Lars Vogt
Lars Vogt has rapidly established himself as one of the leading pianists of his generation. Born in the German town of Düren in 1970, he first came to public attention when he won second prize at the 1990 Leeds International Piano Competition and has enjoyed a varied career for nearly 25 years.
His versatility as an artist ranges from the core classical repertoire of Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann and Brahms to the romantics Grieg, Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov through to the dazzling Lutoslawski concerto. Vogt is now increasingly working with orchestras both as conductor and directing from the keyboard. His recent appointment as music director of the Royal Northern Sinfonia at the Sage, Gateshead from the 2015-2016 season reflects this new development in his career.
“Conducting feels like flying with the force and energy of the music helping you to uplift the musicians around you.”
During his prestigious career Vogt has performed with many of the world’s great orchestras including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, NHK Symphony and Orchestre de Paris. He has collaborated with some of the world’s most prestigious conductors including Sir Simon Rattle, Mariss Jansons, Claudio Abbado and Andris Nelsons. His special relationship with the Berlin Philharmonic has continued with regular collaborations following his appointment as their first ever “pianist in Residence” in 2003-2004.
Highlights of Lars Vogt’s 2014-2015 season include the opening of the Royal Northern Sinfonia’s season conducting Beethoven and Brahms followed by a programme of Janaček, Schumann and Dvořák in April 2015. In Europe he performs concerti with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Vienna Symphony, Czech Philharmonic and Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra as well as the London Philharmonic under Yannick Nezet-Seguin both in London and on tour in Germany. In North America he appears with the Philadelphia Orchestra and with Boston Symphony under their new music director, Andris Nelsons. South America also features strongly this season with concerts in São Paolo, Brasilia, Mexico City and Bogota. He is a key soloist in the Deutschekammerphilharmonie Bremen’s Brahms cycle conducted by Paavo Jarvi with performances of the Brahms piano concerti at the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York and the Tanglewood and Lanaudiere Festivals as well as in Tokyo’s Opera City Hall. He returns to Japan at the end of the season for concerts with the New Japan Philharmonic under Daniel Harding.
During 2013-2014, Vogt worked as conductor with several orchestras including Zurich Chamber Orchestra, Arte del Mondo and Cologne Chamber Orchestra. He performed in Amsterdam and London with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Mariss Jansons, Berlin and Vienna with Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin under Tugan Sokhiev, and in Paris with Dresden Staatskapelle under Christian Thielemann. He also undertook several chamber projects including recitals with Ian Bostridge at the Edinburgh Festival and with Klaus Maria Brandauer in Vienna; as well as six concerts in North America with Christian Tetzlaff including Chicago, Boston, Montreal and Philadelphia and trios with Christian and Tanja Tetzlaff in Paris, Berlin, Salzburg and Zurich.
Vogt enjoys a high profile as a chamber musician and in June 1998 he founded his own chamber festival in the village of Heimbach near Cologne. Known as “Spannungen,” the concerts take place in an art-nouveau hydro-electric power station. Its huge success has been marked by the release of 10 live recordings on EMI. He has enjoyed regular partnerships with colleagues such as Christian and Tanya Tetzlaff and Thomas Quasthoff and collaborates occasionally with actor Klaus-Maria Brandauer and comedian Konrad Beikircher.
Vogt is a passionate advocate of making music an essential life force in the community. In 2005, he established a major educational programme “Rhapsody in School,” which brings his colleagues to schools across Germany and Austria, thereby connecting children with inspiring world-class musicians. Vogt is also an accomplished and enthusiastic teacher and in 2013 was appointed professor of piano at the Hannover Conservatory of Music, succeeding Karl-Heinz Kämmerling, his former teacher and close friend.
As an EMI recording artist, Vogt made 15 discs for the label, including the Hindemith Kammermusik No 2 with the Berlin Philharmonic/Claudio Abbado, the Schumann, Grieg and the first two Beethoven Concertos with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra/Sir Simon Rattle, who has described him as “one of the most extraordinary musicians of any age group that I have had the fortune to be associated with.” Recent recordings include solo Schubert for CAvi-music and Mozart Concerti with the Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra for Oehms, a solo Liszt and Schumann disc on the Berlin Classics label and Mozart Sonatas with Christian Tetzlaff for Ondine.
