May 9, 2014
Friday-8:00pm | University of North Carolina School of Music, Theatre and Dance - Recital Hall
Alexander Schimpf, piano
Dmitry Sitkovetsky, violin
Greensboro Symphony String Quartet
Greensboro Symphony musicians
Program
“Serenade for Five Stars”
Wolf Italian Serenade for String quartet
Greensboro Symphony String Quartet
Dvorak Piano Quintet op. 81 A-dur
Alexander Schimpf, piano Dmitry Sitkovetsky, violin
Greensboro Symphony musicians
Series Sponsor
About the guest artist:
Over the past few years Alexander Schimpf has risen to
prominence by impressively winning a series of competitions, first
winning the 2008 German Music Competition (a distinction no pianist had
earned for 14 years), winning First Prize at the 2009 International
Beethoven Competition in Vienna and finally emerging as the first
German pianist ever to win First Prize at the 2011 Cleveland
International Piano Competition. His final round performance at
Severance Hall with the renowned Cleveland Orchestra was given a
standing ovation and additionally honored with the Audience Favorite
Prize. Since winning these notable awards, Alexander Schimpf’s career
has gained momentum with regular appearances at important music centers
around the world. In 2011 alone he gave debut recitals at the Vienna
Konzerthaus, Berlin’s Konzerthaus and at Carnegie Hall’s Zankel Hall in
New York.
Born in Göttingen, Germany in 1981, he initially studied piano
with Wolfgang Manz in Hannover and subsequently studied with Winfried
Apel at the Musikhochschule Dresden as well as with Bernd Glemser in
Würzburg. The pianists Cécile Ousset and Janina Fialkowska also played
an important role in his artistic development.
He has performed in recital throughout Germany (including
appearances at Gasteig München, NDR Hannover, Beethovenhaus Bonn,
Musik-und Kongresshalle Lübeck) as well as at festivals such as
Oberstdorfer Musiksommer, Heidelberger Frühling and the Ludwigsburger
Schlossfestspiele. Mr. Schimpf has appeared in recital in France
(Auditorium du Louvre and Salle Cortot in Paris), Italy, Austria,
Switzerland, and England as well as undertaking two recital tours of
South America. He made his debut appearance at Carnegie Hall in
December 2011, with many additional recital and concert appearances
planned in the United States.
His engagements through 2013 include appearances as a soloist with
the St. Petersburg Marinsky Theatre Orchestra, the Junge Deutsche
Philharmonie in the great auditorium of the Alte Oper Frankfurt, and
with the Dresden Philharmonic; in addition Alexander Schimpf will give
recital performances at the International Keyboard Festival in New York
and the International Chopin Festival in Duszniki, Poland. His chamber
musician partners include the violinist Christian Tetzlaff, violist
Nils Mönkemeyer, and cellist Julian Steckel.
Released in 2009, his first CD was co-produced by Deutschlandradio
Kultur and GENUIN; in a co-production with Bayrischer Rundfunk, in
early 2012 he completed his second CD recording as an exclusive artist
on the OEHMS Classics label. The disc features works by Ravel,
Scriabin, and Schubert. For more information, please visit:
http://www.alexander-schimpf.de/main_en.html
