Till Fellner (born 9 March 1972) is an

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

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, ...

Biography

Till Fellner was born in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

and studied at the Konservatorium der Stadt Wien with Helene Sedo-Stadler, and subsequently with

Alfred Brendel Alfred Brendel (born 5 January 1931) is a Czech-born Austrian classical pianist, poet, author, composer, and lecturer who is noted for his performances of Mozart, Schubert and Beethoven. Biography Brendel was born in Wizemberk, Czechoslovakia ...

, Meira Farkas, Oleg Maisenberg and Claus-Christian Schuster. He won first prize in the Clara Haskil International Piano Competition in

Vevey Vevey (; ; ) is a town in Switzerland in the Vaud, canton of Vaud, on the north shore of Lake Leman, near Lausanne. The German name Vivis is no longer commonly used. It was the seat of the Vevey (district), district of the same name until 200 ...

, Switzerland in 1993, and was awarded the Mozartinterpretationspreis of the Mozart Society of Vienna in 1998. Fellner has played with orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and NHK Symphony Orchestra. He has worked with Claudio Abbado, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Herbert Blomstedt, Semyon Bychkov, Christoph von Dohnányi, Christoph Eschenbach, Bernard Haitink, Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Manfred Honeck, Sir Charles Mackerras, Sir Neville Marriner, Kurt Masur, Kent Nagano, Jonathan Nott, Kirill Petrenko, and Hans Zender. He has performed at the BBC Proms London, Festival de la Roque d' Anthéron, Hollywood Bowl Los Angeles, Klavier-Festival Ruhr, Lucerne Festival, Mostly Mozart Festival New York, Salzburg Festival, Schubertiade Schwarzenberg, Tanglewood Music Festival, and Vienna Festival. An active chamber musician, Fellner regularly collaborates with the Belcea Quartet, tenor

Mark Padmore Mark Padmore (born 8 March 1961) is a British tenor appearing in concerts, recitals, and opera. Early life He was born in London on 8 March 1961, and raised in Canterbury, Kent, England. Padmore studied clarinet and piano prior to his gainin ...

, violinist

Lisa Batiashvili Elisabeth Batiashvili ( ka, ელისაბედ ბათიაშვილი; born 7 March 1979), professionally known as Lisa Batiashvili, is a prominent Georgian violinist active across Europe and the United States. A former New York P ...

and cellist Adrian Brendel. Fellner has received critical acclaim for his performances of the masterworks of the

baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

, classical, and romantic periods, particularly compositions by J.S. Bach,

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

, and

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 ...

. He performs musical rarities such as the

piano sonata A piano sonata is a sonata written for a solo piano. Piano sonatas are usually written in three or four movements, although some piano sonatas have been written with a single movement (Liszt, Scriabin, Medtner, Berg), others with two movemen ...

of Julius Reubke, which was composed in

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state (Germany), German state of Thuringia, in Central Germany (cultural area), Central Germany between Erfurt to the west and Jena to the east, southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together w ...

under the aegis of

. Fellner also performs music of the

Second Viennese School The Second Viennese School () was the group of composers that comprised Arnold Schoenberg and his pupils, particularly Alban Berg and Anton Webern, and close associates in early 20th-century Vienna. Their music was initially characterized by late ...

Arnold Schoenberg Arnold Schoenberg or Schönberg (13 September 187413 July 1951) was an Austrian and American composer, music theorist, teacher and writer. He was among the first Modernism (music), modernists who transformed the practice of harmony in 20th-centu ...

Alban Berg Alban Maria Johannes Berg ( ; ; 9 February 1885 – 24 December 1935) was an Austrian composer of the Second Viennese School. His compositional style combined Romantic lyricism with the twelve-tone technique. Although he left a relatively sma ...

and

Anton Webern Anton Webern (; 3 December 1883 – 15 September 1945) was an Austrian composer, conductor, and musicologist. His music was among the most radical of its milieu in its lyric poetry, lyrical, poetic concision and use of then novel atonality, aton ...

, as well as the contemporary classical music of

Heinz Holliger Heinz Robert Holliger (born 21 May 1939) is a Swiss composer, virtuoso oboist, and conductor. Celebrated for his versatility and technique, Holliger is among the most prominent oboists of his generation. His repertoire includes Baroque and Clas ...

György Kurtág György Kurtág (; born 19 February 1926) is a Hungarian composer of contemporary classical music and pianist. According to ''Grove Music Online'', with a style that draws on " Bartók, Webern and, to a lesser extent, Stravinsky, his work is c ...

Thomas Larcher Thomas Larcher (born 16 September 1963, in Innsbruck) is an Austrian composer and pianist. Biography and Work Thomas Larcher completed his studies at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna under Heinz Medjimorec and Elisabeth Leonsk ...

, and

Harrison Birtwistle Sir Harrison Birtwistle (15 July 1934 – 18 April 2022) was an English composer of contemporary classical music best known for his operas, often based on mythological subjects. Among his many compositions, his better known works include '' T ...

, including some premieres. In 2008–2010, Fellner performed Beethoven's 32 piano sonatas in a seven-recital series in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, and

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. He also performed and recorded Beethoven's Piano Concertos Nos. 4 and 5 with the Montreal Symphony under the baton of

Kent Nagano Kent George Nagano (born November 22, 1951) is an American conductor and opera administrator. Since 2015, he has been ''Generalmusikdirektor'' (GMD) of the Hamburg State Opera (until 2025). Early life and education Nagano was born in Berkeley, ...

