Freddy Kempf

Freddy Kempf is one of today’s most successful pianists, performing to sell-out audiences all over the world. Exceptionally gifted with a broad repertoire, he has built a unique reputation as an explosive and physical performer not afraid to take risks, as well as a serious, sensitive and profoundly musical artist. He works with some of the world’s most prestigious orchestras and conductors, including the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra with Charles Dutoit, the Philharmonia Orchestra under Sir Andrew Davis, the Russian State Symphony Orchestra with Vassily Sinaisky and Filarmonica della Scala with Riccardo Chailly. A committed recitalist, Freddy Kempf appears on many of the world’s most important stages including the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, the Berlin Konzerthaus, Sala Verdi in Milan, Sociedad Filharmónica Bilbao, London’s Ca- dogan Hall, Sydney’s City Hall and the Suntory Hall in Tokyo. Freddy Kempf records exclusively for BIS Records, and has released fourteen discs to date. His latest recital disc, with Schumann’s Fantasiestücke and Études symphoniques, was received to great acclaim, and his recording of Prokofiev’s Piano Concertos Nos 2 & 3 with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and Andrew Litton was shortlisted for the prestigious Gramophone Concerto Award in 2010.
Born in London, Freddy made his concerto début with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of eight and subsequently came to national prominence in 1992 when he won the BBC Young Musician of the Year Competition. In 1998, his award of third, rather than first prize in the Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition in Moscow provoked protests from the audience and an outcry in the Russian press, which proclaimed him ‘the hero of the competition’.