Michael Korstick (born April 30, 1955 in

Cologne Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...

, Germany) is a German pianist. Mkorstick2014

Life

Korstick received his first piano lessons at the age of 9 and was first prize winner of the "

Jugend musiziert ''Jugend musiziert'' is a music competition for children and adolescents in Germany on regional, federal and national level. ''Jugend musiziert'' in Germany In Germany, the nationwide competition refers to young adults up to 20 years and for t ...

" competition in Cologne at the age of 11. After graduating from high school he entered the ''Staatliche Hochschule für Musik'' in Cologne as a student of Jürgen Tröster, and in 1974 he became a student of

Hans Leygraf Hans Leygraf (7 September 1920 – 12 February 2011) was a Swedish pianist, music educator, conductor and composer. Life Born in Stockholm, Leygraf studied piano with in Stockholm and Anna Hirzel-Langenhan in Switzerland. He was one of Swede ...

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

. In the same year he took master classes from the Russian pianist

Tatiana Nikolayeva Tatiana Petrovna Nikolayeva (; May 4, 1924November 22, 1993) was a Soviet and Russian pianist, composer, and teacher. Life Nikolayeva was born in Bezhitsa, in the Bryansk Oblast, Bryansk district, on May 4, 1924. Her mother was a professional p ...

and subsequently worked with her on several occasions. He made his formal concert début in Cologne in 1975, performing

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

sonata In music a sonata (; pl. ''sonate'') literally means a piece ''played'' as opposed to a cantata (Latin and Italian ''cantare'', "to sing"), a piece ''sung''. The term evolved through the history of music, designating a variety of forms until th ...

s op.106 and op.111. In 1976 Korstick went to the United States to continue his studies at

The Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

in New York City where he was a scholarship student of

Sascha Gorodnitzki Sascha Gorodnitzki (24 May 19044 April 1986) was an American concert pianist, recording artist and pedagogue at the Juilliard School of Music. Biography Early life and education Born in Kyiv, Russian Empire Gorodnitzki emigrated as an infa ...

until 1983. He spent several summers at the

Aspen Music Festival and School The Aspen Music Festival and School (AMFS) is a European classical music, classical music festival held annually in Aspen, Colorado. It is noted both for its concert programming and the musical training it offers to mostly young-adult music stu ...

as a student of Jeaneane Dowis. After winning the Competition of German Music Council, he returned to Germany in 1983 to start his concert career. Critics have called Korstick "one of the most important

performers of our time" (Audiophile, ). His repertoire consists of more than 120 works for piano and orchestra and a large number of solo works from all periods, including the complete sonatas of

. On his worldwide concert tours he has given cyclical performances of the piano concerti of

Brahms Johannes Brahms (; ; 7 May 1833 – 3 April 1897) was a German composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor of the mid- Romantic period. His music is noted for its rhythmic vitality and freer treatment of dissonance, often set within studied ye ...

Liszt Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic period. With a diverse body of work spanning more than six decades, he is considered to be one of the most pro ...

Rachmaninov Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a composer, one of ...

, Bartók, and

Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''. , group=n ( – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who l ...

. Korstick has made more than 60 CD recordings so far, among them most notably

's ''32 piano sonatas'' (the complete edition was released in 2012). He has been the recipient of Germany's ''

Echo Klassik The Echo Klassik, often stylized as ECHO Klassik, was Germany's major classical music award in 22 categories. The award, presented by the , was held annually, usually in October or September, separate from its parent award, the Echo Music Prize ...

'' prize in 2005, the '' MIDEM Classical Award

Cannes Cannes (, ; , ; ) is a city located on the French Riviera. It is a communes of France, commune located in the Alpes-Maritimes departments of France, department, and host city of the annual Cannes Film Festival, Midem, and Cannes Lions Internatio ...

'' in 2009, as well as of seven "Awards of the German Record Critics", most recently in February 2022. He was also the recipient of the Special Achievement Award at the

International Classical Music Awards The International Classical Music Awards (ICMA) are music awards first awarded 6 April 2011. ICMA replace the Cannes Classical Awards (later called MIDEM Classical Awards) formerly awarded at MIDEM. The jury consists of music critics of magazines ...