. In 2009, Fellner was featured in the award-winning German-Austrian documentary '' Pianomania'', about a

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 ...

piano tuner, which was directed by Lilian Franck and Robert Cibis. The film was met with a positive review by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. He has taught at the Zurich Hochschule der Künste since autumn 2013. In 2016, his recording of the piano quintet by J. Brahms with the Belcea Quartet received the "Diapason d'Or de l'Année". In autumn 2019, Fellner served as jury president of the 62nd Ferruccio Busoni International Piano Competition in Bolzano.

Recordings

: 4 Impromptus, D 935, Op. posth. 142;

: Suite, Op. 25;

: Sonata No. 23 in F minor, Op. 57 'Appassionata'. EMI Austria, 567 7 54497 2 (1992) *

: Piano Concerto No. 22 in E flat major, K 482 (

Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne The Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne (OCL, Lausanne Chamber Orchestra) is a Swiss chamber orchestra based in Lausanne, Switzerland. The OCL is resident at the Salle Métropole in Lausanne. The OCL is an artistic partner with Lausanne Opera and reg ...

/ Uri Segal); Mozart: Rondo in A minor, K 511; Beethoven: Sonata No. 5 in C minor, Op. 10 No. 1.

Claves Claves (; ) are a percussion instrument consisting of a pair of short, wooden sticks about 20–25 centimeters (8–10 inches) long and about 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) in diameter. Although traditionally made of wood (typically rosewood, ebony ...

, CD 50-9328 (1994) *Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat major, Op. 19; Beethoven: Piano Concerto No. 3 in C minor, Op. 37 ( The Academy of St. Martin in the Fields/ Sir Neville Marriner).

Erato In Greek mythology, Erato (; ) is one of the Greek Muses, the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. The name would mean "desired" or "lovely", if derived from the same root as Eros, as Apollonius of Rhodes playfully sugge ...

, 4509-98539-2 (1995) *

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 ''Kreisleriana'', Op. 16, is a composition in eight movements by Robert Schumann for solo piano, subtitled ''.'' Schumann claimed to have written it in only four days in April 1838 and a revised version appeared in 1850. The work was dedicated ...

, Op. 16; Julius Reubke: Sonata in

B-flat minor B-flat minor is a minor scale based on B, consisting of the pitches B, C, D, E, F, G, and A. Its key signature has five flats. Its relative major is D-flat major and its parallel major is B-flat major. Its enharmonic equivalent, A-s ...

. Erato, 0630-12710-2 (1996) *Schubert: Sonata in A minor, D 784, Op. posth. 143; Schubert: 6 Moments musicaux, D 780, Op. 94; Schubert: 12 Grazer Walzer, D 924, Op. 91. Erato, 0630-17869-2 (1997) *Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 19 in F major, K 459; Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 25 in C major, K 503 ( Camerata Academica Salzburg/Alexander Janiczek). Erato, 3984-23299-2 (1998) *Beethoven: The Complete Works for Cello and Piano ( Heinrich Schiff,

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

Philips Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...

, 462 601-2 (2000) * J. S. Bach:

The Well-Tempered Clavier ''The Well-Tempered Clavier'', BWV 846–893, consists of two sets of preludes and fugues in all 24 major and minor keys for keyboard by Johann Sebastian Bach. In the composer's time ''clavier'' referred to a variety of keyboard instruments, ...

, Book I, BWV 846–869.

ECM New Series ECM (Edition of Contemporary Music) is an independent record label founded by Karl Egger, Manfred Eicher and Manfred Scheffner in Munich in 1969. While ECM is best known for jazz music, the label has released a variety of recordings, and ECM's ar ...

, 1853/54 (2004) * J. S. Bach: Inventions & Sinfonias, French Suite No. V.

, 2043 (2009)Sounds Both Eclectic and Electric
– Anthony Tommasini, New York Times *

: Piano Concerto No. 4 in G major, Op. 58; Piano Concerto No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 73 (Orchestre symphonique de Montréal/Kent Nagano). ECM New Series, 2114 (2010) *

: Böse Zellen for piano and orchestra (

Münchener Kammerorchester The Munich Chamber Orchestra (, or MKO) is a German chamber orchestra based in Munich. Its primary concert venue is the Prinzregententheater, Munich. The MKO also gives concerts in Munich at such venues as the Pinakothek der Moderne and the ', an ...

Dennis Russell Davies Dennis Russell Davies (born April 16, 1944, in Toledo, Ohio) is an American conductor and pianist. He is chief conductor of the Brno Philharmonic and of the MDR Leipzig Radio Symphony Orchestra. Biography Davies studied piano and conducting at ...

). ECM New Series, 2111 (2010) * Harrison Birtwistle: Chamber Music (Lisa Batiashvili, Adrian Brendel, Roderick Williams). ECM New Series, 2253 (2014) *J. Brahms: Piano Quintet in F minor, Op. 34 (Belcea Quartet). Alpha, 248 (2016) *F. Liszt: Années de pèlerinage, Première année – Suisse; Beethoven: Piano Sonata No. 32 in C minor, Op. 111. ECM New Series, 2511 (2018)

References

External links

*
Biographical sketch and discography
at

ECM Records ECM (Edition of Contemporary Music) is an independent record label founded by Karl Egger, Manfred Eicher and Manfred Scheffner in Munich in 1969. While ECM is best known for jazz music, the label has released a variety of recordings, and ECM's a ...

Interview with Till Fellner
11 April 1997 {{DEFAULTSORT:Fellner, Till 1972 births Living people 20th-century Austrian male musicians 20th-century Austrian classical pianists 21st-century Austrian classical pianists Austrian male classical pianists ECM Records artists Musicians from Vienna 21st-century Austrian male musicians Erato Records artists