Biography

The German pianist Michael Krücker studied at the Academies of Music in Rotterdam and Düsseldorf, attending master classes with pianists Bruno Canino (chamber music), Paul Badura-Skoda, György Sandor, Tamas Vasary, Daniel Wayenberg, Homero Francesch and Irina Zaritskaya.

He has won numerous competitions in the United States, France and Italy as well as important scholarships, with whose support his concert activity has taken him over the years through almost the whole of Europe, to Asia, Australia, South America and the United States.

The major festivals at which he has given guest performances include the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Heidelberger Frühling (Germany), Julius Röntgen Festival Den Haag (Netherlands), Festival de la Roque d'Anthéron (France), Pomeriggi Musicali (Italy) and the Concertenfestival Knokke-Heist (Belgium). His concerts and recordings as soloist, as chamber musician with the Cologne Piano Duo, with the Cologne Radio Choir, the Chorus Musicus Cologne and the Rheinische Kantorei, with famous singers such as Christiane Oelze, Barbara Schlick and Klaus Mertens and his performances with famous orchestras such as the Gürzenich Orchestra/Cologne Philharmonic, the Cologne Radio Orchestra and the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra all meet with enthusiastic receptions from public and press alike. Another successful aspect of his activities has been the intensive cooperation with speakers, actors and authors including Konrad Beikircher, Rolf Sudbrack, Peter Matić, Christoph Bantzer, Will Quadflieg, Chris Pichler and Jörn Pfennig.
Critics unanimously praise his "faultless jeu perlé" (Berliner Morgenpost), his "extremely refined performance" (Rotterdams Dagblatt) and his "poetic music, rich in nuances" (Basler Zeitung).

He has adjudicated in national and international music competitions, gives master classes in Germany and abroad, and delivers lectures.

Michael Krücker also performs frequently for radio and television, and has recorded many CDs (Koch Schwann, BMG, Berlin Classics, NCA and NM Classics). He has concentrated above all on bringing the forgotten repertoire from the classical and romantic eras back to the attention of a wider public, and his particular interest is playing such pieces on period instruments.

He is also editing a series of musical works for the publishers Friedrich Hofmeister (Leipzig).
His own piano composition "Memories" has been issued by the same publishers.

Westdeutsche Zeitung:
"... who achieved a great success with his intelligence, technique and everything that makes this music a refreshing experience: temperament, wit, subtlety, sparkle, clarity and nuance."
(Concert review of the Piano Concerto D major Op. 13/2 by J. Chr. Bach)

Rheinische Post:
"...entranced the audience with his finely honed touch culture and emotional depth.
Whether Grieg, Mendelssohn or Chopin - the musical conversation radiated a zest that nobody could resist."