One of the leading pianists of his generation, Ronald Brautigam is also among the few to perform at the highest level on modern as well as period instruments. A student of the legendary Rudolf Serkin, he has over the years established himself as an authority on the classical and early romantic composers, with an acclaimed discography on the BIS label. Ronald Brautigam has performed with leading orchestras across the world – from the Amsterdam Concertgebouworkest to the Sydney Symphony Orchestra – as well as the foremost period ensembles. In 2009 he began what has proved a highly successful collaboration with the Kölner Akademie and its conductor Michael Alexander Willens, resulting in acclaimed recordings of the complete piano concertos of Mozart (11 discs), Beethoven, Mendelssohn and Weber. Having previously released the complete solo works of Haydn and Mozart on fortepiano, Brautigam released the first instalment of a 15-disc Beethoven solo cycle in 2004, prompting the reviewer of the US magazine Fanfare to envisage a series ‘that challenges the very notion of playing this music on modern instruments, a stylistic paradigm shift’. Featuring the piano sonatas, the first nine discs of the cycle were awarded an Edison Award and the prestigious Jahrespreis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik in 2015. His recordings on both modern and period instruments have earned him a number of awards including three Edisons, a Diapason d’Or de l’Anné and two MIDEM Classical Awards. Ronald Brautigam’s editorial work includes a reconstruction of the orchestra score of Beethoven’s piano concerto WoO 4 from 1784 as well as an edition of the five piano concertos by Johann Wilhelm Wilms.
