About me
It hasn’t always been easy. My parents aren’t musicians. They have always supported me, but I come from a little town in Austria.
I felt that passion for music from a very young age.
As a child I knew already that I wanted to make music. I practiced instead of playing football, I practiced instead of going out and partying with my colleagues and at school I was always the weird one who was never there, who never joined them.
I remember that I played for my piano tuner after three years of learning the piano and he said: „That’s really good, but other children play that after one year.“ or I remember a teacher at school, who I told very proudly, that I wanted to be a conductor and she said: „You know, you have to be musical for that.“
Even I was frustrated at some point, because I didn’t always make the progress I desired. One day I made the decision that I needed to change something and I traveled to see all the best musicians to learn from, the best artists, to be mentored by them and this led to me playing concerts from New York to Tokyo, London, Paris, Vienna, Berlin…
Then the lockdown phase hit and I immediately lost 30-40 concerts. At first, I was frustrated, playing video games all day long, but then I knew that I had to change something.
So I fulfilled a dream of mine which I’ve had for over ten years and recorded the first book of the Well-Tempered Clavier by Bach on Alpha Classics.
This work has been with me for over a decade, I had practiced it on different instruments, the Clavichord, the Harpsichord, the Organ and the Piano and performed it in Vienna, St. Petersburg at the Bach Festival in Montréal and the Thüringer Bachwochen.
This album got international recognition, such as in the Magazine Grammophone UK, where it has been selected as one of the best recordings of 2021.
After the recording, I have performed both books of the Well-Tempered Clavier and other Bach pieces on one night, the Bachathon for Ukraine, an event at the Filharmonie in Szczecin, which was hosted by Kevin Kleinmann in order to help Ukrainians.
In this time, I have also started to strategize my practice methods, developing the Piano Mastery System and helping dozens of amateur and future pianists to master their dream pieces without pain or frustrating practicing sessions.
I want to thank everyone who has been supporting me on my journey: My friends, family, teachers and mentors. My vision is that everybody can have the access to classical music, get inspired by it and learn an instrument.
My next milestones are the new release of Alpha Classics on 26th of May with works by Schumann and Widmann, performing the Burgmüller Piano Concerto with Jakob Lehmann and the Eroica Berlin at the Brucknerhaus in Linz and performing Thomas Larcher’s Böse Zellen with Dennis Russel Davies and the MDR Orchester in the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, as well as touring through France, Portugal and Turkey.
Thank you
This incredible journey would have never been happening without the support of friends, mentors and supporters.
Following the example of the Roman philosopher and emperor Marc Aurel, I would love to mention all people who were contributing to the development of my career and helping me to fulfill my vision about sharing music with as many people as possible and encouraging people to bring back the piano to their living rooms and learning it themselves.
1. From my grandfather Bertram I learned how to enjoy life to the fullest.
2. From my dad Horatiu I received the drive to work on my goals with discipline.
3. My mum Ruth has instilled in me the ability to see everything with humor, no matter how difficult the circumstances might be.
4. My first teacher Susanne Schnetzer has awakened in me a love for music.
5. Iván Kárpáti, who I have studied with for many years, has reminded me of the importance of putting musical expression before any superficial skills.
6. Guntram Simma, the director of my music school, warned me of vanities and burning out as an artist, showed me the basics of conducting and helped start to build a network in Austria and internationally.
7. From my teacher Karl-Heinz Kämmerling I have my critical thinking, the skills to question any practice method, the technical tools for creation and the ability to find the ways that enables an artist to express music in the most truthful way.
8. From Lars Vogt, my dear mentor, I have the conviction that music can make the world a better place, bring people together and that music is also a way to build friendship through chamber music. I learned from him how to speak with music and interpret it in a spontaneous way.
9. From Sir András Schiff I have learned to always give my very best, never give up, get up after making mistakes and how to use the immense power of time.
10. Maria João Pires showed me that music making has a spiritual dimension and that we can phrase and express ourselves best with the use of our whole body.
11. Alfred Brendel helped me to really dare to penetrate the music with all I have.
12. Daniel Barenboim gave me the instruction to view dynamics and tempo in a philosophical way, all relative and too use my hands with regards to the shape of the keyboard.
13. Malcolm Bilson was an inspiration for historical performance practice as well as the interpretation on fortepianos.
14. Zvi Meniker admonished me to inform myself about the history of music as well as being completely free of outcome and thinking outside the box.
15. Ferenc Rados was an idol on how to ask the right questions.
16. Mira Yevtich convinced me to really master my craft and to pay more attention to the breathing of music and how to make use of my arms.
17. Vassilia Efstathiadou taught me how to practice with devotion and endurance as well as always striving for better results.
18. The upbringing in Austria was a school of loyalty, flexibility and spirit.
19. My Romanian ancestry helped me to develop the burning in my soul.
20. I will be forever grateful for the privilege of living in Germany, which gave me so many opportunities.
21. Many thanks to all my family members and friends who have always believed in me.
The following people have been key figures in my life beyond my education and early years:
- Dr. Hans-Dieter Göhre, who has helped to develop my career from the start.
- Kian Soltani, who has been a wonderful chamber music partner for many years.
- Peter Vogel, who has given me the opportunity to play with high level orchestras and perform many recitals as well as chamber music from a young age.
- Drazen Domjanic, who put me in touch with remarkable musicians and taught me the importance of the business side of the classical music industry.
- Didier Martin, who has released all my solo albums.
- Kevin Kleinmann, who has always seen the best in me, developed many projects with me and showed me how to use emotional intelligence to create win-win situations.
- Thomas Larcher, who has made me perform many of his wonderful works with first class orchestras.
- Rico Gulda, who has taken me into the Great Talent program of the Wiener Konzerthaus.
- Thomas Pfiffner, who gave me the support of the Orpheum Foundation in Switzerland.
- Gregor Willmes, who has trusted me and supports me with the C. Bechstein Foundation.
- Fellow musicians, who have invited me to play at their festivals or with their orchestras, such as Reinhard Goebel, Dennis Russell Davies and Christoph Poppen.
- Andreas & Markus Baulig, who have been helping me to reach my audience online as well as developing the classical music world into a new direction.
There have been many others on my journey and I believe that no human encounter is by chance, that we can all learn and grow from each other.