Andreas Staier

“Staier played the instrument with such a wealth of colors, so expressive, cantabile, sometimes profound, rumbling, or even introverted.”

The pianist Andreas Staier first became world famous as a harpsichordist. After studying with Lajos Rovatkay and Ton Koopman, he worked for three years with the Musica Antiqua Köln. But Staier is far more than a virtuoso representative of so-called historical performance practice. Rather, one could describe him as a passionate sound seeker. Each work that the pianist undertakes is not only analyzed in terms of its structure, but also explores the historical situation in which it originated. Through his meticulous approach, he has opened up completely new interpretive approaches and made surprising listening experiences possible. This is why he also works with instrument makers to explore special nuances of sound – be it works of the 16th century such as the English virginalists, Bach’s Goldberg Variations, the Diabelli Variations of the late Beethoven or the last piano works by Brahms. Staier has also always turned to lesser known composers when he could discover original aspects in their works, such as Sebastián de Albero or Josef Antonín Štěpán.

His commitment does not end with the music of the 19th century. This is shown by Staier’s collaboration with the French composer Brice Pauset (b. 1965) from whom several compositions have been commissioned. The Kontra Sonata (2000), a hybrid of Schubert’s Sonata in A minor D 845 and Pauset’s Kontrakompositionen is a prime example of Staier’s epoch-crossing musical thinking. Staier himself used the time during the Corona Pandemic to finish his composition Sechs Cembalostücke which he puts in connection with Bach’s Preludium and Fugue E Major of the Well-Tempered Clavier Book 2. The pieces will be published by Editions Lemoine and premiered in Cologne in the 2022/23 season.

All this is documented on numerous recordings, almost all of which have received prestigious awards. Staier himself has often been honored for his work. He was Artist in Residence at the AMUZ in Antwerp from 2012-2016, and between 2011 and 2021 at the Opéra de Dijon.

Whether at the harpsichord or the fortepiano, Staier performs at numerous renowned music festivals worldwide with ensembles such as the Freiburger Barokorchester, Concerto Köln, the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin or the Orquestra Barroca Casa da Música Porto with which he recorded À Portuguesa with works by Spanish composers for harmonia mundi in October 2018. For the Beethoven jubilee, Staier presented his album Ein neuer Weg – Beethoven, based on the three op. 31 piano sonatas and the variations 34 and 35, which received rave reviews. Recently his recording of the Well-Tempered Clavier Book 2 was published and discussed as a reference recording. Together with Roel Dieltiens he also released Beethoven’s Cello Sonatas op. 102 and the Bagatelles op. 119 & 126.

Longtime musical partners include the pianists Alexander Melnikov, Christine Schornsheim and Tobias Koch, the violinists Isabelle Faust and Petra Müllejans or the tenor Christoph Prégardien. Andreas Staier maintains a close collaboration with Daniel Sepec and the cellist Roel Dieltiens, with whom he has performed well-known compositions for piano trio since 2010. The trio released an album of the Schubert piano trios in 2016.

Staier’s extensive interests and abilities have made him a much sought-after educator from an early age. In addition to masterclasses worldwide, he was Professor of Harpsichord and Fortepiano at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis from 1987-1995. During the 2017/18 season, Andreas Staier was a Fellow at the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin.

For several years, Andreas Staier also has been performing as a conductor and orchestra leader.

Season 2022/2023 | Photo: Josep Molina | Quote: General-Anzeiger Bonn, February 5 2019.
Amendments or edits need the consent of Künstlersekretariat Astrid Schoerke GmbH

No entries.

Harpsichord

J. S. Bach
all  Concerts for harpsichord and orchestra, BWV 1052-1058

C.P.E. Bach
Double Concerto for Fortpiano and Harpsichord E flat Major
Sei Concerti Wq 43 in F Major, D Major, E flat Major, C Minor, G Major and C Major

Harpsichord or Pianoforte

Beethoven
Piano concert No. 1 op. 15 C Major
Piano concert No. 3 op. 37 C Minor
Piano concert No. 4 op. 58 G Major

Dussek
Piano concert in G Minor op. 49
Piano concert in B Major op. 22

Haydn
Concert for Piano and Strings in G Major Hob. HVIII:4
Concert for Piano, Violin and Strings in F Major Hob. Hob. XVIII:6
Concert for Piano and Orchestra in D Major Hob. XVIII:11

Mozart
Piano concert No. 1 KV 37 F Major
Piano concert No. 2 KV 39 B Major
Piano concert No. 3 KV 40 D Major
Piano concert No. 4 KV 41 G Major
Concert for Piano and Strings KV 107
Piano concert No. 6 KV 238 B Major
Piano concert No. 7 für three Pianos and Orchestra KV 242 F Major
Piano concert No. 9 KV 271 E flat Major (Jeunehomme)
Piano concert No. 10 for two Pianos and Orchestra KV 365 E flat Major
Piano concert No. 11 KV 413 F Major
Piano concert No. 12 KV 414 A Major
Piano concert No. 13 KV 415 C Major
Piano concert No. 14 KV 449 E flat Major
Piano concert No. 17 KV 453 G Major
Piano concert No. 18 KV 456 in B Major
Piano concert No. 19 KV 459 F Major
Piano concert No. 23 KV 488 A Major
Piano concert No. 24 KV 491 C Minor
Piano concert No. KV 595 B Major