His versatility as an artist ranges from the core classical repertoire of Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann and Brahms to the romantics Grieg, Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov through to the dazzling Lutoslawski concerto. Vogt is now increasingly working with orchestras both as conductor and directing from the keyboard. His recent appointment as music director of the Royal Northern Sinfonia at the Sage, Gateshead from the 2015-2016 season reflects this new development in his career.
“Conducting feels like flying with the force and energy of the music helping you to uplift the musicians around you.”
During his prestigious career Vogt has performed with many of the world’s great orchestras including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, NHK Symphony and Orchestre de Paris. He has collaborated with some of the world’s most prestigious conductors including Sir Simon Rattle, Mariss Jansons, Claudio Abbado and Andris Nelsons. His special relationship with the Berlin Philharmonic has continued with regular collaborations following his appointment as their first ever “pianist in Residence” in 2003-2004.
Highlights of Lars Vogt’s 2014-2015 season include the opening of the Royal Northern Sinfonia’s season conducting Beethoven and Brahms followed by a programme of Janaček, Schumann and Dvořák in April 2015. In Europe he performs concerti with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Vienna Symphony, Czech Philharmonic and Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra as well as the London Philharmonic under Yannick Nezet-Seguin both in London and on tour in Germany. In North America he appears with the Philadelphia Orchestra and with Boston Symphony under their new music director, Andris Nelsons. South America also features strongly this season with concerts in São Paolo, Brasilia, Mexico City and Bogota. He is a key soloist in the Deutschekammerphilharmonie Bremen’s Brahms cycle conducted by Paavo Jarvi with performances of the Brahms piano concerti at the Mostly Mozart Festival in New York and the Tanglewood and Lanaudiere Festivals as well as in Tokyo’s Opera City Hall. He returns to Japan at the end of the season for concerts with the New Japan Philharmonic under Daniel Harding.
During 2013-2014, Vogt worked as conductor with several orchestras including Zurich Chamber Orchestra, Arte del Mondo and Cologne Chamber Orchestra. He performed in Amsterdam and London with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra under Mariss Jansons, Berlin and Vienna with Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin under Tugan Sokhiev, and in Paris with Dresden Staatskapelle under Christian Thielemann. He also undertook several chamber projects including recitals with Ian Bostridge at the Edinburgh Festival and with Klaus Maria Brandauer in Vienna; as well as six concerts in North America with Christian Tetzlaff including Chicago, Boston, Montreal and Philadelphia and trios with Christian and Tanja Tetzlaff in Paris, Berlin, Salzburg and Zurich.
Vogt enjoys a high profile as a chamber musician and in June 1998 he founded his own chamber festival in the village of Heimbach near Cologne. Known as “Spannungen,” the concerts take place in an art-nouveau hydro-electric power station. Its huge success has been marked by the release of 10 live recordings on EMI. He has enjoyed regular partnerships with colleagues such as Christian and Tanya Tetzlaff and Thomas Quasthoff and collaborates occasionally with actor Klaus-Maria Brandauer and comedian Konrad Beikircher.
Vogt is a passionate advocate of making music an essential life force in the community. In 2005, he established a major educational programme “Rhapsody in School,” which brings his colleagues to schools across Germany and Austria, thereby connecting children with inspiring world-class musicians. Vogt is also an accomplished and enthusiastic teacher and in 2013 was appointed professor of piano at the Hannover Conservatory of Music, succeeding Karl-Heinz Kämmerling, his former teacher and close friend.
As an EMI recording artist, Vogt made 15 discs for the label, including the Hindemith Kammermusik No 2 with the Berlin Philharmonic/Claudio Abbado, the Schumann, Grieg and the first two Beethoven Concertos with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra/Sir Simon Rattle, who has described him as “one of the most extraordinary musicians of any age group that I have had the fortune to be associated with.” Recent recordings include solo Schubert for CAvi-music and Mozart Concerti with the Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra for Oehms, a solo Liszt and Schumann disc on the Berlin Classics label and Mozart Sonatas with Christian Tetzlaff for Ondine.