Freddy Kempf |

Freddy Kempf

Frederik Kempf is one of the most successful pianists of our time. His concerts gather full houses all over the world. Exceptionally gifted, with an unusually wide repertoire, Frederic has a unique reputation as a physically powerful and daring performer with an explosive temperament, while remaining a thoughtful and deeply feeling musician.

The pianist collaborates with many well-known conductors such as Charles Duthoit, Vasily Petrenko, Andrew Davis, Vasily Sinaisky, Ricardo Chailly, Maxime Tortelier, Wolfgang Sawallisch, Yuri Simonov and many others. He performs with prestigious orchestras, including leading British orchestras (the London Philharmonic, the Liverpool Philharmonic, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra, the Philharmonic, the Birmingham Symphony), the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra, the Swedish Chamber Orchestra, the orchestras of the Moscow and St. Petersburg Philharmonic , the Tchaikovsky Symphony Orchestra, the State Academic Chamber Orchestra of Russia, as well as the Philadelphia and San Francisco orchestras, the La Scala Philharmonic Orchestra, the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra (Australia), the NHK Orchestra (Japan), the Dresden Philharmonic and many other ensembles.

In recent years, F. Kempf often appears on stage as a conductor. In 2011, in the UK, with the London Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the musician carried out a new project for himself, acting simultaneously as a pianist and conductor: all Beethoven’s piano concertos were performed over two evenings. In the future, the artist continued this interesting undertaking with other groups – with the ZKR Academic Symphony Orchestra of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic, the Korean Symphony Orchestra, the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra, the Symphony Orchestra of Fr. Kyushu (Japan) and the Sinfónica Portoguesa Orchestra.

Kempf’s recent performances include concerts with the Taiwan National Symphony Orchestra, the Slovenian Radio and Television Symphony Orchestra, the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra, a large-scale tour with the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra around the cities of Great Britain, after which the pianist received the highest marks from the press.

Freddie began the 2017-18 season with a performance with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra and a week-long tour of the country. He played Rachmaninoff’s Second Concerto in Bucharest with the Romanian Radio Symphony Orchestra. Beethoven’s third concerto with the State Academic Symphony Choir of Russia conducted by Valery Polyansky. Ahead is the performance of Bartók’s Third Concerto with the Polish Radio Orchestra in Katowice and Grieg’s Concerto with the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra.

The pianist’s solo concerts are held in the most famous auditoriums, including the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, Berlin Concert Hall, Warsaw Philharmonic, Verdi Conservatory in Milan, Buckingham Palace, Royal Festival Hal in London, Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, Suntory Hall in Tokyo, Sydney City Hall. This season, F. Kempf will perform for the first time in a series of piano concertos at the University of Friborg in Switzerland (among other participants in this cycle are Vadim Kholodenko, Yol Yum Son), give a solo concert in the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory and several keyboard bands in the UK.

Freddie records exclusively for BIS Records. His last album with works by Tchaikovsky was released in autumn 2015 and was a great success. In 2013, the pianist recorded a solo disc with Schumann’s music, which was warmly received by critics. Prior to this, the pianist’s solo album with compositions by Rachmaninov, Bach/Gounod, Ravel and Stravinsky (recorded in 2011) was praised by the BBC music magazine for “excellent gentle playing and a subtle sense of style”. The recording of Prokofiev’s Second and Third Piano Concertos with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Andrew Litton, made in 2010, was nominated for the prestigious Gramophone Award. The successful cooperation between the musicians continued with the recording of Gershwin’s works for piano and orchestra. The disc, released in 2012, was described by critics as “beautiful, stylish, light, elegant and … gorgeous.”

Kempf was born in London in 1977. Starting learning to play the piano at the age of four, he made his debut with the London Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at eight. In 1992, the pianist won the annual competition for young musicians held by the BBC Corporation: it was this award that brought the young man fame. However, world recognition came to Kempf a few years later, when he became a laureate of the XI International Tchaikovsky Competition (1998). As the International Herald Tribune wrote, then “the young pianist conquered Moscow.”

Frederick Kempf was awarded the prestigious Classical Brit Awards as Best Young British Classical Artist (2001). The artist was also awarded the title of Honorary Doctor of Music from the University of Kent (2013).