Profile

Born near Cologne in November 1988, Mark Schumann received his first cello lessons at the age of four. Already when he was seven, he won 1st Prize at the German Federal Competition “Jugend Musiziert”. In 2001 he once more obtained 1st Prize in the same competition in the solo category, and in 2002 as a member of an ensemble. Mark Schumann has also been awarded First Prize at the following events: the International Junior Cello Competition in Liezen, Austria (2000), the Gen Re Competition organized by WDR Broadcasting (2006), and the Cologne Music Academy Competition (2008). In 2010 the European Foundation for Culture “Pro Europa” selected Mark Schumann as the recipient of its renowned European Advancement Prize.

Already at the age of eleven, Mark made his first public appearance as a soloist with a symphony orchestra, playing the Saint-Saëns Cello Concerto. In 2002 he performed in the presence of the President of the Federal Republic of Germany in Bellevue Castle in Berlin. Apart from receiving cello lessons from Heinrich Schiff, he actively participated in masterclasses at Kronberg Academy taught by Frans Helmerson, David Geringas, Gary Hoffman and Bernhard Greenhouse; as well as masterclasses at the International Musicians Seminar Prussia Cove (Cornwall) with Steven Isserlis. In summer of 2008 he attended the Seiji Ozawa International Academy Switzerland, where he perfected his chamber music skills under the tutelage of Robert Mann, Pamela Frank, Nobuko Imai, Sadao Harada and Seiji Ozawa. He attended “Chamber Music Connects the World” in Kronberg, where he also performed chamber music with Gidon Kremer, Yuri Bashmet and Frans Helmerson.

Mark Schumann has played in renowned venues such as Konzerthaus Berlin, Laeiszhalle Hamburg, Cologne Philharmonie, Tonhalle Düsseldorf, Rudolf-Oetker-Halle Bielefeld, Suntory Hall Tokyo and NHKhall Japan. His appearances include solo concerto performances with the Warsaw Symphony Orchestra, Folkwang Chamber Orchestra, Brandenburg National Orchestra and MDR Broadcasting Orchestra Leipzig.

In October 2007 Mark went on Japanese tour, playing the Dvorak Cello Concerto with the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra (conductor: Leos Svarovsky).

In 2008 he gave a great number of recitals in the renowned series “Best of NRW”. After a series of performances of the Haydn D Major Cello Concerto with the Klassische Philharmonie Bonn (conductor: Heribert Beissel) in 2009, he joined that same orchestra for a German tour as soloist in 2011. In August 2009 he performed the Dvorak Cello Concerto with the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra (conductor: Ken Takaseki) in Suntory Hall (Tokyo) and in Minatomihai Hall (Yokohama).

He also performed with Christoph Eschenbach and Tzimon Barto at the renowned Ruhr Piano Festival in June 2010. Mark has made radio recordings for the radio stations WDR (Cologne), BR (Munich) and NHK (Japan). He holds a scholarship from the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes. Also thoroughly active as a chamber musician, Mark Schumann is a member of the Schumann Quartet with his brothers. The Schumann Quartet attends masterclasses imparted by members of the Alban Berg Quartet in Cologne.

He plays a cello from “Carlo Giuseppe Testore” (1710).





 

Discography