Sostmann & van Krücker Piano Duo

 

Before Alexandra Sostmann and Michael van Krücker came together as an ensemble,

they had each played in internationally renowned piano duos for more than ten years:

Michael Krücker in the Kölner Klavierduo and Alexandra Sostmann in the Duo Villarceaux.

 

Besides recording CDs for labels including Thorofon, Berlin Classics,

Phoenix Edition, Koch Universal, Arte Nova/BMG, TYXart and EtCetera,

Alexandra Sostmann and Michael Krücker were both guest pianists in their original ensembles

with such famous orchestras as the Bamberg Symphony, the Gürzenich Orchestra/Cologne Philharmonic,

the Cappella Istropolitana, Het Gelders Orkest, the Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra,

the Silesian Philharmonic in Katowice and the German Film Orchestra Babelsberg.

 

After studying in the master classes of the music academies of London (RCM),

Hamburg, Rotterdam and Düsseldorf, Alexandra Sostmann and Michael Krücker

have so far been on concert tours to North and South America, Australia,

Asia and many countries of Europe.

 

The two pianists have been awarded many prizes and scholarships

and have played in numerous radio and television productions.

 

Alexandra Sostmann and Michael Krücker are regular guests at major music festivals

including the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, Heidelberger Frühling, Klavier-Festival Ruhr,

the Festival de la Roque d'Anthéron and Festival Ile-de-France,

the Central European Music Festival in Žilina, Slovakia, and the

Concertenfestival Knokke-Heist in Belgium.

 

Critics of the two duos have unanimously praised their "absolute oneness"

(New York Times), their "fine interplay and their broad range of expression"

(Rotterdam Dagblad) and the "youthful freshness of their music" (Corriere di Torino).

Their music, the Hamburg Abendblatt has attested, is

"sensitive in the quiet parts and full of energy".

 

Finally, the artists have also received the ultimate accolade in the American Record Guide

from one of the world's greatest authorities on piano music, Harold C. Schonberg,

who praised the "great enthusiasm of their playing" and their

"excellently interpreted program" of their playing.