Simon Haje

"One of the finest young pianists of Germany" - - - "a marvelleous talent!" - - - "The 1st prize was absolutely deserved with such a beautifully characterized musically intelligent and artistic performance."

Superlatives such as "prodigy" should be used very sparingly. But on the other hand - if you win first prize at four of the most prestigious piano competitions in just one year at the age of 19 (!), or if you cause the entire German Bundestag to pause on the occasion of a memorial service for the victims of National Socialism - then, yes, perhaps it is exactly the right term.

Anyone who experienced Simon Haje's debut at the Konzerthaus in March of this year, when he performed Beethoven's 4th Piano Concerto with the Konzerthausorchester under the direction of Christoph Eschenbach with great brilliance, knows that his artistic career has already reached an extraordinary dimension and is still on the way to even greater heights.