Burkard Schliessmann

Burkard Schliessmann

Burkard Schliessmann (* in Aschaffenburg ) is a German classical concert pianist . Schliessmann is one of the most important pianists of today and lives mainly in the USA.

life and career

Schliessmann studied at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts in the master class of Herbert Seidel and passed the concert exam in 1989 . Further studies in master classes took place in New York , Washington and Paris with Shura Cherkassky , Bruno Leonardo Gelber and Poldi Mildner.

Schliessmann stepped u. a. at the festivals Münchner Klaviersommer , Frankfurter Feste, Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival , Chopin Festival Valldemossa, Maurice Ravel Festival Paris. Furthermore concert engagements took him to the USA , Japan , the People's Republic of China , Indonesia and Malaysia , where he a. a. played with the National Symphony Orchestra, the Utah Symphony Orchestra, the Munich Philharmonic , the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra and the WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne .

Schliessmann is a regular guest speaker on music-aesthetic topics in radio and TV broadcasts on WDR 3 , SWR2 and hr2-kultur as well as a guest author for the Frankfurter Neue Presse ; further publications in Piano News and Music and Church .

Burkard Schliessmann on a Steinway concert grand D-274

Schliessmann is the official exclusive artist of Steinway & Sons and owns two Steinway concert grand pianos that are unique in terms of sound and form the basis of his personal sound conception and tone. You are u. a. to be heard in the recordings of the Goldberg Variations , his Chopin and Schumann interpretations , the Bach Keyboard Works and the 3-SACD Edition Chronological Chopin .

Schliessmann is also a diver and diving instructor . His diving expeditions led him a. a. to Cuba , Cayo Coco , Micronesia ( Palau , Yap ), French Polynesia (Ponapé), New Guinea , Philippines , Egypt , Maldives , Mauritius , Seychelles , Thailand , Mexico , Cozumel , Bahamas , Bonaire , St. Lucia , Cocos Islands , Socorro , Malpelo , Galapagos , Jamaica , the Dominican Republic , Turkey and Mykonos . He is dedicated to social and ecological projects and is an ambassador for the Project AWARE Foundation “Protecting of Our Ocean Planet” and “Protect the Sharks”. The inspiration of the variety of colors in the underwater world influenced Schliessmann in the sound and intonation of his pianistic interpretations. In radio broadcasts and interviews, he spoke of a synesthesia that is inextricably linked with his sense of sound.

Schliessmann's repertoire ranges from Johann Sebastian Bach , Ludwig van Beethoven , Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , Robert Schumann , Frédéric Chopin , Franz Liszt , Johannes Brahms , Alexander Nikolajewitsch Scriabin , the Second Viennese School to the early avant-garde .

Schliessmann is a Master Instructor of the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) and a member of CANON-Professionals CPS-CPN . He is also a member of the Frankfurt Society for Industry, Science, Trade and Culture ( Casino Society of 1802) and the Lions Club .

Style and reception

Burkard Schliessmann in Berlin, Teldex Studio

Schliessmann's pianistic style is seen in the line of the great tradition of Romanticism and combines old and new artistic ideals. In SWR-2 , Treffpunkt Klassik , September 14, 2010 Reinhard Ermen describes: "Burkard Schliessmann has a great affinity for the old virtuosity, he tries to catch up with the great serenity [...] and to combine it with today's understanding of the text".

In addition to the technical perfection, the international specialist criticism emphasizes the great understanding of the inner structures of a work and the clarity of the interpretative statement, combined with the knowledge of individual style security and the context of a composition as a total work of art in the mirror as well as the polarization of its individual historical development. Peter J. Rabinowitz describes this approach in his review of Schliessmann's Chopin-Schumann Anniversary Edition 2010 : “ Burkard Schliessmann is a fiercely intellectual pianist. He's intellectual in two senses. First, he approaches this music with a tremendous store of background knowledge - knowledge about the composers and their works, about their early receptions, about their critical writings, about their literary inspirations, and about the cultural milieu in which they found themselves. Second, he performs the music with a rigorous sense of the ways its details contribute to its form, both in terms of its overall architecture and in terms of its vertical structure; ”(German:“ Burkard Schliessmann is a decidedly intellectual pianist, and this in two ways. First, he approaches this music with an enormous amount of background knowledge - knowledge of the composers and their works, of their early reception, of their critical writings, about their literary sources of inspiration and about the cultural milieu they were in. Second, he interprets the music with a keen sense of the relationship between detail and form, both in terms of the overall architecture of the works and in terms of their verticality Structure").

