Eduard Stan

Hailed by the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung for his “eminent sense of tonal timbres and colours”, the Romanian-born pianist Eduard Stan has received international acclaim after emigrating to Germany in 1978 at the age of eleven. A native of the multicultural city of Brasov in Transylvania, he has widely performed across Europe and the US, past engagements engagements taking him to major venues such as Carnegie Hall New York (WRH), Kennedy Center Washington DC, Konzerthaus and Philharmonie in Berlin, Konzerthaus Vienna, Salle Cortot Paris, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Auditorio Nacional Madrid, Luxemburg Philharmonie, Palais des Beaux Arts and Flagey in Brussels, Rudolfinum Prague, Gasteig Munich, Musikhalle Hamburg, Konserthus Stockholm, Queen’s Hall Copenhagen and National Concert Hall Dublin. Reviewing his London Wigmore Hall debut in 2008, Classical Source praised his “pianism which was at its most commanding.”

Eduard Stan has appeared at the Massenet and Lille Pianos Festivals in France, the Enescu Festival in Romania, the Mid-Europe Festival in the Czech Republic, the Brunswick Classix Festival in Germany, the Galway Schumann Festival in Ireland and the Bourglinster Festival in Luxemburg. He is a regular soloist with orchestras in Germany, Austria, Italy and Romania, performing under conductors such as Shinya Ozaki, Lutz Köhler, Theo Wolters, George Balan and Thomas Dorsch, among others. In 2010, he made his acclaimed debut with the George Enescu Philharmonic at the Atheneum in Bucharest, playing the Grieg Concerto under the baton of Christian Badea.

OA student of Arie Vardi, Karl-Heinz Kämmerling and Martin Dörrie, Eduard Stan graduated from the Academy of Music and Drama in Hanover, where he obtained his Master’s Degree. He has also benefited from lessons in orchestral conducting at the same institute. Over the years, Herbert Blomstedt, Matthias Goerne, Karl Engel, Boris Berman and Paul Badura-Skoda have taken a keen interest in nurturing his talent as a versatile musician. A sought after chamber musician “revealing a fine gift of restraint and an instinctive feel for balance” (The Strad), Eduard’s collaborations include cellist Romain Garioud, clarinettist Johannes Peitz, viola player Aida-Carmen Soanea, as well as the string quartets Voces, Ad Libitum and ConTempo. He has a particular affinity for Lied, which he performs with singers Peter Schöne, Rodion Pogossov, Britta Stallmeister and Sylvia Bleimund.

Eduard Stan has developed a successful artistic duo partnership with violinist Remus Azoitei over more than ten years. Together, they have recorded the complete works for violin and piano by George Enescu, an authoritative world premiere project which has attracted highly praising reviews. Launched by Hänssler Classic on 2 CDs, this collection is part of a series of critically acclaimed solo CDs recorded by Eduard for the same label, with a repertoire ranging from Bach to Debussy. In September 2010, he released a new Chopin CD for the Thorofon label, which has already been recommended as “a CD recorded under such clear sign of inspiration, rather belonging to the spirit of past piano masters”. Thus, Eduard Stan is characterized by the reviewer as “a fine intellectual performer, with a reflecting but also well justified musical interpretation, at times reminding of the best moments of a great musician such as Wilhelm Kempff.” (Victor Eskenazy)

In 2011, Eduard Stan has already performed in London (Enescu-Society), Venice (Teatro La Fenice), Lisbon (Palacio Fóz) and Porto (Casa da Música), among others. Upcoming projects in 2011 will include an extensive solo tour of Israel, as well as duo projects in Rome (Accademia Santa Cecilia), Berlin (Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche) and Bucharest (National Broadcast Society). Furthermore, he is scheduled with solo recitals in Warsaw (Concert Series at the Chopin Monument in the Royal Łazienki Park) and Cracow (International Royal Piano Festival). His most recent CD, recorded in May with baritone Peter Schöne for the Genuin label, will be followed in 2012 by a new solo disc.

A former teacher at the Lübeck Academy of Music, Eduard Stan was the founder and artistic director of the 2005 Enescu-Festival in Heidelberg/Mannheim. For his merits while promoting Romanian culture abroad, he has been awarded the Prometheus Prize 2009 by his native country.