Wolf Harden (born 1962 in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

) is a German classical pianist. He started learning music with his father, a musicologist, and his mother, a pianist. He studied at the Detmold Music Academy, and began performing with the Trio Fontenay, which he founded in 1980. In 1982, Harden made his debut in Berlin, and in 1983, he made his first recording of the Liszt Dante sonata. Harden has performed regularly in Europe, North and South America and Asia, both as a recitalist and with the Trio Fontenay. He also performs regularly with orchestras around the world. He has worked as accompanist for a number of singers, including

Juliane Banse Juliane Banse (born 10 July 1969 in Tettnang, West Germany) is a German opera soprano and noted singer. Banse received her vocal training at the Zürich Opera, and with Brigitte Fassbaender in Munich. She won first prize in the singing competi ...

Wolfgang Holzmair Wolfgang Holzmair (born 1952 in Vöcklabruck) is an Austrian baritone. Holzmair studied at the Vienna Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. He won 2nd prize in the baritone class of the 's-Hertogenbosch International Vocal Competition in 1981, an ...

and

Theo Adam Theo Adam (1 August 1926 – 10 January 2019) was a German operatic bass-baritone and bass singer who had an international career in opera, concert and recital from 1949. He was a member of the Staatsoper Dresden for his entire career, and s ...

, and with many instrumentalists, such as Kolja Blacher,

Michael Goldstein Michael Goldstein (June 7, 1938 – May 19, 2018) was an American music publicist and journalist who was the founder of the ''SoHo Weekly News'', an alternative newspaper published in New York City from 1973 to 1982. Prior to starting the pap ...

Kim Kashkashian Kim Kashkashian (born August 31, 1952) is an American violist. She has spent her career in the U.S. and Europe and collaborated with many major contemporary composers. In 2013 she won a Grammy Award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo. She i ...

and

Giora Feidman Giora Feidman (; born 25 March 1936) is an Argentine-born Israeli clarinetist who specializes in klezmer music. Biography Giora Feidman was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where his Bessarabian Jewish parents immigrated to escape persecution. F ...

. Harden has recorded more than 50 CDs, as solo pianist, soloist with orchestra, and with the Trio Fontenay. He has recorded for the

Teldec Teldec (Telefunken-Decca Schallplatten GmbH) is a German record label in Hamburg, Germany. Today the label is a property of Warner Music Group. History Teldec was a producer of (first) shellac and (later) vinyl records. The Teldec manufacturing ...

Denon is a Japanese electronics company dealing with audio equipment. The Denon brand came from a merger of Denki Onkyo (not to be confused with the other Onkyo) and others in 1939. It originally started as Nippon Chikuonki Shoukai in 1910 by Freder ...

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 ...

, cpo and

Naxos Naxos (; , ) is a Greek island belonging to the Cyclades island group. It is the largest island in the group. It was an important centre during the Bronze Age Cycladic Culture and in the Ancient Greek Archaic Period. The island is famous as ...

labels. He has notably recorded (as of 2017) nine volumes of the complete piano music of

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 ...

, as well as works by Pfitzner, Nishizaki and

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 ...

. With the Trio Fontenay, he has recorded piano trios by

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 ...

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 ...

, Chopin,

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 ...

, Dvořák,

Haydn Franz Joseph Haydn ( ; ; 31 March 173231 May 1809) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. He was instrumental in the development of chamber music such as the string quartet and piano trio. His contributions ...

Ives Ives is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Alice Emma Ives (1876–1930), American dramatist, journalist * Burl Ives (1909–1995), American singer, author and actor * Charles Ives (1874–1954), Ame ...

and many others.

References

External links

Wolf Harden's web site

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harden, Wolf 1962 births Living people German male classical pianists Musicians from Hamburg 21st-century German classical pianists 21st-century German male musicians