Clarity of the statement, review of the great tradition and yet new perspectives, this can be read by James Harrington in the American Record Guide ARG, USA, in the November / December 2010 edition: “ Schliessmann arrives at his own unique interpretations, with reverence for the past ( Cortot , Michelangeli , Rubinstein , and Horszowski especially). While each phrase is impeccably shaped, there is an overall thrust to each work that holds everything together. He uses rubato sparingly, and while he embraces the virtuosity in the music, it never overrides other musical content. After a half century of listening to a number of these works, I must say that Schliessmann shed new light on most of them; ”(German:“ Schliessmann arrives at his own interpretations, with awe of the past ( Cortot , Michelangeli , Rubinstein , and Horszowski in particular). While every phrase is impeccably formed, there is an overall orientation to every work that holds everything together. Economical he deals with rubato, and while he embraces virtuosity in music, it never overwrites other musical content.After half a century of listening to a number of interpretations of these works, I have to say that Schliessmann shed new light on most of throws them ”).

Michael Dellith wrote in Chopin's canyons of the soul in the Frankfurter Neue Presse on July 20, 2010 : “Structure and poetry, intellectuality and emotionality, the pianist Burkard Schliessmann combines these supposed opposites in his interpretations again and again in a fascinating way”.

Bach, Schumann and Chopin

Schliessmann's artistic work is inspired and shaped by the music of Johann Sebastian Bach . In an interview with the American music magazine Fanfare, he emphasized that he played Bach more than any other composer. Schliessmann, who also completed a complete organ degree, already mastered the complete organ works of Johann Sebastian Bach by heart at the age of 21.

Goldberg Variations , BWV  988, Aria Autograph

The understanding and penetration of the inner structures enabled Schliessmann to experience the music in a special way. In an interview with James Reel in Fanfare, Burkard Schliessmann Articulates His Approach to Bach , Schliessmann talks about the surreal and metaphysical experiences in interpreting the Goldberg Variations . Schliessmann strives to interpret Bach's works as an aspect of a human reality, as part of a complete whole, as a kind of mirror of a universe. "When listening, you actually get the impression that you are part and content of these harmonies and tricky counterpoints: the music is a communicating, human reincarnation," said Lothar Mattner in the radio program "TonArt" on September 2, 2008 on WDR .

For Schliessmann, the works of Frédéric Chopin represent the “coronation of piano playing, as an expression of something all-encompassing and unique, in the combination of emotionality, architecture and structure, free of any foreign impulses and thus independent of external conditions. The romantic amalgamation of music and literature, which is almost typical for Schumann and Liszt, was and remained an insignificant source of inspiration for him. It was Chopin's classical sense and awareness of form, which is why the world of phantasmagoria remained fundamentally alien to him, ”says Schliessmann.

Quotes

“You can only understand and grasp Chopin if you have internalized that he and his music are a 'whole life'. So it is a question of aesthetics in what unmistakable way his music is a unique balance between the 'meaning of the moment and the demands of the thing'. This is not just about 'beautiful emotionalism', but about 'controlled emotionality' based on a deep understanding of the 'classical forms' and their internal structures. "

- Burkard Schliessmann : Interview The New Listener , December 31, 2015

“I rank this Chopin among the best available. With both the technique and intellect to do just about anything he wants, Schliessmann's strength is in the lyrical, legato melodies that make Chopin's music such a cornerstone of the piano repertoire. "

- James Harrington

German romance

The occupation and understanding of baroque and classical composition techniques and their further development also established an intensive examination of the German romanticism . Recordings and interpretations of numerous works by Carl Maria von Weber , Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy , Robert Schumann , Franz Liszt and Johannes Brahms demonstrate his confidence in finding the right tone and the romantic-intimate character of this music. To perceive and present romantic music as a world experience is the top priority of Schliessmann's interpretations.

