Consistently cited for his astonishing power and "sound imagination," Markus Groh has confirmed his place among the finest pianists in the world today. Sharing the same birthday with Alfred Brendel and Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, he has proven himself worthy of their company. In the United States, Mr. Groh has appeared with the Colorado Symphony, Detroit Symphony, Florida Orchestra, Fort Worth Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, Kansas City Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, National Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, The Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony and the Seattle Symphony, to name a few. Outside the U.S., engagements include the Bamberg Symphony, Berlin Symphony, SWR Radio Symphony Orchestra Stuttgart, Bournemouth Symphony, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Hague Residentie Orkest, Helsinki Philharmonic, London Symphony, MDR Orchestra at the Leipzig Gewandhaus, SWR Orchestra (Stuttgart), St. Petersburg Philharmonic, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Beijing Symphony, Osaka Philharmonic and the New Japan Philharmonic. Among the conductors with whom he has appeared are Jesus Lopez Cobos, Ivan Fischer, Miguel Harth-Bedoya, Marek Janowski, Neeme Järvi, Fabio Luisi, Kent Nagano, Jonathan Nott and Stefan Sanderling.
In December 2006, Mr. Groh made his debut with the Baltimore Symphony under the direction of Kwamé Ryan to great acclaim. Other recent and upcoming appearances include the Auckland Philharmonia, Harrisburg Symphony, Louisville Orchestra, Mälmo Symphony, Milwaukee Symphony, Pacific Symphony, Brabants Orkest in Den Bosch, Eindhoven, Breda, and Maastricht, as well as chamber music tours with Viviane Hagner and Claudio Bohórquez.
A spellbinding recitalist, Markus Groh reveals shapes, textures and colors that one seldom hears in live performance. Critics agree: "Groh is a great pianist." [Toronto Star]; "...a superb recital..." [New York Times]; "A new star in the pianistic firmament..." [Neue Zürcher Zeitung]. In February 2008, Mr. Groh will return to New York City to play a recital at the Frick Collection.
Widely acclaimed for his interpretations of Liszt, an all-Liszt CD, including the Totentanz and B Minor Sonata, was released by Avie in 2006. It garnered rave reviews and was named "Editor's Choice" in July's issue of Gramophone Magazine. Other recordings include a CD of Debussy, Prokofiev, and Britten cello sonatas with Claudio Bohórquez on Berlin Classics.
A frequent guest at international festivals such as Ruhr, Ludwigsburg, Bad Kissingen and Schubertiade (Austria), Markus Groh is the founder and artistic director of the Bebersee Festival near Berlin. He has appeared frequently on radio and television in Germany, Spain, Belgium, Holland, France, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Japan (NHK), Mexico and the United States (NPR).
Markus Groh was born on the 5th of January 1970 in southern Germany. He was a student of Professor Konrad Richter in Stuttgart and Professor Hans Leygraf in Berlin and Salzburg. He gained immediate world attention after winning the prestigious Queen Elisabeth International Competition in Brussels in 1995, the first German to do so. Other awards include First Prize at the 1990 Artur Schnabel Competition in Berlin. Markus Groh divides his time between Berlin and New York.
"Groh plays straight, just as God and Brahms instruct him...[he] now ranks at the top of the German tradition, a worthy heir to Backhaus, Edwin Fischer, Wilhelm Kempff."
Berliner Morgenpost