Andreas Staier facts for kids

Andreas Staier (born 13 September 1955 in Göttingen, Germany) is a famous German musician. He is known for playing two special instruments: the piano and the harpsichord. The harpsichord is a keyboard instrument that was popular before the modern piano.

Andreas Staier's Early Life and Music Studies

Andreas Staier began his music journey by studying both piano and harpsichord. He went to a music college called the Hochschule für Musik in Hanover, Germany, and also in Amsterdam. He learned piano from teachers Kurt Bauer and Erika Haase. For the harpsichord, his teacher was Lajos Rovatkay.

Becoming a Solo Musician

From 1983 to 1986, Andreas Staier was the main harpsichord player for a well-known early music group called Musica Antiqua Köln. He traveled a lot with them, performing in many places. At the same time, he kept learning about the fortepiano. This instrument is an early version of the piano.

In 1986, he decided to leave the group. He wanted to start his own career as a solo artist. He became a touring fortepiano soloist, playing concerts by himself. He also played piano for singers, which is called being an accompanist for lieder (German songs). He was also a piano soloist for another music group called Les Adieux. From 1987 to 1996, he taught harpsichord at a music school in Basel, Switzerland, called the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis.

Staier's Musical Achievements

Andreas Staier is now known as a very skilled harpsichordist and fortepiano player. He also performs chamber music, which is music played by a small group of musicians. He plays music from the 1600s, 1700s, and 1800s.

As a solo artist, he has performed with many famous orchestras. These include Concerto Köln, the Freiburg Barockorchester, the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin, and the Orchestre des Champs-Elysées Paris.

He has also worked closely with other great musicians in chamber music. Some of these artists are Christoph Prégardien, Anne Sofie von Otter, Pedro Memelsdorff, Alexei Lubimov, and Christine Schornsheim.

Recordings and Awards

Andreas Staier has made many recordings of his music. Most of these recordings feature music from the Baroque period (like Bach and Handel) and the early Romantic period (like Beethoven and Schubert). He has also often performed on the BBC radio.

He has received several important awards for his music. He won the Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik in 2002 and 2011. In 2008, he received the Prätorius Musikpreis. His recording of Mozart's music, called 'am Stein Vis-à-vis', won a special award in 2007 called the Diapason d'Or.