Quotes

"Schliessmann is the best pianist I know at entering the world and expressing the awareness of the German romantics."

- Donald Vroon

“He keeps Schumann far away from the highly romantic aplomp à la Brahms and Liszt, which guarantees a large-scale organization of the inner life that is not disturbed by any salon turbulence. Because Schliessmann's belief is that of poetic effectiveness, in which his distinctive style in rhythm is bursting with a high degree of meaning. The intense, sometimes idiosyncratic preoccupation with the fantastic and the intoxicating music has remained so subtle despite all the temperament, which is a small miracle in this kind of musical analysis. Especially since Schliessmann's manual skills leave little to be desired. "

- Guido Fischer

“He interprets Schumann's fantasy as a Tristan-borrowing of the dramatic between immense dynamic differentiation and melodic borrowings from romanticism's longing for death. He is on the right track, finding a profound language that probably comes closest to Schumann's ideas. "

- Carsten Dürer

Prizes and awards

• 2019: Goethe plaque from the city of Frankfurt am Main
• 2019: International Acoustic Music Awards IAMA, USA: "Top-Finalist"  Instrumental , Chopin: Scherzo No. 1 in B minor, op. 20
• 2018: Global Music Awards, USA: Gold Medal Winner, 2 Gold Medal Awards of Excellence , Schumann: Kreisleriana - Symphonic Etudes (incl.Variations Posthumes) , Categories Classical, Instrumental Performance - Album - Germany
• 2018: Global Music Awards, USA: 3 silver medals Outstanding Achievement, Bach: Keyboard Works , categories classical, instrumental solo and album
• 2017: Global Music Awards, USA: 3 silver medals Outstanding Achievement, Chronological Chopin - Burkard Schliessmann , categories classical, instrumental / instrumentalist and album
• 2010: Critics' Choice, American Record Guide ARG (CHOPIN-SCHUMANN Anniversary Edition 2010, MS 1361, MSR-Classics 2010)
• 2008: Critics' Choice, American Record Guide ARG (BACH Goldberg Variations , BAYER, BR CD 100 326)
• 2008: Recording of the Year, MusicWeb International (BACH Goldberg Variations, BAYER, BR CD 100 326)
• 2004: Recording of the Year, MusicWeb International (CHOPIN 4 Ballads, Barcarolle op. 60, Fantaisie op. 49 and others, BAYER, BR CD 100 348)

Honors

• Melvin Jones Fellowship Award, in recognition of his international contributions to the arts and culture, USA, April 2013
• President's Citation, Bastyr University, Seattle (Washington-State), USA, February 2012
• Gold Medal of Merit in his home parish, January 2012
• LIONS Appreciation Award, USA, June 2010

Discography (selection)

Schliessmann is the exclusive artist of Arthaus Musik , Naxos International , MSR-Classics and Bayer. In June 2014 Schliessmann signed another contract with the British label Divine Art for the worldwide publication of selected piano works by Johann Sebastian Bach and Frédéric Chopin.

