BIOGRAPHY
Louis Schwizgebel has been described as “a genuine virtuoso, a spirited young genius with real depth” (FonoForum) and an “insightful musician” (New York Times). He is praised repeatedly for his poise, elegance, imagination, expressive lyricism and crystalline articulation. He performs regularly in recital and with the finest orchestras across the globe and has received critical acclaim for his recordings.
In 2023/24, Schwizgebel’s highlights include a tour with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Kazuki Yamada (Victoria Hall Geneva, Zurich Tonhalle, Casino Bern, KKL Lucerne) and concerts with the Tonkünstler-Orchester (performing at Vienna Musikverein), Oxford Philharmonic, Erfurt Philharmonic, Dortmunder Philharmoniker, Belgrade Philharmonic, Sao Paulo Symphony Orchestra, Royal Bangkok Symphony and Orchestre national de Metz (performing at the Amsterdam Concertgebouw) as well as Mozart play & conduct projects at the Puplinge Festival and with the Geneva International Orchestra at the Piano à Saint-Ursanne Festival.
In recent seasons, further highlights have included performances with the Philharmonia Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony, all BBC Orchestras, Royal Scottish National Symphony, Bavarian Radio Symphony, Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Bamberg Symphony, Orchestre National de France, Oslo Philharmonic, Danish National Symphony, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, Sinfonieorchester Basel, Luzerner Sinfonieorchester, Orchestra della Svizzera italiana, Vienna Symphony, Cincinnati Symphony, Richmond Symphony, Sacramento Philharmonic, Utah Symphony, Oregon Symphony and Auckland Philharmonia.
In solo recital and chamber music, Schwizgebel performs regularly at the major festivals and halls including London’s Wigmore, Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw, Rheingau Festival, Klavierfest Ruhr, Lille Piano Festival, Septembre Musical de Montreux-Vevey and Singapore International Piano Festival. He has performed chamber music with the likes of Benjamin Beilman, Narek Hakhnazaryan, Renaud Capuçon and Alina Ibragimova. Finally, Schwizgebelhas worked with a wide range of conductors including Edward Gardner, Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla, Emmanuel Krivine, Nicholas Collon, Thierry Fischer, Charles Dutoit, Marek Janowski, Fabio Luisi, Lahav Shani, Robin Ticciati, Louis Langrée, John Wilson, James Gaffigan, Santtu Matias Rouvali, Ben Gernon, Elim Chan, Allondra della Parra, Michael Sanderling, VasilyPetrenko and Fabien Gabel.
Schwizgebel performs frequently in his native Switzerland; he has played in the major festivals such as Verbier, Lucerne and Gstaad and Meisterinterpreten series at Zurich Tonhalle. In 2014 he made his BBC Proms debut with an electrifying televised performance of Prokofiev Piano Concerto No. 1 and in 2018 at the Festival de Radio France in a televised performance of Gershwin Rhapsody in Blue.
Schwizgebel records for Aparté and his latest recording of Schubert Sonatas D845 and D958 was described as an “album of extraordinary precision” by Le Figaro. Previous releases include Saint-Saens Piano Concertos No. 2 and 5 with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, described as “gorgeously singing and wonderfully delicate” by BBC Music Magazine, and Beethoven Piano Concertos No. 1 and 2 with the London Philharmonic Orchestra hailed as a “beautifully nuanced account” by Gramophone.
Schwizgebel was born in 1987 in Geneva. He studied with Brigitte Meyer in Lausanne and Pascal Devoyon in Berlin, and then later at the Juilliard School with Emanuel Ax and Robert McDonald, and at London’s Royal Academy of Music with Pascal Nemirovski. At the age of seventeen he won the Geneva International Music Competition and, two years later, the Young Concert Artists International Auditions in New York. In 2012 he won second prize at the Leeds International Piano Competition and in 2013 he became a BBC New Generation Artist.