Oliver Drechsel (born 10 May 1973) is a German concert pianist and composer.

Life

Drechsel was born in

Langenfeld (Rheinland) Langenfeld (; Ripuarian: ''Langefääl'') is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany) in the district of Mettmann. The suburban city is located between Düsseldorf and Cologne. Langenfeld was formed from the two localities of Richrath and ...

. After initial lessons with his mother, the concert pianist Ruth Drechsel-Püster, he studied at the

Hochschule für Musik Köln ' (, 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 t ...

with Roswitha Gediga-Glombitza and

Pavel Gililov Pavel Lvovich Gililov (; born 23 June 1950) is a Ukrainian classical pianist who has held German citizenship since 2003. Life Born in Donetsk, Russia, Donezk, Gililov's musical talent was discovered by the Russian composer Dmitry Kabalevsky. H ...

. Master classes with, among others, Peter Feuchtwanger, Karl-Heinz Kämmerling and the

Alban Berg Quartet The Alban Berg Quartett (ABQ) was a string quartet founded in Vienna, named after the composer Alban Berg. Active from 1970 to 2008, the group included first violinist Günter Pichler and cellist Valentin Erben, while the second violinist was ...

complemented this education, which he completed in 1998 with the Konzertexamen. In the same year he released his debut CD "

Jürg Baur Jürg Baur (11 November 1918 – 31 January 2010) was a German composer whose works include ''Incontri and Mutazioni.'' Baur studied at the Cologne University of Music and taught there in his later years. Baur was also awarded the Federal Cross ...

- Das Klavierwerk" and received the (support prize). For his compositions he received, among others, the 1st prize of the 2007 . Drechsel is dedicated to the performance of 18th and 19th century piano music on original historical instruments from the Dohr Collection (Cologne). This includes piano works by the composers

Ferdinand Hiller Ferdinand (von) Hiller (24 October 1811 – 11 May 1885) was a German composer, conductor, pianist, writer and music director. Biography Ferdinand Hiller was born to a wealthy Jewish family in Frankfurt am Main, where his father Justus (origin ...

Friedrich Kiel Friedrich Kiel (8 October 182113 September 1885) was a German composer and music educator. Writing of the chamber music of Friedrich Kiel, the scholar and critic Wilhelm Altmann notes that it was Kiel’s extreme modesty which kept him and his ...

Christian Gottlob Neefe Christian Gottlob Neefe (; 5 February 1748 – 28 January 1798) was a German opera composer and Conducting, conductor. He was known as one of the first teachers of Ludwig van Beethoven. Life and career Neefe was born in Chemnitz, Electorate o ...

Christian Heinrich Rinck Johann Christian Heinrich Rinck (18 February 1770 – 7 August 1846) was a German composer and organist of the late classical and early romantic eras. Life and career Rinck was born in Elgersburg (in present-day Thuringia), and died in Darms ...

and Johann Wilhelm Wilms, most of which are world

premiere A premiere, also spelled première, (from , ) is the debut (first public presentation) of a work, i.e. play, film, dance, musical composition, or even a performer in that work. History Raymond F. Betts attributes the introduction of the ...

recordings. In addition to solo performances at home and abroad (including in the "Best of NRW" series) as well as radio recordings and CD productions, a further focus of his pianistic work lies in the field of

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

, in which he performs with Christoph Lahme (

harmonium The pump organ or reed organ is a type of organ that uses free reeds to generate sound, with air passing over vibrating thin metal strips mounted in a frame. Types include the pressure-based harmonium, the suction reed organ (which employs a va ...

) as a "liaison extraordinaire" as well as with Gernot Süßmuth (violin) and Dagmar Spengler (cello) as the "Piano Trio Cologne-Weimar". In 2003, Drechsel was

artist in residence Artist-in-residence (also Writer-in-residence), or artist residencies, encompass a wide spectrum of artistic programs that involve a collaboration between artists and hosting organisations, institutions, or communities. They are programs that pr ...

at the Rinck Festival Cologne. Drechsel teaches music and mathematics at the

Otto-Hahn-Gymnasium Europaschule Otto-Hahn-Gymnasium is a '' Gymnasium'' (high school) in Gifhorn, Lower Saxony, Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to t ...

in his home town

Monheim am Rhein Monheim am Rhein (, ; ) is a town on the right (eastern) bank of the river Rhine in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Monheim belongs to the district of Mettmann – with the southern suburbs of Düsseldorf to the north, and the Bergisches Land to ...

as well as piano at the

. Most of his work (CDs, books, sheet music) is published by

Verlag Dohr Verlag Dohr is a publishing house for music in Bergheim, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It was founded in 1990 by Christoph Dohr in , which moved to in 1992 and to in Bergheim in 2010. It publishes a quarterly magazine of music, ''fermate'', sh ...

Recordings

* on concert grand Ibach: ** Jürg Baur: Das Klavierwerk, Telos Records 024, 1998. * on concert grand

Steinway & Sons Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway (), is a German-American piano company, founded in 1853 in New York City by German piano builder Henry E. Steinway, Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (later known as Henry E. Steinway). The company's growth le ...

