The inexhaustible fantasy, his “mesmerizing sound” and his sharp
understanding of the possibilities of playing the piano and its
physical, spiritual and mental aspects have made Falko Steinbach a
worldwide recognized soloist, composer and teacher for piano. Grown up
in Leverkusen (Germany), Falko Steinbach has an extended international
performance career with solo performances and recordings in America,
Europe and Asia. Here he is regularly invited at important international
Music Festivals.
In 2009, he founded the international "Klavierfestival Lindlar".
The annual event has become a major cultural factor in the region, his
compositions also being performed. Because new music is a significant
interest for him, he frequently presents new works to audiences in
lecture concerts. Also, Mr. Steinbach has premiered numerous
contemporary works, some of which have been dedicated to him.
Falko Steinbach started composing at the age of seven. Beginning with
minor pieces such as minuets for piano in the style of W.A. Mozart, by
the age of 12 he had composed his first three - movement sonatina for
violin and piano under the supervision of his schoolteacher Manfred
Klink. Upon deciding to study theory and composition with Georg Kröll
(Cologne) and Prof. Manfred Reiter, as well as Prof. Roland Löbner
(theory), Steinbach composed his first serious piece, “Suite for Piano,”
in dodecaphonic style. He finished his theory studies with a Bachelors
Degree at the Musikhochschule Köln. Since that time he has continued
developing his autodidactic style using dodecaphonic elements,
rotational systems and synaesthetic- and jazz-influenced patterns. In
the meantime, his oeuvre encompasses numerous major cycles for choir and
various ensembles, chamber music, piano ensembles and piano solo. His
compositions were recorded on CD's, broadcasted and performed in several
countries and significant international music festivals in Taiwan, USA
and Germany. Falko Steinbach is a member of GEMA, BMI and the American
Composers Alliance. ACA and Verlag Edmund Bieler, Cologne are his
publishers.
Born in Aachen, Mr. Steinbach started playing the piano when he was 4
years old and made his public concert debut at the age of twelve. He
received a first prize in the piano competition “Jugend musiziert” in
Bergisch Gladbach when he was 17, studying with Grete Selle in
Leverkusen. He then became a Special Student at the Musikhochschule Köln
and studied with Prof. Tiny Wirtz, graduated with distinction and
completed his solo studies with a doctorate. In addition to this, he
pursued advanced studies in solo performance at the Guildhall School of
Music and Drama in London with Craig Sheppard.
Falko Steinbach has taken international masterclasses in Switzerland,
Austria, England and Germany as a soloist with Prof. Tatjana Nikolajewa
and Peter Feuchtwanger, as well as with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau as a
collaborative pianist. After being a head of the keyboard area at the
University of Cologne, since August 1999, Prof. Steinbach is head of the
piano area of the music department at the University of New Mexico in
Albuquerque and leads the piano performance studio for solo studies.
