Olga Scheps

1986–2001: Early life and career beginnings

Olga Scheps was born on January 4, 1986, in Moscow, Russia, and came to Germany at the age of six. Characterized by musical surroundings of her family, especially of her father Ilja Scheps who is also a pianist and moreover professor at the Aachen section of the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln, she began piano lessons at the age of four.

Her active concert work started at the age of twelve when already calling attention to herself by winning several first prizes at the German competitions Jugend musiziert in 1999 as well as Jugend spielt Klassik in 2001. At the age of 14, she debuted with orchestra at the concert series Junge Elite with the Piano Concerto No. 1 by Prokofiev at the Tonhalle Düsseldorf. This debut was followed by recitals in the concert series Best of NRW and The Next Generation at Harenberg City Center Dortmund.

2002–present: Performing and recording career

Over the years, Olga has performed in Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Denmark, France, and Asia. She made a US debut performing at Majestic Theatre, San Antonio in June, 2012 where she played Liszt Piano Concerto No. 2 with the San Antonio Symphony under the baton of Sebastian Lang-Lessing. Scheps' frequently performs recitals in prestigious places such as the Berlin Philharmonie, Cologne’s Philharmonie, the Great Hall of the Laeiszhalle Hamburg, Munich’s Prinzregententheater, Alte Oper Frankfurt, Liederhalle Stuttgart and the Wiener Musikverein. Alongside her solo recitals, she worked with renowned orchestras such as the NDR Sinfonieorchester, the Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart, the Münchner Symphoniker, the Mozarteumorchester Salzburg, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra.

She also regularly performs at the Klavier-Festival Ruhr since her debut there in 2007, as well as other renowned festivals such as the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Heidelberger Frühling, Kissinger Sommer, Mosel Musikfestival, Mozartfest Würzburg, Rheingau Musik Festival, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival and Sommerliche Musiktage Hitzacker. Her recital at the "Klavier-Festival Ruhr" in May 2009 was recorded and published in the “Edition Klavier-Festival Ruhr” in cooperation with the Fono Forum magazine.

Shortly after that Olga Scheps signed her first exklusiv recording contract with RCA Red Seal (Sony Music). Her debut CD Chopin was very well received critically of the German press after the release in January 2010. On October 17, 2010, she subsequently earned her first ECHO Klassik Award as Newcomer of the Year (Piano) for her debut at the Philharmonie Essen. She released her second album with works by Russian composers in the autumn of 2010. In September 2012, Olga Scheps presented her most recent album Schubert.

Scheps, as well as being one of today's most up-and-coming young soloists, is also a passionate chamber performer. There she collaborates with colleagues such as violinists Daniel Hope and Erik Schumann, the cellists Adrian Brendel, Alban Gerhardt and Jan Vogler as well as the violist Nils Mönkemeyer.

Olga is considerably supported by the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben and the German National Academic Foundation.

Repertoire

Olga Scheps describes playing the piano as "To me, music is an extension of my expressivity, the amplification of my language. The score is predetermined, but I am the interpreter. It is like acting – like the work of an actress who follows a script."

Olga Scheps repertoire includes many classical works for solo recitals and also piano concertos. Especially she contains her interpretation of the music of the Romanticism in particular the works of Russian composers as well as Frédéric Chopin. So Olga is particularly known for her performances as a crystal clear romanticist who delivers a teary-eyed and emotional performance to the audition of her concerts.

Discography

On RCA Red Seal (Sony Music):

Awards

In the media

In the realm of marketing, pianist Olga Scheps became an attractive brand ambassador over the years of her career. Since 2011 she is a brand ambassador for Audi, and the Swiss-based luxury company Chopard. Scheps is the face of German women's magazine COVER which was printed for the first time on August, 18 2012.