Lars Vogt

Lars Vogt (8 September 1970 – 5 September 2022) was a German classical pianist, conductor and academic teacher. Noted by The New York Times for his interpretations of Brahms, Vogt performed as a soloist with major orchestras, including the Berlin Philharmonic. He was the music director of the Orchestre de chambre de Paris at the time of his death and also served as the music director of the Royal Northern Sinfonia. He ran a festival of chamber music, Spannungen, from 1998, and succeeded his teacher Karl-Heinz Kämmerling as professor of piano at the Musikhochschule Hannover.

Life and career Vogt was born in Düren on 8 September 1970 and began taking piano lessons at the age of six. He studied at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover with Karl-Heinz Kämmerling. and went on to give major concerto and recital performances. His first major recordings were with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra conducted by Simon Rattle, first in 1992 Schumann's Piano Concerto and Grieg's Piano Concerto. On the record cover, pianist and conductor appeared in informal clothes, which was new at the time. They went on to record Beethoven's Piano Concertos Nos. 1 and 2 in 1995. Vogt first played with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, the Vienna Philharmonic, the London Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Boston Symphony Orchestra.

He was a dedicated chamber musician, focused on the repertoire of music from the classical period and the romantic era. He also collaborated with composers such as Volker David Kirchner, Thomas Larcher, Kryštof Mařatka and Erkki-Sven Tüür. He founded the festival Spannungen for chamber music in Heimbach (Eifel) in the hydro-electric power plant Kraftwerk Heimbach in 1998. the Piano Quartet No. 3 by Johannes Brahms.

Vogt founded the initiative , a network of classical musicians who play in school lessons to provide children a personal close meeting with musicians and their music.

Conductor In May 2014, the Royal Northern Sinfonia announced the appointment of Vogt as its next music director, his first post as a conductor, effective September 2015. Vogt served as music director until 2020, and had the title of Principal Artistic Partner with the orchestra. In December 2021, the OCP announced an extension of Vogt's contract through June 2025. He held the OCP post until his death. In February 2021, Vogt was diagnosed with cancer of the throat and liver, and recording between rounds of chemotherapy.

Legacy In memoriam Lars Vogt 25 June 2023 Premiere: Jörg Widmann's ..und wenn wir uns mitten im Leben meinen.., Torso for 2 violins and piano (Antje Weithaas, violin – Christian Tetzlaff, violin – , piano), Kraftwerk Heimbach, Germany.

Awards In 2004, Vogt was awarded both the Brahms-Preis and the Echo Klassik. He was awarded the in 2006, and received the Würth Prize of Jeunesses Musicales Germany in 2016. That year, a recording of the Piano Trios by Brahms with Christian Tetzlaff and Tanja Tetzlaff was nominated for a Grammy Award in the category Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance. Vogt was awarded an Opus Klassik in 2021