(ICMA) 2022. His 2003 recording of Beethoven's Sonata op.106 (" Hammerklavier") has been the subject of feature articles in ''

Die Zeit (, ) is a German national weekly newspaper published in Hamburg in Germany. The newspaper is generally considered to be among the German newspapers of record and is known for its long and extensive articles. History The first edition of was ...

'' and the ''

Süddeutsche Zeitung The ''Süddeutsche Zeitung'' (; ), published in Munich, Bavaria, is one of the largest and most influential daily newspapers in Germany. The tone of ''SZ'' is mainly described as centre-left, liberal, social-liberal, progressive-liberal, and ...

''. Jürgen Otten included him in his 2009 standard work ''Die großen Pianisten der Gegenwart'' ''(The Great Pianists of Our Time)'' as one of four German pianists. In

Ingo Harden Ingo Harden (born 26 February 1928) is a German music critic and writer. Life Born in Hamburg, Harden studied musicology with Heinrich Husmann and piano with Ilse Fromm-Michaels. From 1954 he worked first as an author and later as an editor fo ...

and

Gregor Willmes Gregor Willmes (born 30 March 1966) is a German musicologist, music writer and cultural manager. Life and career Born in Wanne-Eickel, Willmes took private piano, organ and music theory lessons with Matthias Kreuels. He studied musicology, ...

' ''Pianisten Profile'' (''Pianist Profiles'') his playing is described to be of "overwhelming intensity". From 2014 to 2022 he was full professor of piano performance at Anton Bruckner University in Linz, Austria.

Recordings

Oehms Classics Oehms Classics is a German classical music label founded in 2003 by Dieter Oehms (born in Manderscheid, Bernkastel-Wittlich in 1941), a former manager for 35 years with DGG/ Polygram and Arte Nova/ BMG.The gramophone: Volume 80, Issues 963-966 ...

* 2004

: Piano Works Vol. 1 - Diabelli Variations op. 120 * 2005 Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Vol. 2 - Sonatas 1, 2, 3 * 2006 Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Vol. 3 - Sonatas 4, 9, 10, 12 * 2006 Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Vol. 4 - Sonatas 5, 6, 7, 8 * 2007 Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Vol. 5 - Sonatas 11, 19, 20, 13, 14 * 2007 Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Vol. 6 - Sonatas 15, Variations op. 34, op. 35 * 2008 Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Vol. 7 - Sonatas 16, 17, 18 * 2008 Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Vol. 8 - Sonatas 21, 22, 23 * 2008 Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Vol. 9 - Sonatas 24, 25, 26, 27, 28 * 2003 Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Vol. 10 - Sonatas 29, Bagatelles op. 126, Rondo op. 129 * 1997 Beethoven: Piano Sonatas Vol. 11 - Sonatas 30, 31, 32 * 2010/1997

Schumann Robert Schumann (; ; 8 June 181029 July 1856) was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic music, Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber ...

: Kreisleriana op. 16, Arabesque op. 18, Carnaval op. 9 * 2018

Sergei Rachmaninoff Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff; in Russian pre-revolutionary script. (28 March 1943) was a Russian composer, virtuoso pianist, and Conducting, conductor. Rachmaninoff is widely considered one of the finest pianists of his day and, as a compos ...

: Concerto No. 3 in D minor, op. 30; Variations on a Theme of Corelli, op. 42; Sonata No. 2 in B flat minor, op. 36

cpo

* 2005

Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (, ; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His composition ...

: Complete Works for Piano and Orchestra * 2007

Max Reger Johann Baptist Joseph Maximilian Reger (19 March 187311 May 1916) was a German composer, pianist, organist, conductor, and academic teacher. He worked as a concert pianist, a musical director at the Paulinerkirche, Leipzig, Leipzig University Chu ...

Piano Concerto A piano concerto, a type of concerto, is a solo composition in the classical music genre which is composed for piano accompanied by an orchestra or other large ensemble. Piano concertos are typically virtuosic showpieces which require an advance ...

in F minor, Op. 114,

Bach Johann Sebastian Bach (German: �joːhan zeˈbasti̯an baχ ( – 28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his prolific output across a variety of instruments and forms, including the or ...

Busoni Ferruccio Busoni (1 April 1866 – 27 July 1924) was an Italian composer, pianist, conductor, editor, writer, and teacher. His international career and reputation led him to work closely with many of the leading musicians, artists and literary ...

