|
Sebastian Knauer was born in 1971
in Hamburg, and began playing the piano at the age of four. As a scholarship
holder of the Oscar & Vera Ritter - Stiftung and the Berenbarg Bank
Hamburg, he studied with Gernot Kahl, Karl-Heinz Kämmerling, Philippe
Entremont, Andràs Schiff, Christoph Eschenbach and Alexis Weissenberg.
A prize-winner at numerous competitions, he gave his concerto debut at
the age of 13, performing Haydn’s D-Major Piano Concerto in the
Hamburg Musikhalle. Shortly afterwards followed his international debut
as part of the “European Concert” series for RAI in Venice.
Subsequent tours have taken him all over Europe, the USA, South America
and Asia. He has performed in major concert halls such as the Leipzig
Gewandhaus, the Berlin, Cologne and Munich Philharmonie, Alte Oper Frankfurt,
Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Vienna Musikvereinssaal and Konzerthaus, Barbican
Center London, Opéra Comique Paris, KKL Luzern, Warsaw Philharmonic
Hall, Lincoln Center and Metropolitan Museum of Arts New York, Herbst
Theatre San Francisco, Kravis Center Palm Beach, Téatro Municipal
in Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, Oriental Concert Hall Shanghai, Performing
Arts Center Hong Kong and Forbidden Concert Hall Beijing.
The conductors with whom Sebastian Knauer has worked include Gerd Albrecht,
Vladimir Fedosseyew, Neeme Järvi, Sir Roger Norrington, Philippe
Entremont, Eiji Oue, Jaap van Zweden, Thomas Hengelbrock, John Axelrod
and Ingo Metzmacher. Together with Entremont , he regularly performs repertoire
for two pianos, as was the case in Tel Aviv, where they played the Double
Concertos of Mozart and Mendelssohn with the Israel Chamber Orchestra.
Other major orchestras with whom Knauer has played are the NDR –
Symphony and Radio Philharmonic, Hamburg Philharmonic and Symphony, SWF
Baden Baden, Concerto Cologne, the Vienna, Netherlands, Basel, Milan and
Cologne Chamber, Camerata Salzburg, Luzern Symphony, Sinfonia Varsovia,
Warsaw Philharmonic, London Mozart Players, New York City Opera, Palm
Beach Symphony and Shanghai Philharmonic.
Between 1999 and 2002 he was performing and directing all 27 Mozart Piano
Concertos with the Hamburg Philharmonic. Sebastian Knauer is a regular
guest at Festival such as Rheingau, Schleswig Holstein, Klavierfestival
Ruhr, Mecklenburg, Baden Baden, Bonn Beethovenfest, Bremen Musikfest,
Bad Kissingen, Vienna, John Adams Festival of the BBC Symphony London,
Bath, Colmar, Dubrovnik, Menuhin Festival Gstaad, Vevey/Montreux, Byblos
Festival Lebanon, Emilia Romagna Festival Italy, Lincoln Center Festival
NY (USA), Ravinia (USA), Interlochen (USA), Savannah (USA), El Paso Pro
Musica (USA), Santo Domingo (Dom.Rep.) and at the Shanghai Arts Festival.
In Summer 2004 he gave his debut at the Salzburger Festspiele. In October
02 he performed for the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton
in Berlin.
A dedicated chamber-musician, Sebastian Knauer now tours extensively with
his Duo Partner Daniel Hope. Other artists with whom he worked together
include Hermann Prey, Olaf Bär, Alban Gerhardt, Aron Quartet Vienna,
Philharmonia Quartet Berlin (Berlin Philharmonic), John Neumeier and the
Hamburg Ballet and the actor Klaus Maria Brandauer.
He recorded for Berlin Classics, Deutsche Grammophon, Glissando, Naxos
and Warner Classics with works of Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, Schubert,
Chopin, Barber, Bernstein, Copland and Gershwin. The CD “East meets
West” which he recorded together with Daniel Hope won the German
“ECHO” and was nominated for the Grammy 2005.
His CD together with Sir Roger Norrington and the Camerata Salzburg was
celebrated as one of the best Mozart recordings ever and for his latest
CD with works of Franz Schubert the Gramophone Magazine titled their review
with the words: “Poise and discipline from a pianist we must hear
more from “.
Top
of the page
|