Around the Music Festival

German pianist Lars Vogt died of cancer on September 5 at the age of 51. he had been battling cancer since it was discovered in March 2021. three weeks ago he gave a media interview about his cancer treatment and performance activities.

Born in 1970 in Düren, Germany, he won second prize at the 1990 Leeds International Piano Competition, but made headlines when conductor Simon Rattle, who served on the jury, claimed his first prize.

Since then, in addition to performing with major orchestras, he has been active in solo and chamber music. He has earned high acclaim for his performance style, in which fresh interpretations based on historical research are supported by solid technique.

In 1998, he founded the “spannungen” chamber music festival in an Art Nouveau hydroelectric power station in Heimbach, near Cologne, and in the 2003/2004 season, he was appointed the Berlin Philharmonic’s first “Pianist in Residence”.

In 2015, he was appointed Music Director of the Royal Northern Sinfonia in the UK and of the Orchestre de chambre de Paris in 2020, expanding his activities.

On the other hand, he is also passionate about music education, and in 2005 he founded Rhapsody in School, an educational program that sends top musicians to children in Germany and Austria.

2013, he succeeded his teacher Karl-Heinz Kemmerling as professor of piano at the Hanover College of Music, where he taught younger students.

Photo：Giorgia Bertazzi


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