I am a Swiss concert pianist whose life has been shaped by a deep engagement with the Romantic piano repertoire, particularly the music of Franz Liszt.
After completing my Master of Arts in Specialised Music Performance at the Hochschule für Musik Bern, I spent formative years at the Fondazione Internazionale Theo Lieven on Lake Como (1993-1995), where I worked with Leon Fleisher, Dimitri Bashkirov, Fou Ts’ong, and Karl-Ulrich Schnabel. My understanding of Liszt was further shaped through study and two-piano collaboration with Leslie Howard in London.
Since my 1997 debut at London’s Wigmore Hall, I have performed throughout Europe, Asia, and the Americas, both as soloist and chamber musician. From 2019 to 2021, I served as Professor of Piano at Shaanxi Normal University in Xi’an, China, and have given masterclasses throughout Asia, Central America, and Latin America.
After four decades of international performance, I present Five Perspectives on Liszt: five thematic recital programs tracing a spiritual path from Vallée d’Obermann to Bénédiction de Dieu dans la solitude, from worldly melancholy and struggle through the abundance of life, architectural grandeur, and profound sorrow to ultimate transcendence and faith.
Beyond the piano, I explore visual art and prose writing, creative practices that deepen my sensitivity to the poetic and spiritual dimensions of Romantic music.
Testimonials
“An exceptionally interesting musical personality.”
Leon Fleisher
“An artist of deep intellect. This is music which is wholly true to itself and seems to owe little to any particular precedent.”
Musical Opinion, London
“One of the best performances of this (Schubert, Wanderphantasie) is by the Swiss pianist Michael Thalmann.”
Peter Feuchtwanger