Studio productions

• Frédéric Chopin : Chronological Chopin - Ballades - Preludes - Scherzi and other works (Disc A: Scherzo No. 1 in B minor, op.20 , Ballade No. 1 in G minor, op.23 , 24 Preludes , op.28 ; Disc B: Scherzo No. 2 in B flat minor, op.31 , Ballade No. 2 in F major, op.38 , Scherzo No. 3 in C sharp minor, op.39, Prelude in C sharp minor, op 45 , Ballade No. 3 in A flat major , op. 47, Fantaisie in F minor, op. 49; Disc C: Ballade No. 4 in F minor , op. 52, Scherzo No. 4 in E major , op. 54, Berceuse in D flat major, op. 57 , Barcarolle in F sharp major , op. 60, Polonaise Fantaisie in A flat major, op. 61); Divine Art, ddc 25752 (3 SACD)
• Johann Sebastian Bach : Keyboard Works - Italian Concerto, Partita No. 2, Fantasias and Fugues (Partita No. 2 in C minor, BWV 826, Italian Concerto, BWV 971, Fantasy and Fugue in A minor, BWV 904, Fantasy, Adagio (BWV 968) and Fugue in C minor, BWV 906, Chromatic Fantasy and Fugue in D minor, BWV 903); Divine Art, ddc 25751 (SACD)
• Frédéric Chopin - Robert Schumann : Anniversary Edition 2010 ; MSR-Classics MS 1361 (2 SACD)
• Johann Sebastian Bach : Goldberg Variations , BWV 988 ; Bayer BR 100 326 (2 SACD)
• Frédéric Chopin : 4 ballads, Fantaisie op. 49, Barcarolle op. 60 , Polonaise – Fantaisie op. 61 ; Bayer BR 100 348 (SACD)
• Robert Schumann : Kreisleriana op. 16, Symphonic Etudes op. 13 (incl. Variations posthumes) ; Bayer BR 100 311
• Robert Schumann - Franz Liszt : Fantasy in C major op. 17, Sonata in B minor ; Bayer BR 100 293
• Alexander Scriabin : piano works, opp. 2 - 74 ; Bayer BR 100 161

vinyl

• Frédéric Chopin : CHOPIN piano works - Ballades - Preludes - Scherzi and other works (Vinyl A - Page 1: Ballade No. 1 in G minor, op.23 , Fantaisie in F minor, op.49; Page 2: Scherzo No. 2 in B flat minor, op.31 , Scherzo No. 4 in E major, op.54; Vinyl B - page 1: Ballade No. 3 in A flat major , op.47, Prelude in C sharp minor, op 45 , Ballade No. 4 in F minor , op. 52; page 2: Barcarolle in F sharp major , op. 60, Polonaise Fantaisie in A flat major, op. 61); Divine Art, ddl 12401 (2 CP)

DVDs

• Liszt Piano Transcriptions of Schubert Songs and Godowsky Symphonic Metamorphoses on Waltzes and Themes of Johann Strauss ; Arthaus DVD 100 455
• Arthaus DVD Sampler III ( Roberto Alagna , Angela Gheorghiu , Cecilia Bartoli , Bryn Terfel , Claudio Abbado , Montserrat Caballé , Burkard Schliessmann, Philip Langridge , Vesselina Kasarova , Willard White and others); Arthaus DVD 100 773

TV and radio productions

Schliessmann is in numerous programs and productions of European television and radio companies such as ARD , ZDF , ARTE , WDR , Hessischer Rundfunk , Bayerischer Rundfunk , Südwestrundfunk , Saarländischer Rundfunk (SR), Radio Bremen , 3sat , Einsfestival , UNITEL Classica , Mondo Classica , Classical TV and American broadcasters like Classic Arts Showcase , WSMC , WWFM , WUOT and WDPR . These include:

• WDPR: Discover Classical: New at Noon , USA: “Burkard Schliessmann plays Chopin”; September 2016
• WWFM: The Piano Matters with David Dubal , USA: “Burkard Schliessmann plays Bach”; March 2016
• Hessischer Rundfunk Frankfurt / Main, Germany, "hr2 Doppelkopf"; February 2012
• WSMC: Burkard Schliessmann “Live in University of Tennessee” , Knoxville, Cleveland, USA; January 2012
• SWR Baden-Baden, Germany, “Meeting Point Classic”; 2008 and 2010
• WDR Cologne, "TonArt"; 2008 and 2010
• ZDF: “Aspekte” : TV portrait; January 1994
• WDR: "Russian Salon Music": Scriabin and Rachmaninoff, 1995; Production: José Montes-Baquer , Director: Enrique Sánchez Lansch
• WDR: "Liszt: Piano Transcriptions from Schubert Songs - Godowsky: Symphonic Metamorphoses on Waltzes and Themes by Johann Strauss", 1997. Production: José Montes-Baquer, Lothar Mattner, Director: Claus Viller, Agnes Meth
• BR: “Münchner Klaviersommer 1993, Philharmonie am Gasteig” (live recording: Bach-Busoni, Scriabin, Chopin); LOFT-Production (Manfred Frei) in co-production with BR (editor: Korbinian Meyer), director: Dieter Hens
• ZDF: ZDF morning magazine : TV portrait Burkard Schliessmann ; December 1992
• ZDF: First class! CD presentation (Scriabin: Piano Works, Bayer BR 100 161); December 1990

