PianoDuo Takahashi|Lehmann

Biography

The Piano Duo Takahashi / Lehmann was founded in 2009 in Berlin.
The two pianists have known each other since their days as students
of Klaus Hellwig at the Universität der Künste Berlin.
Since its founding, the concert activities of the Duo have constantly
gained in intensity.
The musicians perform in numerous European countries as well as in Korea
and Japan. The Duo has also been invited to festivals including the MusicAlp Festival (France) and the Gimhae Festival (Korea).
The repertoire of the Duo Takahashi / Lehmann includes, alongside the
traditional works for piano four hands and for two pianos, numerous original
transcriptions of important composers, some of which had previously been forgotten, as well as works of the 20th century. In this connection, the two
pianists always work together closely with contemporary composers.
The programmes of the Duo Takahashi / Lehmann are notable for the manifold relationships between the works, so that one can frequently speak of “composed programmes”. For all that, the relationships are by no means merely theoretical,
but can readily be perceived sensually and emotionally.


Björn Lehmann has performed to an equal extent as soloist and chamber
musician, whereby his main interest in both areas is New Music.
He studied in Hamburg, Lausanne and at the Universität der Künste Berlin
with Klaus Hellwig.
He received important artistic stimuli from Ferenc Rados, Leonard Hokanson, Robert Levin, Zoltan Kocsis, members of the Amadeus Quartet, Hartmut Höll and
Irwin Gage, amongst others.
Concert tours have taken Björn Lehmann to most European countries, Japan,
South Korea and Latin America.
He has performed at numerous festivals, including the Bachfest in Leipzig, the Ludwigsburg Castle Festival, the Kassel Music Days, Concentus Moraviae (Czech Republic), Flaneries musicales de Reims (France) and El Blanco y Negro (Mexico). Permanent chamber-music partners include the violinists Sophia Jaf fé and Stephan
Picard, the cellist Markus Nyikos as well as musicians of the Berlin Philharmonic.
Björn Lehmann has collaborated closely with the composers Friedrich Goldmann,
Mathias Spahlinger and Arnulf Herrmann and has made radio/television recordings at German and other broadcasting stations.
Björn Lehmann has been a professor at the Universität der Künste Berlin since 2011.
He gives master courses on a regular basis in Germany, France, Switzerland, Japan and South Korea.


Norie Takahashi attracted early attention by winning prizes at competitions, including the Beethoven Competition in Bonn (2nd prize, special prize for a
contemporary work), the Beethoven Competition in Vienna (4th prize),
the Schubert Competition in Graz (1st prize and audience prize), the Leeds International Piano Competition (special prize) and the Concours Reine Elizabeth
in Brussels (finalist’s diploma).
Following her studies in Tokyo, she continued studies with Klaus Hellwig
at the Universität der Künste Berlin.
She received numerous artistic stimuli from Bruno Leonardo Gelber, Robert
Levin, Ferenc Rados, Pascal Devoyon and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, amongst
others.
Norie Takahashi is active as a soloist and chamber musician in many European
countries and in Asia.
She performs as a soloist with such orchestras as the
Prague Radio Orchestra, the Bonn Beethoven Orchestra, the Cologne Chamber
Orchestra, the Yomiuri Nippon Orchestra in Tokyo, the New Japan Philharmonic
Orchestra and the Osaka Symphony Orchestra.
In addition, she has regularly been invited to participate at major international festivals, including Carinthian Summer, Ruhr Piano Festival , Männta Music Festival (Finland), Tongyeong Music Festival (Korea), Sendai Music Festival (Japan), Kassel Music Days, New Music Days in Darmstadt and the Mosel Festival.
Norie Takahashi’s chamber-music partners include the cellists Johannes Moser and Danjulo Ishizaka, the violinist Viviane Hagner and the violist Tomoko Akasaka.