Elizabeth Sombart

Elizabeth Sombart is a French classical pianist. In her youth she studied at the Strasbourg Conservatory where her first public performance was at the age of 11. She won first prize in National Piano Awards and Chamber Music Awards, and left France at age 16 to study with several classical piano masters on various continents. She has been a featured soloist in concerts with orchestras at well-known performance halls in Europe and the U.S. In addition to her concert performances, master classes, and recordings she has authored three books. In 1998, she created the Fondation Résonnance, a philanthropic organization which provides free music education and concerts with the goal of bring classical music to places it would not typically reach, including orphanages, hospitals, prisons and refugee camps. In 2006, Sombart was awarded one of the highest civilian honors France can bestow, the National Order of Merit (Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Mérite) for Lifetime Achievement for her humanitarian work, and in 2008 was made a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres for her artistic achievements.

Career

Sombart was born in Strasbourg. Her father was German sociologist and historian Nicolaus Sombart. Her mother played the piano, but "not proficiently", Sombart said in a London interview. Sombart began piano at age seven and soon transitioned into formal study at the Strasbourg Conservatory. She said the piano felt like home to her, and that she never considered taking up any other instrument. Sombart finished her studies with conductor Sergiu Celibidache at the Hochschule für Musik Mainz. This work, along with their recording of Chopin's piano concertos was nominated by Classical Music Magazine as one of ten best recordings released for Beethoven's 250th anniversary. From 2011, she taught at Conservatoire Rachmaninoff in Paris. Sombart produced other recordings with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra including J.S. Bach L’Art de la Fugue performed with Swiss organist Jean-Christophe Geiser in a piano and organ duo. She recorded all Chopin’s Nocturnes. Her Confidences pour piano de Bach à Bártok, a series of 50 works produced by Peter Knapp was broadcast on France 3 TV. Sombart said, "I have played in the most unbelievably deprived places where people have never seen a piano, and they were deeply touched by classical music".

Personal life

Sombart is the daughter of the German sociologist and historian Nicolaus Sombart (19232008).

Discography

Chopin, Barcarolle, op. 60; Berceuse, op. 57 and Sonata No. 3 op. 58 (1988, Adda) Schubert, Schumann, Liszt, Brahms (1989, Carrère 96831) Mozart, Sonatas K. 310 et 331, Variations Ah, vous dirai-je maman (décembre 1993, Quantum) Jean-Sebastien Bach, (December 1992, Quantum) Musique française : Satie, Ravel, Franck, Fauré, Desbrière (June 1993, Quantum QM6947) Schumann, Études symphoniques, op. 13 (1993, Quantum QM6922) Chopin, Fantaisie-Impromptu, Ballade (no. 1 and 4) 2 études; 2 nocturnes (no. 13 and 20), Mazurka No. 3 (November 1994, Quantum QM6958) Poulenc, Desbrière, Dutilleux, Roussel, Messiaen, Fauré : œuvres pour flûte - Patrick Gallois, flûte (Thésis) Confidences pour piano de Bach à Bartok : Schubert, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Brahms, Franck, Fauré, Ravel, Debussy, Tchaikowsky, Dvorak, Scriabine, Rachmaninov and Bartok (1997, 3 CD RCA) Chemin de croix : César Franck, Frédéric Chopin, Franz Schubertand Nicolas Buttet (October 1999, Cascavelle) Les Plus Belles Berceuses Classiques (The Most Beautiful Classic Lullabies). (Artati) 1998 The Art of Chopin: the Piano Concertos with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Peter Vallet (RPO) 1998 Favourite Adagios from the Great Piano Concertos. (Orchid Classics) 2017 Beethoven:Piano Concertos: Vol. 1,2,3. (Signum Classics) 2020 Bach, J.S. Die Kunst der Fuge (The Art of the Fugue) (IFO) 2009