Publications

• Aesthetics, interpretation and philosophy in art or: the need to return to the great tradition . Frankfurter Neue Presse, “The Debate”, April 16, 2002
• Music and intelligence . Frankfurter Neue Presse, “The Debate”, July 19, 2002
• Music and art in the field of tension between individuality . Frankfurter Neue Presse, “The Debate”, September 24, 2002
• Consolation of music - abysses of the soul . Frankfurter Neue Presse, “The Debate”, November 20, 2002
• In dulci Jubilo . Frankfurter Neue Presse, “The Debate”, December 23, 2002
• Passions . Frankfurter Neue Presse, “The Debate”, August 2, 2003
• Banknote Sonata? Frankfurter Neue Presse, “The Debate”, October 21, 2003
• Our best . Frankfurter Neue Presse, “The Debate”, November 22, 2003
• The high art in music . Frankfurter Neue Presse, “The Debate”, August 7, 2004
• Music: who is our best? Frankfurter Neue Presse, “The Debate”, October 23, 2004
• Classic radio - more class, please . Frankfurter Neue Presse, “The Debate”, April 9, 2005
• Event and level . Frankfurter Neue Presse, “The Debate”, September 10, 2005
• Oden to freedom . Frankfurter Neue Presse, “The Debate”, December 5, 2005
• The myth of Mozart and colleagues . Frankfurter Neue Presse, “The Debate”, May 19, 2006
• Robert Schumann: Music of Romanticism - Between poetry, ecstasy and intellect - Robert Schumann on the 150th anniversary of his death . Frankfurter Neue Presse, “The Debate”, July 29, 2006
• Music education endangered - musicality, education and promotion of young talent . Frankfurter Neue Presse, “The Debate”, June 23, 2007
• Culture of interpretation . Frankfurter Neue Presse, “The Debate”, May 24, 2008
• Is there still house music? Frankfurter Neue Presse, “The Debate”, January 2, 2009
• Experience of the aesthetically calm, beautiful… . Piano News No. 6 in 2000, pp. 31-35; Editor: Carsten Dürer - Staccato-Verlag
• Committed to great tradition - observations, reviews and perspectives at the 17th Concours International d'Orgue “Grand Prix de Chartres” . Issue 6, November / December, 2000, pp. 378–382, Bärenreiter-Verlag

