András Schiff was born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1953 and started piano lessons at the age of five with Elisabeth Vadász. Since 2004, he has performed complete cycles of the 32 Beethoven Piano Sonatas in 20 cities, which included the live recording of his cycle in the Zurich Tonhalle. András Schiff has been awarded numerous international prizes.

The awards that Schiff has won include a 1990 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Soloist Performance, a 1990 Gramophone Award for a Schubert recital with Peter Schreier, the Léonie Sonning Music Prize in 1997 and a 2012 Golden Mozart-Medaille by the International Stiftung Mozarteum. For his recording “Geistervariationen” with works by Robert Schumann (ECM), Andras Schiff received the International Classical Music Award 2012, in the category “Solo Instrumental Recording of the Year.” In June 2014 he was bestowed a Knighthood for services to Music in the Queen Elizabeth II’s Birthday Honours List.

NDR Radiophilharmonie, based in Hannover, Germany, enjoys a reputation of the excellent quality in an exceptional diversity of musical styles. Whatever the concert programme demands, the NDR Radiophilharmonie becomes a first class symphony orchestra, a special ensemble for baroque music or one of the finest crossover orchestras there is.

The list of leading artists whom the NDR Radiophilharmonie has collaborated with is as diverse and impressive as the orchestra itself, ranging from stars like Anne-Sophie Mutter, Hélène Grimaud, Hilary Hahn, Philippe Jaroussky or Rudolf Buchbinder over sensational conductors like Gustavo Dudamel, Andris Nelsons, Kristjan Järvi or Cornelius Meister to Jazz legends like Al Jarreau and Chet Baker. New chiefconductor since the beginning of the season 2014/15 is Andrew Manze. Also, the NDR Radiophilharmonie will have concerts in the whole of Europe as well as in Japan, China, South America and Abu Dhabi.