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The German pianist and conductor, Lars Vogt, studied at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover with Karl-Heinz Kämmerling. He rose to prominence after winning second prize at the 1990 Leeds International Piano Competition and went on to give major concerto and recital performances.
Over the last 25 years, Lars Vogt established himself as one of the leading musicians of his generation. His versatility as an artist ranges from the core classical repertoire of W.A. Mozart, L.v. Beethoven, Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms to the romantics Grieg, Tchaikovsky and Sergei Rachmaninov through to the dazzling Lutoslawski concerto.
During his prestigious career Lars Vogt performed with many of the world’s great orchestras including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Berliner Philharmoniker, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Dresden Staatskapelle, Wiener Philharmoniker, London Philharmonic Orchestra, London Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Boston Symphony Orchestra, NHK Symphony Orchestra and Orchestre de Paris. He collaborated with some of the world’s most renowned conductors including Claudio Abbado, Daniel Harding, Mariss Jansons, Paavo Järvi, Andris Nelsons, Sir Simon Rattle and Robin Ticciati. His special relationship with the Berliner Philharmoniker continued with regular collaborations following his appointment as their first ever “pianist in Residence” in 2003-2004.
In addition to his ongoing relationship with Royal Northern Sinfonia, Lars Vogt conducted several ensembles including the Kölner Kammerorchester, Münchener Kammerorchester and Zürcher Kammerorchester, Arte del Mondo, Camerata Salzburg, Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie Bremen, Sinfonieorchester Aachen, Sydney Symphony Orchestra and Orchestra of St. Luke's. This season (2015-2016), he continues his conducting journey with the Philharmonie Zuidnederland, Nürnberger Symphoniker and Bochumer Symphony among others, and future dates include concerts with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra and Bogota Symphony.
Some particularly memorable engagements from the previous year included the First Night of the BBC Proms season in London and the opening of the Orchestre de Paris’ season at the Philharmonie in Paris, repeated at La Scala, Milan. Lars Vogt also toured Australia both as soloist and conductor and took part in the 15th Anniversary Chamber Music Festival at Toppan Hall in Tokyo. His concerto appearances featured the London Symphony Orchestra, Munich’s Bayerischer Rundfunk Symphonieorchester, Wiener Symphoniker and Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Highlights of Lars Vogt’s 2016/-207 season include performances with the NHK Symphony Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Tonkünstler-Orchester, NDR Radiophilharmonie Hannover, Sinfonieorchester Basel, Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia at La Scala in Milan, the Philharmonia Orchestra and Royal Scottish National Orchestra. Collaborations with other musicians remain a major part of his work this season as he takes to the road with long-time artistic partner Christian Tetzlaff for a duo recital tour in the USA, Tanja Tetzlaff later accompanying them for a trio tour in Europe. Tenor Ian Bostridge also joins him in recital for Schubert’s Schwanengesang with concerts in Gateshead, Hamburg, London, Luxembourg, Vienna and at the Schubertiade festival in Hohenems.
Lars 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 was marked by the release of several live recordings on the CAvi and EMI labels. In addition to the Tetzlaff siblings and Ian Bostridge, he enjoyed regular partnerships with colleagues such as Thomas Quasthoff and collaborates occasionally with actor Klaus-Maria Brandauer and comedian Konrad Beikircher.
In May 2014, the Royal Northern Sinfonia announced the appointment of Lars Vogt as its next music director, effective September 2015. He serves as music director designate for the 2014-2015 season, in his first formal orchestral post. His second season at the helm explores L.v. Beethoven’s concertos – the five piano concertos, the Choral Fantasy and the Triple Concerto together with Christian and Tanja Tetzlaff, all of which also being recorded for the Ondine label. This season will also include the orchestra’s first tour to Asia.
A prolific recording artist, Lars Vogt now works closely with the Ondine label, most recently on a disc of Schubert works released in October 2016. Prior to that, his J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations (BWV 988) with the label had unprecedented success in download charts as well as receiving widespread acclaim. Adding to his growing list of chamber recordings, recent releases on Ondine include J. Brahms, W.A. Mozart and Robert Schumann sonatas with Christian Tetzlaff, and their GRAMMY nominated J. Brahms’ piano trios with Tanja Tetzlaff. In earlier years as an EMI recording artist, Lars Vogt made over ten discs with the label including the Paul Hindemith's Kammermusik No 2 with the Berliner Philharmoniker/Claudio Abbado, plus the Robert Schumann, Grieg and first two L.v. Beethoven Concertos with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra/Sir Simon Rattle. He also recorded for the labelCAvi (most recently a charming recording of Larcher, Robert Schumann and Béla Bartók works for children released in 2016) Ohems Classics (W.A. Mozart Concertos/Salzburg Mozarteum Orchestra) and Berlin Classics (solo Franz Liszt and Robert Schumann). In 2004, Vogt was awarded both the Brahmspreis and the Echo Klassik. He also won the "Großer Kulturpreis der rheinischen Sparkassen" in 2006.
A passionate advocate of making music an essential life force in the community, in 2005 Lars Vogt 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. He 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. |
