symphony Orchestra for nearly 20 years, having stepped down in October 2017 to ...

, Netherlands Chamber Orchestra. PENTATONE PTC 5186508 (2013). *

- Waldszenen, Symphonische Etüden, Arabeske. Martin Helmchen PENTATONE PTC 5186452 (2012) * Vincent D'Indy -

Camille Saint-Saëns Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (; 9 October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano C ...

- Ernest Chausson Orchestral Works. Martin Helmchen, Marek Janowski, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande. PENTATONE PTC 5186357 (2011). * Franz Schubert - Complete Works for Violin and Piano, Volume 2. Julia Fischer, Martin Helmchen. PENTATONE PTC 5186348 (2010). *

Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions include sy ...

The Piano Concertos & Rondo brilliant. Martin Helmchen, Philippe Herreweghe, Antwerp Symphony Orchestra. PENTATONE PTC 5186366 (2010). * Franz Schubert - Trout Quintet & Variations on Trockne Blumen & Piano Trio. Martin Helmchen, Christian Tetzlaff, Antoine Tamestit, Marie-Elisabeth Hecker, Alois Posch, Aldo Baerten. PENTATONE PTC 5186334 (2009). * Schumann & Dvořák - Piano Concertos. Marc Albrecht, Martin Helmchen, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg. PENTATONE PTC 5186333 (2009). * Franz Schubert - Complete Works for Violin and Piano, Volume 1. Julia Fischer, Martin Helmchen. PENTATONE PTC 5186347 (2009) * Franz Schubert - Piano Sonata & 6 Moments musicaux. Martin Helmchen. PENTATONE PTC 5186329 (2008). *

- Piano Concertos Nos. 13 & 24.

, Martin Helmchen, Netherlands Chamber Orchestra. PENTATONE PTC 5186305 (2007). * Beethoven - Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 5. Andrew Manze, Martin Helmchen, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin. ALPHA ALPHA-555 (2019).

References

External links

Official website

Schmidt Artists International - Martin Helmchen's North American Manager

Interview mit dem Schweizer Klassikportal
{{DEFAULTSORT:Helmchen, Martin German pianists 1982 births Living people 21st-century pianists