Johan Schmidt, one of Belgium famoust pianists, acquired his reputation through his virtuosity as much as through his sensitiveness. Pupil of Master Eduardo del Pueyo, he then improved his talent with Master Karl-Heinz Kämmerling.
A brilliant laureate of numerous international music contests, he has won accolades in :
I the Queen Elizabeth Competition (Brussels, 4th place and Public Prize)
I the Maria Callas Contest (Athens, 1st)
I the Tchaikovsky Competition (Moscow, 3rd)
I the Japan Competition (Tokyo, 1st)
I the Van Cliburn Piano Contest (USA, 4th)
Johan Schmidt has been awarded the Rotary Club’s Leonardo da Vinci Prize for young Europeans.
Apart from being a frequent guest of the best Belgian orchestras (Belgian National Orchestra, Liège Philharmonic and Royal Flemish Philharmonic), Johan Schmidt also performs with the New Japan Philharmonic, the Athens Philharmonic, the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, the Ukraine Symphony, the RTL Orchestra and the “Orchestre National de France” conducted by P. Bartholomée, J. Semkov, K. Takaseki, T. Bloomfield, K.A. Richenbacker, F. Schipway, P. Daniel, G. Neuhold and J.C. Casadesus.
His reputation as a soloist has taken him to such prestigious venues as the Gasteig in Munich, Schauspielhaus in Berlin, Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, Châtelet in Paris, Suntory and Casals Halls in Tokyo, Symphony Hall in Osaka, Rachmaninov Theater in Moscow, Herode Aticus Theater in Athens, Bozar in Brussels, the Tel Aviv Museum and the Shanghai Expo 2010, Shanghai Oriental Art Center, Dailan Grand Théâtre, Quindao Grand Théâtre, Paris Théâtre de la ville, Nice Monastère de Cimiez…
His chamber music partners are Augustin Dumay, the Malher Piano Quartet, the American String Quartet, Eyal Shiloach, David Cohen, Ronald Van Spaendonck.
Johan Schmidt has made a number of CD recordings for EMI, Fontec (Japan), EMS, Musica Numeris (Cyprès), Azur Classical, Le Chant de Linos… His favorite repertoire includes Franz Liszt, the Russian composers and Beethoven. His performances have been broadcasted nationwide by the American Public Broadcasting Service Network, German ZDF, Japanese NHK, the Belgian Flemish and French-speaking channels (VRT and RTBF) and the French channel TV5.
Johan Schmidt is also a very appreciated teacher. Professor in the Royal Brussels Conservatory (Belgium) and Senzoku University in Tokyo, he regularly gives Masterclasses in several european countries and in China (Qingdao University of Science & Technology), Shanghai, Japan (Sendai piano forum, Tokyo, Nagoya), Croatia (Laus academy ), France (Académie d’été du grand Nancy, Académie d’hiver du Grand Paris), Belgium (the international piano week in Wavre)…
Several recording projects will be soon available, in particular for his 2018 China Tour; a CD will be dedicated to Schumman and Liszt and will be on sale in China (march).
In 2018, the Label Azur Classical will released a CD dedicated to Poulenc four hands works with the pianist Jun Kanno.