Piano Duo Takahashi-Lehmann (Piano Duo)

Founded: 2009- Berlin, Germany

Piano Duo Takahashi | Lehmann

The Piano Duo Takahashi | Lehmann was founded in 2009 in Berlin. The two pianists have known each other since their days as students of Klaus Hellwig at the Universität der Künste Berlin. Since its founding, the concert activities of the Duo have constantly gained in intensity. The musicians perform in numerous European countries as well as in Korea and Japan. The Duo has also been invited to festivals including the MusicAlp Festival (France) and the Gimhae Festival (Korea).

The repertoire of the Duo Takahashi / Lehmann includes, alongside the traditional works for piano four hands and for two pianos, numerous original transcriptions of important composers, some of which had previously been forgotten, as well as works of the 20^th century. In this connection, the two pianists always work together closely with contemporary composers. The programmes of the Duo Takahashi / Lehmann are notable for the manifold relationships between the works, so that one can frequently speak of “composed programmes”. For all that, the relationships are by no means merely theoretical, but can readily be perceived sensually and emotionally.

Björn Lehmann
Born: 1973 - Köln, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany

The German pianist, Björn Lehmann, studied in Hamburg, Lausanne and at the Universitat der Kunste Berlin with Klaus Hellwig. He received important artistic stimuli from Ferenc Rados, Leonard Hokanson, Robert Levin, Zoltán Kocsis, members of the Amadeus Quartet, Hartmut Höll and Irwin Gage, amongst others.

Björn Lehmann has performed to an equal extent as soloist and chamber musician, whereby his main interest in both areas is New Music. Concert tours have taken him to most European countries, Japan, South Korea and Latin America. He has performed at numerous festivals, including the Bachfest Leipzig, Ludwigsburg Castle Festival, Kassel Music Days, Concentus Moraviae (Czech Republic), Flaneries musicales de Reims (France) and El Blanco y Negro (Mexico). Permanent chamber-music partners include the violinists Sophia Jaffé and Stephan Picard, the cellist Markus Nyikos as well as musicians of the Berliner Philharmoniker.

Björn Lehmann has collaborated closely with the composers Friedrich Goldmann, Mathias Spahlinger and Arnulf Herrmann and has made radio/television recordings at German and other broadcasting stations. He has been Professor at the Universität der Künste Berlin since 2011. He gives master-courses on a regular basis in Germany, France, Switzerland, Japan and South Korea.

Norie Takahashi
Born: 1978 - Japan

The Japanese pianist, Norie Takahashi, studied in Tokyo, and continued studies with Klaus Hellwig at the Universität der Künste Berlin. She received numerous artistic stimuli from Bruno-Leonardo Gelber, Robert Levin, Ferenc Rados, Pascal Devoyon and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, amongst others. She attracted early attention by winning prizes at competitions, including the Beethoven Competition in Bonn (2^nd prize, special prize for a contemporary work), Beethoven Competition in Vienna (4^th prize), Schubert Competition in Graz (1^st prize and audience prize), Leeds International Piano Competition (special prize) and Concours Reine Elizabeth in Brüssels (finalist’s diploma).

Norie Takahashi is active as a soloist and chamber musician in many European countries and in Asia. She performs as a soloist with such orchestras as the Prague Radio Orchestra, Beethoven Orchester Bonn, Kölner Kammerorchester, Yomiuri Nippon Orchestra in Tokyo, New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra and Osaka Symphony Orchestra. In addition, she has regularly been invited to participate at major international festivals, including Carinthian Summer, Ruhr Piano Festival, Männta Music Festival (Finland), Tongyeong Music Festival (Korea), Sendai Music Festival (Japan), Kassel Music Days, New Music Days in Darmstadt and Mosel Festival. Her chamber-music partners include the cellists Johannes Moser and Danjulo Ishizaka, the violinist Viviane Hagner and the violist Tomoko Akasaka.

Sources:
Piano Duo Takahashi | Lehmann Website
Contributed by Aryeh Oron (February 2021)

Piano Duo Takahashi-Lehmann: Short Biographies | Bach Discography: Recordings of Instrumental Works

Links to other Sites

Piano Duo Takahashi | Lehmann (Official Website) [English/German/Japanese]
Piano Duo Takahashi-Lehmann (Audite)
Nori Takahashi - Pianist (Official Website)