Discography Gramophone has regarded several of Vogt's recordings as benchmarks, as solo pianist, chamber musician and soloist and conductor with orchestra. Many recordings were made live at the Spannungen festival by label Avi (of CAvi), marked by the festival's name in the label column. +TitleInstrumentYearRecorded withLabel Schumann: Piano Concerto, Grieg: Piano Concerto Piano 1996 Truls Mørk Erato Schubert: Piano Trio No. 1 & Introduction and Variations on "Trockne Blumen" Piano Antje Weithaas, Tanja Tetzlaff, Chiara Tonelli, Silke Avenhaus Avi Brahms & Berg: Works for Clarinet and Piano Piano 2003 Sabine Meyer Warner Classics Franck, Ravel, Saint-Saëns: Violin Sonatas Piano 2004 Sarah Chang Warner Classics Beethoven: Symphony No. 7 & Triple Concerto Piano 2006 Gordan Nikolitch, Tim Hugh, London Symphony Orchestra, Bernard Haitink LSO Live Schubert: Piano Trio No. 2, D. 929 Piano 2006 Christian Tetzlaff, Tanja Tetzlaff Avi Brahms: Chamber Music Piano 2006 Christian Tetzlaff, Isabelle Faust Avi Schubert: Piano Music Piano 2008 (solo) Avi Sharon Kam – Works for Clarinet Piano 2008 Sharon Kam, Antje Weithaas, Gustav Rivinius Avi Schumann: Piano Quintet & Elgar: Piano Quintet Piano 2008 Avi (Spannungen) Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 20 & 23 Piano 2009 Mozarteum Orchester, Ivor Bolton Oehms Bach – Chamber Music Piano 2009 Avi (Spannungen) Dvořák, Schumann & Reimann: Chamber Works Piano 2010 Avi (Spannungen) Liszt: Piano Sonata in B Minor, Schumann: Fantasie in C Piano 2010 (solo) Berlin Classics Brahms: Viola Sonatas, Op. 120 Piano 2011 Rachel Roberts Avi Tchaikovsky: String Quartet No. 3 & Shostakovich Piano Trio No. 2 Piano 2011 Avi (Spannungen) Smetana, Ravel and Watkins: Piano Trios Piano 2012 Avi (Spannungen) Mozart: Violin Sonatas Piano 2012 Christian Tetzlaff Ondine Schumann: Violin Sonatas Piano 2013 Christian Tetzlaff Ondine Mozart: Piano Concertos Nos. 21 & 27 Piano 2013 Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Paavo Järvi Avi Nadia Boulanger, Nadia Boulanger, Hindemith & Debussy: Chamber Works Piano 2013 Avi (Spannungen) Dvořák & Shostakovich: Piano Trios Piano 2014 Avi (Spannungen) Chopin Piano 2014 (solo) Avi Brahms: Piano Trios Nos. 1–3 Piano 2015 Christian Tetzlaff, Tanja Tetzlaff Ondine Bach: Goldberg Variations Piano 2015 (solo) Ondine Schubert, Britten & Shostakovich: Works for Viola and Piano Piano 2016 Rachel Roberts Avi Mozart & Mendelssohn: Concertos for Piano Conductor 2016 Danae Dorken, Royal Northern Sinfonia ARS For children: Thomas Larcher's 12 Stücke für Kinder "Poems", excerpts from Schumann's Album für die Jugend and Bartok's For Children Piano 2016 (solo) Avi Brahms: Violin Sonatas Piano 2016 Christian Tetzlaff Ondine Schubert Piano 2016 (solo) Ondine Beethoven: Piano Concertos 1 & 5 Piano, Conductor 2017 Royal Northern Sinfonia Ondine Beethoven: Triple Concerto, Piano Concerto No. 3 Piano, Conductor 2017 Christian Tetzlaff, Tanja Tetzlaff, Royal Northern Sinfonia Ondine Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 2 & 4 Piano, Conductor 2018 Royal Northern Sinfonia Ondine Schumann: Cello Concerto & works for cello and piano Piano 2018 Gabriel Schwabe, Northern Sinfonia Naxos Dvořák: Piano Trios Nos. 3 & 4 Piano 2018 Christian Tetzlaff, Tanja Tetzlaff Ondine Mozart: Piano Sonatas K. 280, K. 281, K. 310, K. 333 Piano 2019 (solo) Ondine Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1 & Four Ballades Piano, Conductor 2019 Royal Northern Sinfonia Ondine Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 2 & Handel Variations Piano, Conductor 2020 Royal Northern Sinfonia Ondine Janáček: On an Overgrown Path, In the Mists, Sonata 1. X. 1905 Piano 2021 (solo) Ondine Beethoven: Violin Sonatas, Op. 30 Piano 2021 Christian Tetzlaff Ondine Schumann & Strauss: Melodramas Piano 2022 Isabelle Vogt (narrator) Ondine Mendelssohn: Piano Concertos & Capriccio Brillant Piano, Conductor 2022 Orchestre de Chambre de Paris OndineSchubert: Schwanengesang Piano2022Ian BostridgePentatone Schubert: Piano Trios, Notturno, Rondo, Arpeggione Sonata Piano 2023 Christian Tetzlaff, Tanja Tetzlaff Ondine Brahms: Piano Quartets Piano 2024 Christian Tetzlaff, Tanja Tetzlaff, Barbara Buntrock Ondine