Florian Krumpöck

Florian Krumpöck stands out in the classical music world through his work both at the keyboard and on the podium, where his discography centers chiefly on German and Austrian composers active in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Born in Vienna in 1978, he is the son of Ilse Krumpöck, a writer and art historian, and a cellist father. He studied with several leading pianists, among them Gerhard Oppitz, Rudolf Buchbinder, Elisabeth Leonskaja, and Daniel Barenboim, the last of whom became a mentor and helped steer him toward conducting. Early support came from actor and classical-music impresario Peter Ustinov, whose arranged recital brought Krumpöck to Barenboim’s attention. His first appearance at the Tonhalle Zurich, given with the Moscow Radio Symphony Orchestra, led to further bookings in Salzburg, Munich, and Moscow. When he made his solo debut at Vienna’s Konzerthaus, the daily Die Presse wrote, “Forget Lang Lang and Arcadi Volodos. There are also highly virtuoso keyboard tigers in Austria.” His initial commercial recording, the 2002 release Portrait Florian Krumpöck: Music by Franz Liszt, showcased virtuoso repertoire. As a pianist Krumpöck concentrates on music from the German-speaking tradition, both nineteenth-century staples and later works; he has twice presented complete cycles of Beethoven’s thirty-two piano sonatas at the Musikverein in Vienna and has also given full performances of Bach’s Well-Tempered Clavier. Engagements have taken him to the Herkulessaal in Munich, the Meistersingerhalle in Nuremberg, and the main hall of the Moscow Conservatory, among other prominent halls. Encouraged by Barenboim, he began conducting in the mid-2000s and obtained his first major assignment as a last-minute replacement with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra in 2006. He later held titled posts with Austria’s Beethoven Philharmonie from 2006 to 2010 and with the Norddeutsche Philharmonie Rostock from 2011 to 2014. Since 2015 he has served as general manager of the Kultur.Sommer.Semmering festival; he now works chiefly as a freelancer and has appeared with the Bruckner Orchester Linz, the Vienna Symphony, and Lisbon’s Gulbenkian Orchestra, in addition to leading a production at the Royal Opera of Copenhagen. Although most of his recordings present him as pianist, he conducted the Liechtenstein Symphony Orchestra in Josef Rheinberger’s Symphonisches Tongemälde, Op. 10 (“Wallenstein”) for a 2019 Ars Produktion album. In 2023 he issued two albums of Chopin’s music on the Sony Classical label.