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Valentin Schiedermair’s recent solo tours of China, Taiwan and Singapore drew enthusiastic audiences in fifteen major cities. For the second year running the final concert in Taipei finished only after five encores and the University of Shenzhen awarded him a guest professorship in recognition of his contribution to the musical exchange between China and Germany. This is because a Valentin Schiedermair performance is more than just a concert….it is an event. This London-based German pianist engages with his audience and draws on all his exceptional background and experience to take them on a musical journey. His objective is simple - to share the joy and excitement of great music with his audience.

Schiedermair, who made his debut at the sold-out Berlin Philharmonic Hall, learned from some of the best and has been developing his unique blend of virtuosity and insight in concerts, recitals and orchestral performances world wide for more than 20 years.

He comes from a musical family and grew up playing chamber music with his father at the cello. His great-grandfather, himself a pianist and composer, had been one of the leading musicologists of his day and had founded the Beethoven Archive in Germany, the leading research centre for Beethoven.

Valentin Schiedermair, piano 2 100dpi

He received a classical education of Latin and Ancient Greek in Heidelberg where he studied at the music academy with Paul Dan and won first prize in a piano competition. Another prize in Lugano followed, and he took lessons with the Chopin prizewinner Halina Czerny-Stefanska and her Polish husband Ludwig Stefanski. Aged 20 he won a further prize in Barcelona and was chosen as one of two German students in the performing arts to continue his studies in New York with scholarships from the Annette Kade Foundation and the Fulbright Commission.

In New York Schiedermair found a stimulating mix of teachers. He heard Horowitz play in Carnegie Hall and took lessons with Gary Graffman, Horowitz’s favourite pupil, who taught him much of the core classical and Romantic repertoire. He continued his studies at the Vienna Music Academy under Hans Kann, then in London with Peter Wallfisch at the Royal College of Music. Master classes with virtuosos Shura Cherkassky, Bruno Leonardo Gelber, Mieczyslaw Horszowski and many others completed his studies. Not surprisingly, he is now in demand for master classes in Europe and Asia where he passes on the musical tradition he experienced first hand. Recent masterclasses have taken place at the Nanyang Academy in Singapore, Shenzhen University in China, the Taipei University and the Mannheim Music Academy in Germany.

Since his first radio recording aged 16 Schiedermair has developed a very large repertoire and his concert career has taken him all over the world. He is a frequent guest at international festivals and has given live and recorded recitals for radio. His CDs have also won him many friends in Asia, where he tours regularly.

Valentin Schiedermair grew up in a family with a close affinity to the music of Mozart, Beethoven and the romantic composers. While his style is intimate and lyrical, his playing conveys passion and drama in equal measure. He enjoys researching the historical and biographical background to the music he plays to get as close to it as possible – and to share this enjoyment with his audience.