Ragna Schirmer is regarded as one of the most promising artists of the young generation. She studied with Prof. Karl-Heinz Kämmerling in Hanover and with Prof. Bernard Ringeissen in Paris, getting top marks in all her courses. She has been awarded a total of fifteen first prizes, becoming the only person to win the International Johann Sebastian Bach Competition in Leipzig twice. She reached the finals of the Busoni Competition at the age of fifteen and attracted particular attention by winning special prizes at the UNISA Competition in Pretoria, South Africa. At the age of 28 she was given a professorship at the College of Music and Performing Arts in Mannheim.
Ragna Schirmer has performed with the Munich Philharmonic Orchestra under Zubin Mehta, The Gürzenich Orchestra under Andrev Boreyko, the Gewandhaus Orchestra under Herbert Blomstedt, the Deutsche Kammerphilharmonie and many other orchestras. She considers chamber music to be very important, she regularly performs with the cellist Michael Sanderling and with Gewandhaus quartet.
Her CDs have received numerous awards and excellent reviews throughout Europe (“Diapason”, “Le Monde de la Musique”, “Gramophone”). She received the Echo Klassik Prize for her Haydn album (2002), while Stereoplay magazine placed the Etude Fantasy (Chopin/Corigliano) in the “audiophile” category and named it CD of the year (2003).