Christine Schornsheim

With an almost inexhaustible variety of sounds from various historical keyboard instruments and endless musical imagination, Christine Schornsheim has been enchanting her audiences for many years. She is a regular guest at renowned concert series and festivals such as the Ruhr Piano Festival, the Schwetzingen Festival and, of course, the relevant festivals specializing in early music. She is also regularly invited as a soloist by the major baroque orchestras. For many years, her most important chamber music partners have included Andreas Staier, the gambist Hille Perl, the cellist Kristin von der Goltz and the violinist Mayumi Hirasaki.

There are numerous, highly acclaimed video and sound recordings with Christine Schornsheim. Bach’s “Wohltemperirtes Clavier”, recorded on a harpsichord by Anton Ruckers from 1624, was released in 2011 as a major discographic project to great praise from the specialist press. In February 2005, Joseph Haydn’s complete solo piano works, recorded on five historical keyboard instruments and celebrated as a milestone, were released. This recording was awarded the “Diapason d’Or” annual prize as well as the “Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik” and the “Echo Klassik 2005”. The recording of works by Mozart for four hands, together with Andreas Staier on an extraordinary instrument by Andreas Stein, which combines harpsichord and fortepiano, also received special attention. Later this year, Christine Schornsheim will record the entire second book of the “Wohltemperirtes Clavier” as part of the Dutch Bach Association’s internationally acclaimed video project “All of Bach”.

Christine Schornsheim is a professor of historical keyboard instruments at the Munich University of Music.