Andreas Haefliger – SWITZERLAND
Andreas Haefliger was born into a distinguished Swiss musical family and grew up in Germany, going on to study at The Juilliard School in New York. He was quickly recognized as a pianist of the first rank, and engagements with major U.S. orchestras followed swiftly—the New York Philharmonic, Cleveland, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, and Chicago Symphony orchestras among them. In his native Europe, as well, Mr. Haefliger has appeared with the great orchestras such as the Royal Concertgebouw, Rotterdam and Munich Philharmonic, Budapest Festival, Deutsche Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, London Symphony, and Vienna Symphony. Recognized as a superb recitalist, he has ongoing relationships with the Lucerne and Edinburgh Festivals, Vienna Konzerthaus, and other major halls across North America and Asia.
Mr. Haefliger has won plaudits for his Beethoven “Perspectives” recitals, in which he performs the complete piano works of Beethoven alongside works by other composers from Mozart to Ligeti. This series has formed the focus of Haefliger’s recital appearances and recordings in recent years, including as a regular visitor to London’s Wigmore Hall. In 2019 BIS released Mr. Haefliger’s first concerto disc—the world premiere recording of Dieter Ammann’s Gran Toccata with Susanna Malkki and the Helsinki Philharmonic, coupled with Bartók and Ravel concertos. He gave the first live performance of the Ammann at the BBC Proms in 2019, followed by the North American premiere with the Boston Symphony and Susanna Malkki. It was co-commissioned for Mr. Haefliger by Boston together with the Wiener Konzerthaus, Munich Philharmonic, Lucerne Festival, and Taipei Symphony.
Mr. Haefliger began his career with Sony Classical recording Mozart sonatas, followed by works of Schumann, Schubert, and Sofia Gubaidulina. Later he recorded for Decca with the Takács Quartet and Matthias Goerne, with whom he won the Preis Der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik for Schubert’s Goethe Songs. Before joining BIS, he recorded the first six of his Perspectives series on the Avie label, for whom he also recorded a recital album with his wife, the distinguished flutist Marina Piccinini.