: Piano Concerto in D minor BWV 1052 * 2008/1997

: Années de Pèlerinage I "Suisse", Sonata in B-Minor * 2009 Liszt: Années de Pèlerinage II "Italie" * 2010 Liszt: Années de Pèlerinage III + Venezia e Napoli * 2009/2010 Mendelssohn-Bartholdy: Lieder ohne Worte (complete), Variations sérieuses * 2011

Dmitri Kabalevsky Dmitry Borisovich Kabalevsky ( ; – 14 February 1987) was a Soviet composer, conductor, pianist and pedagogue of Russian gentry descent. He helped set up the Union of Soviet Composers in Moscow and remained one of its leading figures during ...

: Piano Concerti No. 1-4, Fantasy after

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

D940, Rhapsody op. 75 * 2014

Franz Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; ; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical period (music), Classical and early Romantic music, Romantic eras. Despite his short life, Schubert left behind a List of compositions ...

: Piano Sonatas D664,D959,D960 + Moments Musicaux D780; Hungarian Melody D817 * 2015 Liszt:

Harmonies Poétiques et Religieuses ''Harmonies poétiques et religieuses'' (''Poetic and Religious Harmonies''), S.173, is a cycle of piano pieces written by Franz Liszt at WoronińceVoronivtsi the Polish-Ukrainian country estate of Liszt's mistress Princess Carolyne von Sayn-Wit ...

(complete) * 2016

Alberto Ginastera Alberto Evaristo Ginastera (; April 11, 1916June 25, 1983) was an Argentine composer of classical music. He is considered to be one of the most important 20th-century classical music, 20th-century classical composers of the Americas. Biography G ...

: The Piano Music * 2017 Dmitri Kabalevsky: Complete Piano Sonatas * 2018

César Franck César Auguste Jean Guillaume Hubert Franck (; 10 December 1822 – 8 November 1890) was a French Romantic music, Romantic composer, pianist, organist, and music teacher born in present-day Belgium. He was born in Liège (which at the time of h ...

: Prélude, Choral et Fugue; Prélude, Aria et Final; Violin Sonata arr. by

Alfred Cortot Alfred Denis Cortot ( , ; 26 September 187715 June 1962) was a French pianist, conductor, and teacher who was one of the most renowned classical musicians of the 20th century. A pianist of massive repertory, he was especially valued for his po ...

for solo piano * 2020 Dmitry Kabalevsky: Complete Préludes * 2021 Domenico Scarlatti: 37 Keyboard Sonatas ("The Essential Scarlatti") * 2022 Ludwig van Beethoven: Piano Concertos 0 - 7 * 2025 Ludwig van Beethoven: Bagatelles & Variations

Hänssler Classic Hänssler-Verlag is a German music publishing house founded in 1919 as Musikverlag Hänssler by (died 1972) to publish church music. In 1941 the Nazi government shut down the publishing house. It was allowed by the West German authorities to reo ...

* 2007

Charles Koechlin Charles-Louis-Eugène Koechlin (; 27 November 186731 December 1950), commonly known as Charles Koechlin, was a French composer, teacher and musicologist. Among his better known works is '' Les Heures persanes'', a set of piano pieces based on th ...

: Piano Works Vol. 1 - "...des jardins enchantés..." * 2008 Charles Koechlin: Piano Works Vol. 2 - Les Heures persanes op. 65 * 2008 Charles Koechlin: Offrande musicale sur le nom de BACH op. 187 * 2009 Charles Koechlin: Piano Works Vol. 3 - "...des horizons lointains..." * 2011

Claude Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

: Piano Music Vol. 1 * 2012 Claude Debussy: Piano Music Vol. 2 * 2013 Claude Debussy: Piano Music Vol. 3 * 2015 Claude Debussy: Piano Music Vol. 4 * 2018 Claude Debussy: Piano Music Vol. 5 * 2024 Johannes Brahms Piano Concertos 1 & 2

Gramola

* 2013

Richard Strauss Richard Georg Strauss (; ; 11 June 1864 – 8 September 1949) was a German composer and conductor best known for his Tone poems (Strauss), tone poems and List of operas by Richard Strauss, operas. Considered a leading composer of the late Roman ...