Poulenc
Concert Champêtre for harpsichord Pleyel:
1. Allegro Molto – Adagio – Allegro Molto
2. Andante: mouvement de Sicilienne
3. Finale: Presto très gai

Salieri
Piano concert in C Major
Piano concert in B Major

Schumann
Piano concert op. 54 in A Minor

Beethoven – Cello Sonatas & Bagatelles Op. 102, 119 & 126
Andreas Staier, fortepiano
Roel Dieltiens, cello
Harmonia Mundi: HMM902429 (2022)

J. S. Bach – The Well Tempered Clavier
Book II, BWV 870-893
Andreas Staier, harpsichord
Harmonia Mundi: HMM902682.83 (2021)

simply Mozart
Ouverture Don Giovanni K 527
Piano Concerto No. 23 A major K 488
Symphony No. 40 G major K 550
Andreas Staier, fortepiano
Le Concert de la Loge
Julien Chauvin Violin, Conductor
Alpha-Classics: 11029267 (2021)

“Ein neuer weg” – “A new way”
works by Beethoven
Piano sonatas No. 16-18,
Variations op. 34
Eroica-Variations op. 35
Harmonia Mundi: HMM902327.28

“À Portuguesa”
harpsichord works from Corbett, de Seixas, Scarlatti and others
Andreas Staier, harpsichord
Orquestra Barocca Casa da Música
Harmonia Mundi: HMM902337 (2018)

Franz Schubert – Piano Trios
Trio for piano and violoncello op.99 D.898 B major
Nocturne op.148 D.897 E flat major
Trio for piano and violoncello op.100 D.929 E flat major
Andreas Staier, Pianoforte
Daniel Sepec, Violin
Roel Dieltiens, Violoncello
Harmonia Mundi: HMC902233.34 (2016)

Robert Schumann – piano works on original instruments
from “40 Clavierstücke für die Jugend” [Album für die Jugend] op.68 (1848) “Scherzo, Gigue, Romanze und Fughette” op.32 * (1838-39)
from “Sieben Clavierstücke in Fughettenform” op.126 * (1853)
“Waldscenen. 9 Clavierstücke” op.82 * (1848-49)frpm “Sieben Clavierstücke in Fughettenform” op.126
*“Kinderscenen. Leichte Stücke für das Pianoforte” op.15 (1838)
Ciaconna for violin and piano (J.S. Bach/Schumann) (Transcription from the Violin Partita no.2 in D minor, BWV 1004)
Sonata no.1 for violin and piano op.105
“Gesänge der Frühe” for piano op.133
Sonata no.2 for violin and piano op.121
Abegg-Variationen op.1
Fantasiestücke op.12
Fantasiestücke op.111
Variations in E flat major
Hamonia Mundi: HMX2908739.41 (2015)

Johann Sebastian Bach – Cembalokonzerte
Concerto no.1 BWV 1052 in D minor
Concerto no.2 BWV 1053 in E major
Concerto [no.7] BWV 1058 in G minor
Concerto no.3 BWV 1054 in D major
Concerto no.4 BWV 1055 in A major
Concerto no.5 BWV 1056 in F minor
Concerto no.6 BWV 1057 in F major
Harmonia Mundi: HMC902181.82 (2015)

Johannes Brahms – Duo/Solo
Sonata for clarinet and piano op.120 no.1 in F minor
Six pieces for piano op.118
Sonata for clarinet and piano op.120 no.2 in E flat major
Lorenzo Coppola, Clarinette
Harmonia Mundi: HMC902187 (2015)

Robert Schumann
“Abegg-Variations” op. 1
Fantasiestücke op. 12
Fantasiestücke op. 111
Variations on own theme E flat Moh “Geistervariationen”
Harmonia Mundi: HMC902171 (2014)

“… pour passer la mélancolie”
works by Froberger, d’Anglebert, L. Couperin und anderen.c
Harmonia Mundi: HMC902143 (2013)

Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach – Cembalokonzerte
Concerto no.1 in F major
Concerto no.2 in D major
Concerto no.3 in E flat major
Concerto no.4 in C minor
Concerto no.5 in G major
Concerto no.6 in C major
Harmonia Mundi: HMC902083.84 (2011)

Johann Sebastian Bach
Goldberg VariationsBWV 988
Harmonia Mundi: HMC902058 (2010)

Weitere CDs sind bei harmonia mundi und anderen Labels erschienen

Midori Seiler and Andreas Staier – MDR Musiksommer

Künstlergespräch mit Andreas Staier

Schubert: Trio No. 1, B-flat major, op. 99 D 898 – Andreas Staier, Daniel Sepec & Roel Dieltiens