Niklas Schmidt

Niklas Schmidt, cellist of the Fine Arts Quartet, first studied in Hamburg. Later, he worked in Cologne with the Amadeus Quartet and was a regular guest at the Menuhin Academy in Gstaad. He was a founding member of the internationally acclaimed Trio Fontenay, with whom he spent two decades as cellist.

The Trio Fontenay recorded virtually the complete piano trio literature for the Teldec, EMI, and Philips labels, and most of its recordings received international awards such as the Diapason d'Or and the German Record Award (for its recordings of the complete Beethoven Trios). Schmidt has also recorded the Beethoven Triple Concerto with the London Philharmonia Orchestra, cello sonatas by Schubert, Strauss, and Rachmaninoff, Preludes by Moscheles, and most recently, all of Bach's solo cello suites.

He has been a juror at international competitions in Hamburg, Melbourne, Reggio Emiglia (Borciani), Vienna and Lyon, and most recently, he chaired the Mendelssohn Competition in Berlin. He is also director of the International Mendelssohn Festival (IMF) in Hamburg. Schmidt has been Professor of Violoncello and Chamber Music in Hamburg since 1987 and regularly gives masterclasses all over the world. He plays on a Rogeri cello (Brescia) from the year 1700. For more information click here: http://niklasschmidt.com