Web links

Commons : Burkard Schliessmann  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Works by and about Burkard Schliessmann in the catalog of the German National Library
• Homepage
• Burkard Schliessmann . Divine Art Recordings Group
• Burkard Schliessmann, pianist. Meet the artist
• Burkard Schliessmann at Allmusic (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Donald Vroon (ed.): Critical Convictions . In: The International Leading Pianists , November / December 2012, Volume 75, Number 6, pp. 46–48, USA in: American Record Guide ARG
2. ^ Musical America (2003). International Directory of the Performing Arts, 2002-12, ISBN 978-1-891131-26-4 , pp. 124, 128, 186.
3. ↑ James Inverne: Burkard Schliessmann . In: Rhonda Carpenter (Publisher): Steinway & Sons International Pianos Magazine , 2008, p. 39
4. ↑ Burkard Schliessmann . In: International artsmanager , Issue 9, Volume 9, No. 09, May 22, 2013, p. 6 (Impromptu Publishing Ltd - Marcus Netherwood)
5. ↑ Michael Stenger: Respected in America - The pianist Burkard Schliessmann . In: Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung , April 2, 2005, "Culture"
6. ^ MusicalWorld
7. ↑ STEINWAY & SONS - Artists Roster STEINWAY & SONS
8. ^ Johann Sebastian Bach: Goldberg Variations BWV 988, Burkard Schliessmann. Bayer, BR 100 326 (2 SACD), 2007
9. ↑ Chopin-Schumann Anniversary Edition 2010 , Burkard Schliessmann. MSR-Classics, MS 1361 (2 SACD), USA, 2010
10. ^ Johann Sebastian Bach: Keyboard Works , Burkard Schliessmann. Divine Art, ddc 25751 (SACD), UK / USA 2014
11. ^ Frédéric Chopin: Chronological Chopin - Ballades - Preludes - Scherzi and other works , Burkard Schliessmann. Divine Art, ddc 25752 (3 SACD), UK / USA 2015
12. ^ The Undersea Journal (2003). PADI International, Edition 'The Undersea Journal' - Journal Professional Association of Diving Instructors . PADI International. Page 110.
13. ↑ FANFARE The Magazin for Serious Record Collectors, USA; Review Chopin-Schumann Anniversary Edition 2010 . January / February 2011, page 255, volume 34, number 3; Editor: Joel Flegler
14. ↑ American Record Guide ARG, USA; Review Chopin-Schumann Anniversary Edition 2010 . November / December 2010, page 107, volume 73, number 6; Editor: Donald Vroon
15. ↑ FANFARE The Magazin for Serious Record Collectors, USA; Interview Burkard Schliessmann Articulates His Approach to Bach . January / February 2008, page Volume 31, Number 3; Editor: Joel Flegler
16. ↑ The listening experience under the microscope ... In: The New Listener , December 2015, Interview: Burkard Schliessmann
17. ↑ American Record Guide ARG, USA, Volume 79, No. 2, March / April 2016
18. ↑ Donald Vroon (Ed.): Music in Concert (July / August 1999, Volume 62, Number 4, Page 49), USA in American Record Guide ARG
19. ↑ Donald Vroon: Music in Concert . In: American Record Guide , USA, Volume 62, No. 4, July / August 1999, p. 49
20. ↑ Guido Fischer. In: PianoNEWS , issue 5/2000, September / October, p. 88
21. ↑ Carsten Dürer. In: PianoNEWS issue 1/2000, January / February, p. 83
22. ↑ Goethe plaque of the city of Frankfurt am Main, 2019 - Goethe plaque of the city of Frankfurt am Main
23. ↑ International Acoustic Music Awards IAMA, USA - International Acoustic Music Awards IAMA, USA
24. ↑ Global Music Awards 2018, USA - Global Music Awards, USA
25. ↑ Global Music Awards 2018, USA - Global Music Awards, USA
26. ↑ Global Music Awards 2017, USA - Global Music Awards, USA
27. ^ Critics' Choices 2010 (January / February 2011, Volume 74, Number 1, Pages 42-45). USA: American Record Guide ARG, 2011; Editor: Donald Vroon
28. ^ Critics' Choices 2008 (January / February 2009, Volume 72, Number 1, Pages 40-44). USA: American Record Guide ARG, 2009; Editor: Donald Vroon
29. ^ Ulrich Stoltenberg: Melvin Jones Fellow Award for Burkard Schliessmann . In: LION - Lions Clubs International (LIONS International), Issue 10 (October 2013); Page 10.
30. ^ Bastyr University. Seattle WA.
31. ↑ Gold Medal of Merit in his home community in Bavaria
32. ^ Musical America (2014). International Directory of the Performing Arts. In The Studio - Recording News from Divine Art: June 2014 ( Memento from October 6, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
33. ↑ Classical TV - Masters of the Keyboard ( Memento from December 13, 2013 in the Internet Archive )