Martin Helmchen
Piano
Martin Helmchen (1982) studied with Galina Iwanzowa at the Hochschule für Musik “Hanns Eisler” in Berlin and later with Arie Vardi at the Hochschule für Musik Hannover. His mentors include William Grant Naboré and Alfred Brendel, among others. He was the first prize winner at the Clara Haskil Competition 2001. He has performed with numerous orchestras, such as the Berliner Philharmoniker, the Wiener Philharmoniker, and the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
Chamber music forms an important pillar in his artistic life, a passion which was sparked early on by cellist Boris Pergamenschikow. His chamber music partners include Juliane Banse, Matthias Goerne, Christian Tetzlaff, and Frank Peter Zimmermann. He is a regular guest at the Wigmore Hall in London. Together with cellist Marie-Elisabeth Hecker, he commissioned a double concerto from York Höller in 2022, which premiered at the Ruhr Piano Festival.
As an exclusive artist with Alpha Classics, Helmchen recently released Beethoven’s Diabelli Variations, as well as chamber music by Schumann and Brahms alongside Hecker and Antje Weithaas. In 2020, he received the Gramophone Music Award for his recording of Beethoven’s complete piano concertos with the Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin under Andrew Manze; an ICMA Award for his Schumann album followed in 2022.
He has been a visiting professor of chamber music at the Kronberg Academy since 2010.
