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The Swiss harpsichordist, Michel Kiener, undertook simultaneously his piano and harpsichord studies in the classes of Louis Hiltbrand (1972) and Isabelle Nef (1975) at the local Conservatory of Music, where he won the prize of virtuosity in both disciplines. Further on, he attended improvement studies with Anneke Uittenbosch and Gustav Leonhardt in Amsterdam. He was awarded the first prize of the Brudges International Harpsichord Conmetition in 1977 and at the International Competition in Geneva.
Since 1977, Michel Kiener is professor at the Conservatory of Geneva, while pursuing his activities as both a concert performer and an educator. He has given many concerts in Europe, Latin America and Asia. His background both as a pianist and harpsichordist soon led him to approach the late Baroque and Classical repertories on the pianoforte of 18th and 19th centuries, and even on the clavichord. He plays a magnificent harpsichord made by William Dowd in Paris in 1978, modelled on an instrument made by N. Blanchet in 1730. He interprets J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations (BWV 988) on a Dowd harpsichord tuned according to the unequal system of J.S. Bach.
Michel Kiener's eclecticism and passion for chamber music enabled him to share the stage in partnership with eminent artists issued from different generations, namely Pierre Fournier, Christophe Coin, Roel Dieltiens, Christine Busch, Jaap Schröder, Erich Höbarth, Sigiswald Kuijken, Ryo Terakado, Raphael Oleg, Gustav Leonhardt, Pierre Hantaï, Jan De Winne, Alexei Ogrintchouk, Sergio Azzolini; singers such as Marta Almajano, Jennifer Smith, Guillemette Laurens, François Le Roux; and the Kuijken and Mosaïques quartets. As a soloist, he performed with the ensembles Il Giardino Armonico, Il Gardellino, The Moscou Soloists, and with such orchestras as L'Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Gulbenkian Orchestra, Münchener Kammerorchester, and the Württenberg orchestra. |
