Burkard Schliessmann

”…Schliessmann presented the slow movements of Schumann’s Kreisleriana with lyricism and depth…” and “…his interpretation of works such as Chopin’s Polonaise-Fantasie or the Scherzo, demonstrated focus and virtuosic brilliance…”

Frankfurter Neue Presse (February 2013)

“…He gives compositions a structure as he confronts with the innermost depth of the work. As a result, his playing is unpretentious and accurate that is especially rewarding with romantic compositions. He is a true romantic…”

“Main-Echo”, Nina Beckmann-Hoehenberger(February 2013)

Burkard Schliessmann is amongst Donald Vroon’s 15 most favored pianists worldwide (only living and active pianists)

American Record Guide, Donald Vroon (March/April 2013 issue)

Watch videos on his Youtube Channel

Pianist and organist Burkard Schliessmann has distinguished himself in the music world as an artist of extraordinary insight. He has earned international recognition for his compelling performances, featuring clarity and subtlety at the highest technical level. Mr. Schliessmann has received many awards and honors as recitalist, recording artist, orchestral soloist and chamber musician. His album, 'Chopin-Schumann Anniversary Edition 2010’, released worldwide on MSR Classics, has received the "Critics' Choice Award" from American Record Guide. According to the New York Times, “Schliessmann is representative of the best of the modern school.”

In the March/April 2013 issue of the American Record Guide, Donald Vroon placed Mr. Schliessmann amongst his 15 most favored pianists worldwide (only living and active pianists) and also this March 2013 Burkard Schliessmann has been bestowed with the distinguished Melvin Jones Fellow Award in recognition of his international achievements in the Arts and Culture. This February 2013, Mr. Schliessmann has been touring in Germany of which the “Frankfurter Neue Presse” noted that his performance at the Steinway-House was played with “virtuosic brilliance.” The “Main-Echo” called him a “true romantic” and described his interpretation as “unpretentious and accurate.” Mr. Schliessmann will continue his recording of the Bach-Chopin cycle at the Teldex Studios Berlin for his 4 CD project. In the forthcoming season of 2013/2014 he is scheduled for concert tours in the United States and the Far East.

Mr. Schliessmann’s 2011/2012 higlights included a documentary of his musical life in the popular German cultural program “Doppelkopf” of Hessian Radio in Frankfurt/Main. In the same season, he concertized on the West Coast of the United States where the Bastyr University in Seattle reengaged him, followed by a ceremony where he was honored with the President’s Citation (spring 2012). In addition, Mr. Schliessmann was heard as recitalist in New York and Tennessee, where he also appeared as organist in the Inaugural Concert for the newly installed Rodgers organ at Lee University, Knoxville. In Germany, Burkard was the featured artist at a gala concert at Duesseldorf’s Tonhalle and recorded music of Chopin and Bach at the Teldex Studios of Berlin.

Burkard Schliessmann has regularly performed throughout Europe, in the United States, Japan, China, Indonesia and Malaysia. He has participated in many European festivals, such as the Munich Piano Summer Festival, the festival “Frankfurt Feste”, the Valldemossa Chopin Festival, and the Maurice Ravel Festival in Paris, among others. As orchestral soloist, Mr. Schliessmann’s performance highlights include his orchestral solo appearances with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra, Radio Symphony Orchestra Frankfurt, WDR Radio Symphony Orchestra Cologne, Symphony Orchestra Wuppertal and the New Philharmonic Westfalia, in addition to other orchestras. He enjoys great popularity in media and has been showcased at major German TV-studios, including the Philharmonie of Gasteig in Munich, the City Hall Wuppertal, and the WDR West German Radio studio in Cologne. Mr. Schliessmann has been featured by the WDR radio in its program “Aspekte” in a joint production of the ARD/ZDF TV- channels. He has also been featured by BR Bavarian radio, HR Hessian radio and was broadcast nationwide and throughout Europe in the cultural programs of ‘ARTE’, and ‘3sat.’

As official artist of Steinway & Sons, Mr. Schliessmann performed at New York’s Steinway Hall. The “Classic Arts Show Case” invited Mr. Schliessmann to appear in their TV- Portraits for which he received high critical acclaim. The American “High Performance Review” magazine had no hesitation in placing him alongside the finest pianists and noted: "...This is the most imaginative playing one has heard yet on the level of Richter Michelangeli, Serkin, Wild and Gould - the highest order of artistry...” Mr. Schliessmann’s interpretation of J.S. Bach’s Goldberg-Variations, released on Bayer label in 2008, received the "Critics' Choice Award 2008" from American Record Guide. The same CD earned the distinction "Recording of the Year 2008" by Music Web International which also chose his recording of an all Chopin program to be the "Recording of the Year 2004."

A native of Germany, Burkard Schliessmann graduated from the Frankfurt Music Conservatory with a Master’s degree. He studied with Shura Cherkassky, Herbert Seidel, Bruno Leonardo Gelber and Poldi Mildner and participated in master classes held by Cherkassky and Gelber in Washington and in Paris. In his personal life, Mr. Schliessmann is dedicated to the study of philosophy and photography. He has been appointed the official Ambassador of the Project Aware Foundation for the “Protecting of Our Ocean Planet.” Mr. Schliessmann is also a passionate diver whose diving excursions have led him to oceans around the world. Exploring the depths to discover hidden treasures and dazzling colors is his motivation, similar to his approach in music. A profound understanding of music and an authentic interpretation is only possible by exploring its depths to uncover multifaceted colors and the smallest detail that leads to its structure. Burkard Schliessmann made the words of philosopher Hegel his principle: "Art isn't all about a pleasant or useful musical mechanism, but about laying bare the truth."

”Recipient of “Critics’ Choice Award 2010” from American Record Guide for Chopin-Schumann Anniversary album, MSR-Classics.

“...Burkard Schliessmann is a fiercely intellectual pianist...” ...he performs the music with a rigorous sense of the ways its details contribute to its form, both in terms of its overall architecture and in terms of its vertical structure...”

Fanfare Magazine (Jan./Feb. 2011) Peter J. Rabinowitz

"...Burkard Schliessmann’s 2-disc Chopin-Schumann Anniversary Edition 2010 (of late works, with Schumann’s Kreisleriana) on MSR-Classics is done with strong conviction, sheds new light on the music, and leaves the listener stunned..."

American Record Guide (July/August 2011) Donald Vroon