Stefan Ammer (born 13 July 1942) is a German-Australian

pianist A pianist ( , ) is a musician who plays the piano. A pianist's repertoire may include music from a diverse variety of styles, such as traditional classical music, jazz piano, jazz, blues piano, blues, and popular music, including rock music, ...

lecturer Lecturer is an academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. They may also conduct re ...

teacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. w ...

and

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

. A former professor at

Hochschule für Musik Freiburg The Hochschule für Musik Freiburg ("University of Music Freiburg or Freiburg Conservatory of Music") is a public music academy subsidized by the State of Baden-Württemberg for academic research and artistic and pedagogical training in music. ...

in Germany, and currently at the

Elder Conservatorium of Music The Elder Conservatorium of Music, also known as "The Con", is located in the centre of Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, and is named in honour of its benefactor, Sir Thomas Elder (1818–1897). Dating in its earliest form from 1883 ...

in Australia.

Biography

Ammer studied a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

in piano from the

, and has been recognised as one of the foremost musical educators and respected pianists in Germany and Australia. Ammer's pedagogical lineage can be traced back to

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 ...

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 ...

– Boon – Schnabel – Leschetizky –

Czerny Czerny is a surname meaning "black" in some Slavic languages. It is one of many variant forms, including Czarny, Černý, Czernik, Cherney, and Čierny, among others. People Notable people with this surname include: * Adalbert Czerny (1863–194 ...

– Beethoven. Until Ammer's appointment as a senior lecturer of piano at Australia's senior musical academy – the

, at the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...

– he was a professor at the

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 the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. His chamber music experience led to the collaboration with some of the finest contemporary musicians, including Wanda Wiłkomirska,

Nigel Kennedy Nigel Kennedy (born 28 December 1956) is an English violinist and viola, violist. His early career was primarily spent performing classical music, and has since expanded into jazz music, jazz, klezmer, and other music genres. Early life and ...

, Ronald Woodcock, Florian Ammer, Gunnars Larson, Friedrich Gauwerky and Janis Laurs. As a triopartner, Ammer has performed almost the entire

piano trio A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in European classical music, classical chamber music. The term can also ...

repertoire. Ammer and his family left Germany in 1984, and settled in Australia, leading to his special interest in contemporary Australian music. As a soloist and accompanist, Ammer has played programs with new Australian works in Europe, Asia and Australia, and has recorded at radio stations in Germany, Switzerland and Australia. Ammer has been performing duets with noted clarinetist Peter Handsworth across Australia, commencing in 2009, when

ABC Classic FM ABC Classic, formerly ABC-FM (also ABC Fine Music), and then ABC Classic FM, is an Australian classical music radio station available in Australia and internationally. Its website features classical music news, features and listening guides. I ...

produced a show with Handsworth and Ammer, and in 2010 both premiered new works for clarinet and piano at

Bayerischer Rundfunk (; "Bavarian Broadcasting"), shortened to BR (), is a public broadcasting, public-service radio and television broadcaster, based in Munich, capital city of the Bavaria, Free State of Bavaria in Germany. BR is a member organization of the ARD (b ...

in Munich. In 2015, as a part of ''The Scriabin Project Concert Series'', Ammer joined forces alongside his pupils Mekhla Kumar, Konstantin Shamray and Ashley Hribar to honour Russian composer

Alexander Scriabin Alexander Nikolayevich Scriabin, scientific transliteration: ''Aleksandr Nikolaevič Skrjabin''; also transliterated variously as Skriabin, Skryabin, and (in French) Scriabine. The composer himselused the French spelling "Scriabine" which was a ...

, at various venues across Australia. Ammer's pupils include Kristian Chong, Konstantin Shamray, Lucinda Collins,

Sarah Chang Sarah Chang (; born Young Joo Chang; December 10, 1980) is a Korean American classical violinist. Recognized as a child prodigy, she first played as a soloist with the New York Philharmonic and the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1989. She enrolled ...

, Shueh-li Ong, and Mekhla Kumar.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ammer, Stefan Australian classical pianists Australian accompanists 20th-century German male classical pianists 20th-century German classical pianists 1942 births Living people Piano educators 21st-century classical pianists 21st-century Australian male musicians 21st-century Australian musicians