Prof. Moritz Winkelmann

Moritz Winkelmann is a Prize Winner at the International Beethoven Competition Bonn and one of the remarkably expressive pianists of his generation. On his permanent journey unveiling „the core inside a piece, that holds it together“, he is performing around the globe and his musicianship has been described as „powerful, capable of the most profound sincerity“ and „full of soul“.

Mr. Winkelmann has established a strong reputation for his Beethoven interpretations. His recording of the Three Last Sonatas op.109 – op.111 as well as Wiegenmusik (1963) and Marche fatale (2017) by Helmut Lachenmann was released on Hänssler Classic in February 2022.

Currently, he is in the process of recording all 32 piano sonatas by Beethoven for Berlin Classics. The first release will appear in Mai 2024.

Most recently, Moritz Winkelmann appeared in Tchaikovsky’s piano concerto no. 1 with the TfN Philharmonic and in the second piano concerto by Frédéric Chopin with the Kurpfalz Chamber Orchestra.

He has performed with the Beethoven Orchester Bonn, the New York Classical Players, the Lower Saxony State Orchestra, the Cologne Chamber Orchestra and the Peabody Symphony among others. Of his appearance with the Lower Saxony State Orchestra, the Hildesheimer Allgemeine Zeitung wrote that “the musical intensity of this extraordinary artist turned Liszt‘s piano concerto no. 2 into a first class thriller.”

In 2010, Moritz Winkelmann made his Carnegie Hall debut in New York and has since been reinvited regularly. He has undertaken tours of Europe, the United States, China and Japan and appeared at the prestigious Rheingau, Schwetzingen, Schleswig-Holstein and Ravinia festivals. Mr. Winkelmann has also performed at Music@Menlo in California, Rockenhausen Festival for New Music, and Fejøs Festival in Denmark. He has shared the stage with the Quatuor Ébène, Itzhak Perlman, Arabella Steinbacher, Wolfram Christ, and Helmut Lachenmann.

His media appearances include broadcasts on WFMT Chicago, WBJC Baltimore, SWR and WDR in Germany as well as DR2 Copenhagen. Additionally, a documentary featuring Mr. Winkelmann was produced and broadcast by German National Television ZDFneo.

Moritz Winkelmann began his piano studies under the tutelage of his grandfather Gerhard Wilhelm. He earned his undergraduate degree with Prof. Michael Hauber at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Mannheim. With the support of DAAD, the Baden-Württemberg Foundation of Arts, and the German National Academic Foundation, Moritz Winkelmann continued his studies with the legendary Leon Fleisher at the Peabody Conservatory of Music in Baltimore. Also Ferenc Rados and Marisa Somma have provided meaningful artistic advice to Mr. Winkelmann.

Mr. Winkelmann is a faculty member at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Mannheim. He has previously served on the faculties of the University of Music and Performing Arts in Stuttgart and the Konservatorium Bern. In addition to that, he gives masterclasses internationally. Since 2019, he is Artistic Director of Klassik im Klösterle Weil der Stadt.