Jürgen Appell

While still a student with luminary pianists Elisabeth Dounias-Sindermann and Ingeborg Peukert, Jürgen Appell was a prize winner of the Steinway Piano Competition in Berlin three times. He was awarded a scholarship by the Study Grant of the German People and made his first public appearance at the age of sixteen in the Philharmonic Hall in Berlin, playing Schumann's Etudes Symphoniques. Following this early success he formed a piano duo with pianist Florentine Schubert and toured extensively throughout Europe recording some of the piano duet programs and repertoire for two pianos for German radio and television.

With Florentine Schubert he also performed Bach's Concerto for 2 pianos and orchestra in C major, as well as the "Carnaval des Animaux" by Saint-Saens for 2 pianos and orchestra. In the late 1980s Jürgen Appell joined cellist Johannes Nauber, former member of the celebrated "12 Cellists" of the Berlin Philharmonic, for another extensive European tour, performing many pieces of the romantic repertoire for cello and piano. In 2003 returning to the four hand and two piano repertoire Jürgen began another successful collaboration this time with Babette Hierholzer.

After performing Mozart's concerto in F major for 3 pianos and orchestra with pianist Bettina Griepentrog and the Orquesta Normalista de Puebla, Mexico,conducted by Jorge Altieri, the piano duo embarked on international tour including Germany, Venezuela, Mexico, Italy, Russia, and the United States. In 2006 Jürgen together with cellist Johannes Nauber and English violinist David Johnson created a piano trio ensemble. The trio appeared in Berlin and in 2006, joined by Irish soprano Helen Kearns, was invited to perform at the Philharmonic Hall in Cologne.

In 2010 Babette Hierholzer and Jürgen Appell performed a romantic program for two pianos at the International Kaatsbaan Dance Center, New York, and the Catskill Music Festival (USA). In December 2010, they received an invitation to Caracas, Venezuela, to perform Mozart's Concerto for 2 pianos and orchestra in E at major KV 365 with the celebrated Orquesta Juvenil Simon Bolvar conducted by Maestro Gustavo Dudamel.

Picture (c) private archive

The artist's homepage:

https://www.jurgenappell.eu/