CHRISTOPHER HINTERHUBER

Christopher Hinterhuber is one of the most acclaimed pianists of a younger generation in Austria. He is professor for piano at the MDW - Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien.
Christopher Hinterhuber, born in Austria in 1973, rose to international acclaim through success in such prestigious competitions as J. S. Bach Competition in Saarbrücken, Pretoria Unisa International Piano Competition in South Africa, Géza Anda Competition in Zurich and the 11th International Beethoven Competition in Vienna.
He appears regularly at the Ruhr Piano Festival, Mozartwoche Salzburg, Prague Autumn, amongst other festivals.
Chamber music plays an important role in his repertoire, too. He is member of the Altenberg Trio Vienna, which plays its own cycle at Musikverein Wien.
“One of the best and most fascinating piano recordings of the year“ wrote the german magazine Fono Forum in 2006 about his recording of Sonatas and Rondos by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, followed by an „Editor‘s Choice“ by the renowned english Gramophone Magazine in 2008 for the recording of works for piano and orchestra by Hummel.

Christopher Hinterhuber studied with Alex Papenberg, Rudolf Kehrer, Lazar Berman, Avo Kouyoumdjian and Heinz Medjimorec, acquiring additional artistic input from such artists as Oleg Maisenberg and Vladimir Ashkenazy.

Hinterhuber has worked with such renowned orchestras as the Radio Symphony Orchestra Vienna, Vienna and Zurich Chamber Orchestras, Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, New Japan Philharmonic, Orchestre Philharmonique de Luxembourg, MDR Orchestra Leipzig, Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, Slovenian Philharmonic, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra under Vladimir Ashkenazy, and with members of Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2000 his hands and recordings of Schubert, Schoenberg and Rachmaninov were featured in the Austrian-French film La pianiste by Michael Haneke, which won the Grand Prix of the Jury at the 2001 Cannes Festival.

An ongoing project to record all 8 Piano Concertos by Ferdinand Ries with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and Uwe Grodd conducting (currently at the second-to-last Vol.4) has also brought him international notice. As “Rising Star” 2002/03, he performed with violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja in the international series at the Carnegie Hall, New York and in all important musical centers in Europe. The last few years have seen him play in major festivals such as the Styriarte in Graz, the Carinthische Sommer in Ossiach, the Mozartwoche in Salzburg, the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg, the Ruhr Piano Festival and the Prague Summer; under such conductors as Vladimir Ashkenazy, Bertrand de Billy, Yakov Kreizberg, Sylvain Cambreling and Bruno Weil; with the Radio Symphony Orchestra and the KlangForum in Vienna, the Vienna and Zurich Chamber Orchestra, the MDROrchestra Leipzig, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the New Japan Philharmonic, the Orchestre Philharmonique de Luxembourg, the Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg and the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra among others.

Chamber music forms an important part of his work with partners like the violinists Ernst Kovacic, Christian Altenburger, Rainer Honeck; with Tamás Varga (cello), Ernst Ottensamer (clarinet) or Wolfgang Schulz (flute); and, with the Hugo-Wolf-, Ysaye or Prazak Quartets. He has given masterclasses in Japan, Europe and South America and was appointed as professor for piano at the University for Music and performing Arts in Vienna in 2010.