biography
Ronald Brautigam
a stylistic paradigm shift.’ Featuring the piano
sonatas, the first nine discs of the cycle were
awarded an Edison Award and the prestigious
Jahrespreise der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik
in 2015.
Besides his work for BIS, Ronald
Brautigam has recorded piano concertos by
Shostakovich, Hindemith and Frank Martin with
the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted
by Riccardo Chailly, as well as several discs
with violinist Isabelle van Keulen.
His recordings have earned him a number of
awards including three Edisons, a Diapason
d'Or de l'Année, and two MIDEM Classical
Awards, for best solo piano and best concerto
recording respectively.
His editorial work
includes a reconstruction of the orchestra
score of Beethoven’s piano concerto WoO4
from 1784, as well as preparing an edition of
the 5 piano concertos by Johann Wilhelm Wilms.
One of the leading pianists of his generation,
Ronald Brautigam is one of the few to perform
at the highest level on modern as well as period
instruments. A student of the legendary Rudolf
Serkin, he has over the years established
himself as an authority on the classical and
early romantic composers, with an acclaimed
discography on the BIS label that includes
complete cycles of works by Haydn, Mozart and
Beethoven as well as recordings of solo works
and concertos by Kraus, Weber and
Mendelssohn.
Ronald Brautigam has performed with
leading orchestras across the world – from the
Amsterdam Concertgebouworkest to the
Sydney Symphony Orchestra – as well as the
foremost period ensembles. In 2009 he began
what has proved a highly successful
collaboration with the Kölner Akademie and its
conductor Michael Alexander Willens, resulting
in acclaimed recordings of the complete piano
concertos of Mozart (11 discs), Beethoven,
Mendelssohn and Weber. Current recording
projects include the piano concertos by the
Dutch-German composer Johann Wilhelm Wilms (1772 – 1847).
In 2004 Ronald Brautigam released the first
instalment of a 15-disc Beethoven cycle on
fortepiano, prompting the reviewer of the US
magazine Fanfare to envisage a series ’that
challenges the very notion of playing this music
on modern instruments,
Ronald Brautigam and Rudolf Serkin,1983