: Sonata for Violin & Piano op.18 * 2014

Iván Erőd Iván Erőd ( ; 2 January 1936 – 24 June 2019; sometimes spelled ''Eröd'') was a Hungarian-Austrian composer and pianist. Educated in Budapest, he emigrated to Austria in 1956, where he studied at the Vienna Music Academy. He was successful ...

: Sonatas for Violin & Piano * 2014

: Sonatas for Piano & Violin Vol.1 - Sonatas No.9,10 (op.47

Kreutzer Sonata The Violin Sonata No. 9 in A major, Opus number, Op. 47, by Ludwig van Beethoven, is an 1803 sonata for piano and violin notable for its technical difficulty, unusual length (around 40 minutes), and emotional scope. It is commonly known as the '' ...

+ op.96) * 2015 Beethoven: Sonatas for Piano & Violin Vol.2 - Sonatas No.1,2,3,8 (op.12 No.1-3 + op.30 No.3) * 2015 Beethoven: Sonatas for Piano & Violin Vol.3 - Sonatas No.4,5 (op.23 + op.24 Spring Sonata) * 2015 Beethoven: Sonatas for Piano & Violin Vol.4 - Sonatas No.6,7 (op.30 No.1,2) * 2015/1999

Mussorgsky Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (; ; ; – ) was a Russian composer, one of the group known as "The Five (composers), The Five." He was an innovator of Music of Russia, Russian music in the Romantic music, Romantic period and strove to achieve a ...

Tschaikowsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic music, Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer Music of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, whose music made a lasting impression internati ...

/ Liapunov: Pictures at an Exhibition * 2016 Schubert: Complete Piano Trios * 2017 Beethoven: Triple Concerto op.56 * 2018

Bohuslav Martinů Bohuslav Jan Martinů (; December 8, 1890 – August 28, 1959) was a Czech composer of modern classical music. He wrote 6 symphony, symphonies, 15 operas, 14 ballet scores and a large body of orchestral, chamber music, chamber, vocal and ins ...

: Concerto for Violin, Piano, and Orchestra * 2018

Edward Elgar Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet, (; 2 June 1857 – 23 February 1934) was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestr ...

: Sonata for Violin & Piano op.82 * 2023

Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''. , group=n ( – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who l ...

: Complete Works for Violin & Piano * 2024

Jean Sibelius Jean Sibelius (; ; born Johan Julius Christian Sibelius; 8 December 186520 September 1957) was a Finnish composer of the late Romantic music, Romantic and 20th-century classical music, early modern periods. He is widely regarded as his countr ...

: Works for Violin and piano * 2025 French Violin Sonatas: Works of

Gabriel Fauré Gabriel Urbain Fauré (12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers. ...

Maurice Ravel Joseph Maurice Ravel (7 March 1875 – 28 December 1937) was a French composer, pianist and conductor. He is often associated with Impressionism in music, Impressionism along with his elder contemporary Claude Debussy, although both composer ...

Guillaume Lekeu Jean Joseph Nicolas Guillaume Lekeu (; 20 January 1870 – 21 January 1894) was a Belgian composer. Life Lekeu was born in Heusy, a village near Verviers, Belgium. He originally studied piano and music theory under Alphonse Voss, the director ...

Francis Poulenc Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc (; 7 January 189930 January 1963) was a French composer and pianist. His compositions include mélodie, songs, solo piano works, chamber music, choral pieces, operas, ballets, and orchestral concert music. Among th ...

and

Olivier Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithology, ornithologist. One of the major composers of the 20th-century classical music, 20th century, he was also an ou ...

References

Official Website of Michael Korstick
* Csampai Attila (April 2004). Audiophile: 84 / Fono Forum: 72. March 2008. * ''

'' n°42 October 7, 2004
''Eine Sonate im Ausnahmezustand''
* ''

'' September 8, 2004: ''Radikal wie der Komponist'' * Jürgen Otten (2009). ''Die großen Pianisten der Gegenwart''. Berlin/Leipzig, Henschel Edition. p. 174-177. . *

/Gregor Willmes (2008). ''PianistenProfile''. Kassel, Bärenreiter Edition. p. 394–395. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Korstick, Michael 1955 births Living people Aspen Music Festival and School alumni German male classical pianists Juilliard School alumni 21st-century German classical pianists Oehms Classics artists 21st-century German male musicians Academic staff of Anton Bruckner Private University