Semyon Skigin

Semyon Skigin was born in Leningrad. In 1975, as a graduate and postgraduate student at the Leningrad State Conservatoire (chamber ensemble and accompanist class), he won the international competition for piano accompanists in Rio de Janeiro, which set him firmly on the path to conquering the world’s great concert venues. Semyon Skigin began his teaching career in Dresden and, between 1978 and 1981, he was a professor of accompaniment at the Musikhochschule Carl Maria von Weber. Since 1990, Semyon Skigin has been a Professor of Song Accompaniment and Interpretation at the Musikhochschule Hanns Eisler (Berlin). The pianist has an extensive list of recordings, which he has built together with recording companies such as ЕМI, Philips and BMG among others. He has recorded full collections of chamber and vocal works by Musorgsky, Tchaikovsky, Glinka and Rachmaninoff, in addition to individual compact discs with romances by Borodin, Dargomyzhsky, Glière, Shostakovich, Verdi and Wagner together with soloists including Sergei Leiferkus, Nuccia Focile, Nina Rautio, Violeta Urmana, Olga Borodina and Vladimir Chernov. These recordings have earned him prizes from Gramophone (1995) and a Cannes Classical Award (1996). Today, Semyon Skigin is one of the world’s most highly acclaimed musical accompanists. He has appeared in partnership with such world-renowned singers as Olaf Bär, Andreas Schmidt, Robert Hall, Cheryl Studer and Endrick Wottrich. Semyon Skigin regularly runs master classes at leading conservatoires in Germany, the Netherlands and the USA, and he is Artistic Director of the Dresden Music Festival and Vice-President and Artistic Director of the Berlin Salon.