Andreas Haeflinger
“[Andreas Haefliger] belongs to that elite group of interpreters…one of the most serious, questing pianists on the circuit today…breathtaking virtuosity…a complete Beethovenian.” –The Daily Telegraph (May 2018)
Andreas Haefliger was born into a distinguished Swiss musical family and grew up in Germany, going on to study at The Juilliard School in New York. He was quickly recognized as a pianist of the first rank, and engagements with major U.S. orchestras followed swiftly—the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Pittsburgh, Chicago, and San Francisco Symphony Orchestras among them. In his native Europe, as well, Mr. Haefliger has appeared with the great orchestras and festivals such as the Royal Concertgebouw, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Munich Philharmonic, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Deutsche Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Orchestre de Paris, London Symphony Orchestra, and Vienna Symphony. He is well recognized as a superb recitalist, making his New York debut in 1988. He has ongoing regular relationships with the Lucerne and Edinburgh Festivals, Vienna Konzerthaus, and other major halls across North America and Asia.
Mr. Haefliger has won many plaudits for his Beethoven “Perspectives” recitals, in which he performs the complete piano works of Beethoven alongside works by other composers from Mozart to Ligeti. This series has formed the focus of Haefliger’s solo recital appearances and CD recordings in recent years, including as a regular visitor to London’s Wigmore Hall. He is also much sought-after as a chamber musician, and in January 2019, he took his own group on tour to Rotterdam, Antwerp, Madrid, Bilbao, and Hong Kong.
At the BBC Proms 2019, Mr. Haefliger, with the BBC Symphony and Sakari Oramo, gave the world premiere of a concerto specially commissioned for him by compatriot Dieter Ammann, followed by the North American premiere with the Boston Symphony and Susanna Malkki in the fall. Other future co-commissioners include the Wiener Konzerthaus, Munich Philharmonic, Lucerne Festival (where he will appear with the Helsinki Philharmonic), and Taipei Symphony. In March 2020, he joins Esa-Pekka Salonen and the Philharmonia Orchestra in a very special Beethoven concert at the Royal Festival Hall, playing Piano Concerto No. 4, the Choral Fantasy, and the solo Fantasia. Other highlights of the 2019–2020 season include more Beethoven with the Shanghai Symphony and as a recitalist in the 2020 Flagey Piano Festival; and Mozart with Ludovic Morlot at the 2019 Aspen Festival. He also tours Japan culminating in a solo recital at Tokyo’s Bunka Kaikan.
Mr. Haefliger records exclusively for the BIS label who released his latest Perspectives album in spring 2018. His first concerto recording will be released in spring 2020—Bartók Piano Concerto No. 3, Ravel Piano Concerto for the Left Hand, and the Ammann, all with Ms. Malkki and the Helsinki Philharmonic. Mr. Haefliger began his career with Sony Classical recording Mozart sonatas followed by Schumann Davidsbündlertanze and Fantasiestücke, Schubert Impromptus, and music by Sofia Gubaidulina. Later he recorded for Decca with the Takács Quartet and also Matthias Goerne, winning the Preis Der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik for their disc of Schubert Goethe Songs.