Biography.
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Helge Antoni was born in Malmö, Sweden, in 1956, studied at the Malmö Academy of Music with Stanislav Knor and made his professional debut playing Franz Berwald's Piano Concerto. In 1979 he was the first Swedish musician to be awarded a British Council Fellowship and continued his studies with Peter Feuchtwanger in London for 4 years.

A successful debut at the Mai Musical in Bordeaux led to a much acclaimed debut in Paris at the Salle Gaveau in 1982. The following year he also won the coveted Menuhin Prize.

Helge Antoni's creative programming and his personal approach to audiences have made him a much sought-after pianist worldwide both in solo recitals and in concertos with orchestra: e.g. in London, Wigmore Hall and St John's Smith Square; in The Hague, Philip's Saal; in Paris, Salle Gaveau; in Bonn, Beethoven Saal; in Zurich, Tonhalle; in Stockholm, Berwald Hall; in Poland, Chopin's birthplace, Zelazowa Wola (recorded for Polish Television), Chopin Festival in Duszniki, Chopin Institute and Chopin Monument in Warsaw; in Norway, Grieg's house, Troldhaugen (recorded for French Television); in Italy he was the first pianist to have been invited to give a "Hommage to Wilhelm Kempff"-recital in the late master's Casa Orfeo Foundation in Positano; in North America, Kennedy Center Washington D.C., Chicago Orchestra Hall and San Francisco, Masonic Hall; in South America, Sociedad Filarmonica, Lima, Peru and Sala Dorada in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Helge Antoni also enjoys playing chamber music, and has worked with the distinguished sopranos Elisabeth Söderström and Janet Perry, the leading trumpeter Håkan Hardenberger and the Lysell String Quartet.

Helge Antoni has performed extensively on television and radio as a guest artist as well as presenting his own series, and his Classic Video-Clip, one of the first of its kind, has reached a wide audience.

Helge Antoni has made several highly acclaimed records for the Etcetera label, including the piano works of Christian Sinding, featuring the famous »Rustle of Spring« and the world premiere recording of his master-piece, Variations Op. 94: Fatum. He has also recorded works by Edvard Grieg, and Rossini's piano works (including several world premiere recordings).

His CD, Chopin – Field highlights influences and parallels between the two composers.

His album »The Piano Experience«, on the Swedish label dB Productions, is a recital tracking 300 Years of keyboard music from Couperin to Pärt, with world premiere recordings and featuring works written for and dedicated to Helge Antoni.

The Gramophone magazine said »ravishingly beautiful… superbly played with a beautiful singing tone and the most poetic phrasing«.

The American Record Guide said »Antoni's technique is ample, his tone richly coloured; his understanding of the composer's special sound world absolute«.

Helge Antoni has been the Artistic Director of the Late Summer Nights Music Festival in Norway and the Mozart Festival as well as the »Concerti al Tramonto« Festival at the San Michele Foundation on Capri.

Since 2002, Helge Antoni has also devoted himself to passing on his knowledge of music and piano playing to following generations. He is Artist in Residence at the German university Universität Witten/Herdecke and in 2005 he created an association »Clases Maestras Helge Antoni« in Lima, Peru, to help young musicians. Helge is furthermore one of the founding members of the globally renowned TONALI-Project, through which exceptional young musicians are given a platform to engage their art in a socio-cultural manner. He frequently gives workshops, lectures and masterclasses at leading universities in the USA, such as Baylor and Georgetown.

Helge Antoni is fluent in Swedish, English, German, French and Spanish and he is an »Exclusive Steinway Artist«.

Photograph: Fondation Bordeaux Université, Bordeaux
Photograph: Amadeus Templeton, Hamburg
Photograph: unknown
Photograph: Fondation Bordeaux Université, Bordeaux
Photograph: Umberto D'Aniello, Capri
Photograph: Malcolm Crowthers, London
November, 11 / 2021
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