Susanne Kessel - Concert Pianist

I edited my profile with Thomas' Myspace Editor V4.4 SUSANNE KESSEL, a resident of Bonn, is well known for unusual concert and CD programmes with a high personal engagement. Susanne Kessel is never committing herself to one style so that her playing can be considered as highly experimental and innovative. She has given solo-recitals on radio and television, produced own radio-features for the WDR Köln, worked as a musician or as music coach for several movies, she has given concert-hall piano performances and has made concert tours in Europe and the USA. ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ -----10 solo CDs document her playing (BMG, arte nova, OBST, Edition Dohr, Oehms Classics and others). ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ ---- VOICES OF THE PRESS: "German pianist Susanne Kessel is one of European new music’s greatest friends and this new release is another demonstration of her ability to perform with charm, grace and virtuosity. Kessel sparkles throughout these rich soundscapes." (La Folia, American online magazine, 2006) - "Kessel is known as an avant-garde specialist, but she plays like a romantic." (American Record Guide, 2006) - „Young, serious, poetic . . . the avid avant-garde specialist Susanne Kessel, prize winner of the International Schubert competition, fascinates us with undaunted excursions into the unknown territory of piano music. When Susanne Kessel departs on a journey, she gives everything in order to enthuse her audience for these works.“ (Die Zeit, 2001). ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ ---- A number of great musical personalities such as Peter Feuchtwanger, Aloys Kontarsky, Daniel Blumenthal, Bozena Steinerova, Karl-Heinz Kämmerling and others promoted her piano playing at an early stage. She studied at the conservatory of Cologne with Taiwanese Pianist Pi-hsien Chen. ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ ----- In 1993 she was winner of the International Schubert competition. More prizes, stipendia and honours followed, eg the Musicians Price of The Ministry of Culture Germany, Artists Scholarship of the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung and many others. ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ ----- She played the classical music sound track for the film „Blueprint“ (Director: Rolf Schübel, 2004) and doubled for actress Franka Potente in front of the camera in the role of a world famous pianist who lets herself be cloned. A CD of the film music has been produced with SONY BMG. ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ ---- In 2006 she worked as a Piano-Coach for the film "Black Book" - "Zwartboek" (Director: Paul Verhoeven, ("Basic Instinct") NL/UK/DE 2006) which is also the Dutch entry for the 2007 Academy Awards. ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ ---- She has given many first performances of works which have been dedicated to her or which she has herself proposed. In the year 2000 she staged the Bonn concert series „Jahr-100-Klavier-Stücke“ (100 piano pieces of the 20th century) together with Michael Denhoff: 50 concerts in which more than 40 pianists demonstrated the piano music of the twentieth century. ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ ---- Susanne Kessel often works with artists from other fields, with actors, writers and dancers - to develop vivid and unconventional programs. ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------ ---- In addition to her work as a Concert-Pianist, Susanne Kessel teaches a private Piano Class in Bonn, Germany.