Christoph Berner was awarded the prizes for the best interpretation of Mozart and Schumann
at the Géza-Anda-Competition 2003, thus proving to be one of the leading pianists of his generation. Already before this, he had already made himself known to a wide audience through his international concert activities, as well as by winning the Bösendorfer Competition 1995 and Second prize in the 10th International Beethoven-Competition in 1997.
Born in Vienna, he studied at the University for Music and Dramatic Art of his native town with Imola Joo, Hans Graf and Hans Petermandl. From 1993-95 he studied at the Masters' School of Maria Tipo in Fiesole (Italy).
In Austria, the young pianist regularly plays in all major concert halls including the Vienna Musikverein and the Vienna Konzerthaus and received invitations to renowned festivals such as the Carinthian Summer, the Klavierfestival Ruhr and the Schubertiade.
His concert tours have taken him to most European countries, Morocco, Japan, Mexico and to the USA, where he gave a very successful concert at Carnegie Hall in New York.
Christoph Berner has played as a soloist with prestigious orchestras such as: the Orchestre National du Capitole de Toulouse, Bremen Philharmonic, Göteborg Symphony Orchestra, Dresden Philharmonic, Northern Sinfonia, Mahler Chamber Orchestra , the RSO Vienna, the Stuttgart Radio Orchestra , Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich , the Vienna Chamber Orchestra with conductors Theodor Guschlbauer, Neeme Järvi, Kristjan Järvi, Michel Plasson, Günther Neuhold, Johannes Wildner, Dennis Russell Davies, Thomas Zehetmair.
One of Christoph Berner's deepest passions is chamber music. His chamber music partners include Heinrich Schiff, Christian Altenburger, Ernst Kovacic, Patricia Kopatchinskaja as well as members of the Vienna Philharmonic: Franz Bartolomey, Tamás Varga or Wolfgang Schulz.
Christoph Berner's first solo CD, released in autumn 1999, is exclusively dedicated to the piano works by Robert Schumann.
In the international concert cycle "Rising Stars", Christoph Berner with his partner, violinist Réka Szilvay gave recitals in Paris (Cité de la Musique), London (Wigmore Hall), Amsterdam (Concergebouw) and New York (Carnegie Hall) in 2001.
In an open-air "Beethoven-Marathone" in June 2002 in the market square of Unna (Germany), Christoph Berner played all 5 Beethoven concertos in one evening, under the baton of Johannes Wildner with the New Philharmonic Orchestra of Westphalia, thus captivating an audience of 4000 who remained listening fascinated for hours.
Highlights of the past seasons were Beethoven's 4th piano concerto with the Tonkünstlerorchester Niederösterreich, and Brahms' 2nd concerto with the New Philharmonic Orchestra of Westphalia under Johannes Wildner; Schumann's piano concerto with the Northern Sinfonia in Newcastle, the Khatchaturian concerto with the Dresden Philharmonic under Kristjan Järvi's baton, as well as a solo recital with works by Schubert, Janaček and Schumann in the pianists' cycle of the Vienna Konzerthaus.
In the forthcoming season the young artist looks forward among others to concerts with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra under the batton of Andrew Litton, the Moscow Tchaikovsky
Orchestra/ Vladimir Fedosejev, the Berne Symphony orchestra and many others.
