Biography

The Munich pianist began his piano study already during his high school time (multiple prize winner – “Jugend musiziert”) as a student of Prof. Michael Krist. Afterwards he attended Prof. Gilbert Schuchter’s soloist classes at the Mozarteum in Salzburg, where he obtained his soloist’s diploma. At the Academy of Music in his hometown Carl-Heinz März was awarded with the Master Class Diploma in the master class of the legendary pianist Ludwig Hoffmann. During his studies he received awards and diplomas in international piano competitions.

As the recipient of a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) he has taken part in a number of master classes, especially in vocal accompaniment under Prof. Karl Engel.

Carl-Heinz März made a name for himself as a Lied accompanist during a highly acclaimed tour of Greece with the baritone Antonis Kontogeorgiu when he stepped in for Nicolas Economou at his request; radio broadcasts followed in Athens and Thessaloniki.

Due to the orchestral cooperation with Rafael Kubelik and the BR-Symphony Orchestra on the occasion of the performance of Prometheus from Carl Orff he was invited to join the great concerts of the other Greek dramas from Orff with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Ferdinand Leitner. At this time Carl Orff himself contributed his musical understanding for that.

In addition to his soloist concert activity the artist founded the Munich Piano Trio together with the violinist Ilona Then-Bergh and the cellist Gerhard Zank. Another scholarship made the study of chamber music at the Accademia Chigiana with Prof. Ricardo Brengola and the famous Trio di Trieste in Siena together with his trio possible. The Accademia awarded him with the “Diploma di Merito”.

Not only international prizes like Concorso Vittorio Gui in Florence (1983 (jury chairman: Norbert Brainin - Amadeus Quartet -) und G. B. Viotti, 1984 (jury chairman: Victor Weinbaum – also president of the Warsaw Chopin Piano Competition) but also the CD-production of the piano trios from Camille Saint-Saëns, which won the German Record Critics’ Prize, demonstrate the highly artistic quality of this piano trio. They also performed in the Munich premiere of Dmitri Shostakovich’s Trio no. 1 op. 8.

In the soloist area Carl-Heinz März could realize another much-noticed CD-recording – Robert Schumann’s F sharp minor sonata and the, from German pianists extremely rarely recorded, B minor sonata by Franz Liszt.

With great success he accompanied the baritone Yaron Windmüller and the actress Cornelia Froboess in the cycle “Die schöne Magelone” of Johannes Brahms.

Carl-Heinz März is especially dedicated to performing the music of less well-known and forgotten composers. So the pianist took up the ideas of Carl Orff, who recommended his teacher Hermann Zilcher. Recordings of chamber music and Lied compositions of the works of Hermann Zilcher were achieved together with various excellent artists.

Because of his international concert activity and other artistic tasks Carl-Heinz März visited not only the main important cities of Europe but also the United States and Japan.

Apart from his concert appearance and productions it is an important matter for him to work together with young talents. His sophisticated repertoire: soloist, chamber music, Lied spans from baroque up to and including contemporary music.