: ** Jürg Baur: mit wechselndem schlüssel. Klavierlieder (zus. m. Matthias Güdelhöfer, bass-baritone), Verlag Dohr, DCD018, 2001. ** dialogo. 20th century works for violoncello and piano by

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 ...

Buxton Orr Buxton Daeblitz Orr (18 April 1924 – 27 December 1997) was a Glasgow-born Anglo-Scottish composer and teacher. Life Originally trained as a doctor, Orr gave up medicine and switched to music in 1952, studying composition at the Guildhall Schoo ...

and

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, o ...

(together with Dagmar Spengler, cello), Verlag Dohr DCD017, 2001. ** fantasia. Piano fantasies by

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (8 March 1714 – 14 December 1788), also formerly spelled Karl Philipp Emmanuel Bach, and commonly abbreviated C. P. E. Bach, was a German composer and musician of the Baroque and Classical period. He was the fifth ch ...

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 1756 – 5 December 1791) was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition and proficiency from an early age ...

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period who wrote primarily for Piano solo, solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

, Verlag Dohr DCD007, 2001. **

: XII Piano Sonatas,

Ludwig van 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 ...

: Electoral Sonatas, Verlag Dohr DCD027, 2006/07. ** Stockholm@Köln: Neue Kammermusik für Fagott und Klavier, together with Berthold Große (bassoon), works by Oliver Drechsel, Andreas Herkenrath and Johan Ullén, arcantus, arc19018, 2019. ** Liaison extraordinaire: Beethoven, together with Christoph Lahme (harmonium), works by Ludwig van Beethoven, Oliver Drechsel and

Sigfrid Karg-Elert Sigfrid Karg-Elert (November 21, 1877April 9, 1933) was a German composer in the early twentieth century, best known for his compositions for pipe organ and reed organ. Biography Karg-Elert was born Siegfried Theodor Karg in Oberndorf am Neckar, ...

, VDE Gallo CD1621, 2020. * on concert grand Theodor Stöcker, Berlin 1868 ( Haus Eller): ** Friedrich Kiel, Das Klavierwerk Vol. 1, Verlag Dohr DCD009, 2002. ** Friedrich Kiel, Das Klavierwerk Vol. 2 (together with Wilhelm Kemper), Verlag Dohr DCD011, 2003. ** Friedrich Kiel, Das Klavierwerk Vol. 3 (together with Wilhelm Kemper), Verlag Dohr, DCD013, 2004. ** Friedrich Kiel, Das Klavierwerk Vol. 4 (together with Wilhelm Kemper), Verlag Dohr, DCD023, 2007. * On

fortepiano A fortepiano is an early piano. In principle, the word "fortepiano" can designate any piano dating from the invention of the instrument by Bartolomeo Cristofori in 1700 up to the early 19th century. Most typically, however, it is used to ref ...

Christian Erdmann Rancke, Riga 1825 (Haus Eller): ** Johann Christian Heinrich Rinck, Das Klavierwerk Vol. 1 (publisher Dohr, DCD018, 2002). ** Johann Christian Heinrich Rinck, The Piano Works Vol. 2 (together with Egino Klepper; publisher Dohr, DCD019, 2003) ** Johann Wilhelm Wilms, Works for Piano Solo Vol. 1 (publisher Dohr, DCD024, 2004) ** Johann Wilhelm Wilms, Works for Piano Solo Vol. 2 with narrator Claus Biederstaedt (publisher Dohr, DCD029, 2007) * on

clavichord The clavichord is a stringed rectangular keyboard instrument that was used largely in the Late Middle Ages, through the Renaissance music, Renaissance, Baroque music, Baroque and Classical period (music), Classical eras. Historically, it was most ...

Wilhelm Heinrich Bethmann 1799 (copy J. C. Neupert,

Bamberg Bamberg (, , ; East Franconian German, East Franconian: ''Bambärch'') is a town in Upper Franconia district in Bavaria, Germany, on the river Regnitz close to its confluence with the river Main (river), Main. Bamberg had 79,000 inhabitants in ...

1999 (Haus Eller)): ** Christian Gottlob Neefe: XII Piano Sonatas, Ludwig van Beethoven: Electoral Sonatas, Verlag Dohr DCD026, 2006/07.

Publications

* as author: ** Jürg Baur: ''Das Klavierwerk''. Verlag Dohr 1998 () * as editor: ** Jürg Baur: ''Drei frühe Klavierstücke'' (1943/60). Verlag Dohr 1998 () ** Jürg Baur: ''Werkverzeichnis''. Verlag Dohr 2000 () ** Jürg Baur: ''Annotationen zur Musik. Ausgewählte Schriften, Aufsätze und Vorträge''.''Annotationen zur Musik. Ausgewählte Schriften, Aufsätze und Vorträge''
on WorldCat Verlag Dohr 2003 () ** Johann Wilhelm Wilms: ''Klavierwerke Vol. 1'' (with CD). Denkmäler Rheinischer Musik Vol. 25, Verlag Dohr 2005 () ** Daniel Friedrich Eduard Wilsing: ''Sonate für Pianoforte und Violine'' (1832). First edition. Verlag Dohr 2005 ()

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Drechsel, Oliver German classical pianists Academic staff of the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln 1973 births Living people People from Mettmann (district)