Biography
Winner of the 2018 Opus Klassik Award for Concerto Recording of the Year (20th/21st century), German pianist Frank Dupree recently came to international attention as the laureate prize winner of the 2014 Deutscher Musikwettbewerb, captivating the judges with his musical maturity, refined technique and ability to draw a wide spectrum of sound and colour from the keyboard. A “sincere, feeling and enormously interesting artist” (Emmanuel Ax) who “always amazes” (PZ News) and whose “broad tonal range and sinuous rhythmic technique” (Classical Source) have earned him acclaim amongst his peers on orchestral and chamber stages alike.
Initially trained as a jazz percussionist, Frank celebrates the breadth and depth of the piano repertoire, with a particular enthusiasm for the music of the 20th century as well as the music of living composers, having already been chosen to work closely with Péter Eötvös (Erdenklavier – Himmelklavier, world premiere recording in 2015 for the GENUIN classics label) and Wolfgang Rihm (Con Piano? Certo!, world premiere performance with conductor Justin Brown and the Badische Staatskapelle Karlsruhe in June 2015).
Recent and forthcoming highlights include an exciting new collaboration with the Kurt Weill Festival as artist-in-residence, debuts with the Royal Northern Sinfonia, Trondheim Symfonieorchester and Sinfonieorcheser Liechtenstein, return invitations at London’s Wigmore Hall, Berlin’s Konzerthaus, Brussels BOZAR amongst others as well as ongoing relationships with the Stuttgart Philharmoniker and Theater Plauen-Zwickau. Additional highlights include a collaboration with the Repercussion ensemble at the Cologne Philharmonie, debuts with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Ulster Orchestra, recitals at the Heidelberg Spring Festival, Lucerne Festival, London’s LSO St Luke’s, Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, and Munich’s Allerheiligen-Hofkirche.
An artist who is firmly establishing himself on the international scene, Frank has previously performed with the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris (play/direct), London Philharmonic Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Malmö Symphony, Kristiansand Symphony, Auckland Philharmonia, Beethoven Orchester Bonn, Bern Symphony, Duisburg Philharmonic, Pforzheim Chamber Orchestra, Württemberg Chamber Orchestra Heilbronn, Deutsche Staatsphilharmonie Rheinland-Pfalz, Essen Philharmonic Orchestra and the Musikkollegium Winterthur. Recitals and chamber music play a particularly important role in Frank’s musical ethos, and he has frequently collaborated with other rising stars of his generation such as Simon Höfele, Edgar Moreau, Daniel Lozakovich, Timothy Ridout, Kian Soltani, and the Calidore and Goldmund string quartets, giving concerts at such places as the Auditorium du Louvre in Paris, Verbier Festival, Septembre Musical in Montreux, Davos Festival, Heidelberg Spring Festival, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Festival, Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele, Kurt Weill Festival and in numerous other venues across Germany.
Combining his fine musicianship with the art of direction, Frank was awarded first prize at the 2012 International Hans-von-Bülow Competition in Meiningen for his play/direct work with Beethoven, and was soon after invited to take part in the Orchestre de Chambre de Paris Play-Direct Academy with Joseph Swensen, Stephen Kovacevich, and François Leleux. On the podium, Frank has previously assisted Sir Simon Rattle, François-Xavier Roth, and Mario Venzago.
A Steinway Artist, Frank has been a student of Sontraud Speidel since the age of five and recently completed his studies at the Hochschule für Musik Karlsruhe. Over the years, he has played in masterclasses with Emanuel Ax, Menahem Pressler, Ralf Gothóni, Klaus Hellwig, Alexander Braginsky, Cyprien Katsaris, Ferenc Rados, Gábor Takács-Nagy, and Stephen Kovacevich. In Summer 2013, Frank was awarded the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes scholarship and, in 2014, was the recipient of the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben scholarship in support of his studies.