August 4, 2021

Biography

Thomas was born in Karlsruhe, Germany. He started with his first piano lessons at the age of 6. Later he continued his musical education under the tutorship of Marton Keönch at the university of Paderborn, Germany where it became clear that he had exceptional talent. At the age of 17, Thomas Herrmann made his debut with the orchestra of the Paderborn university, playing the first piano concerto of  Ludwig van Beethoven.

He continued his study in Darmstadt, Germany with Prof. Grigory Gruzman and in Detmold, Germany with Prof. Anatol Ugorsky.  In 1996 Thomas moved to the Netherlands, and completed his study  with Naum Grubert at the Conservatory of Amsterdam, where he graduated summa cum laude in his ‘master of piano performance and chamber music’.

Photo by Arie Kers

Thomas has become a celebrated international artist playing over 400 concerts worldwide.
He has performed  in the Netherlands (Concertgebouw of Amsterdam), Belgium, Germany (Mozart-Saal Alte Oper Frankfurt), Switzerland, France, Morocco, South-Africa, and China.
Thomas Herrmann has won numerous National prizes and International Prizes for his performances.

Being an entrepreneur as well as a creative performance artist, Thomas started his own trio in 1991. The Dutch public debut of the Erasmus Trio was in April 1996, performing as one of the prize winners of the International Charles Hennen Competition. Their performance in the ‘mirror hall’ of the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam was broadcasted live on national radio upon special invitation of the Dutch radio station network ‘AVRO’.

Thomas Herrmann has performed in internationally renowned festivals such as the Chopin festival in Bergen, the Netherlands, the Russian Chamber Music festival in Gent,Belgium, and the Gergiev festival in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
He has regularly appeared in solo performances with various orchestras, including the Bessunger Kammerorchester, Holland Symfonia, and the Südwestdeutsche Kammerorchester.

Thomas has made many recordings, working with Dutch Public Television broadcasting, the Dutch Classical Radio station network (AVRO), as well as recordings made with the Second German Television broadcasting station (ZDF), and for the National Chinese television station (CCTV).

In 1999 & 2001 Thomas started teaching masterclasses at the Conservatory in Potchefstroom, South Africa. Since 2003 he has given annual masterclasses for chamber music and piano at the Summer Academy in Friedrichsdorf (Germany), and since 2010 he has started giving his own piano- and chamber music courses in Arosa (Switzerland).

In 2006 Thomas Herrmann created and established the International Chamber music festival in the Haarlemmermeer (Netherlands), and was the artistic director until 2017.

In 2007 a book was published recognizing Thomas Herrmann as one of the most eminent performing pianists of the Netherlands and was nominated for the Culture Prize of Haarlemmermeer in 2010.

Thomas Herrmann has a great passion for Chamber Music. Chamber music has a prominent place in his musical career. This inspired him to start the Erasmus Trio in 1991, which presently enjoys international acclaim. In 2021 the Erasmus Trio will celebrate their 30th anniversary with an extensive concert tour series throughout the Netherlands.

Quotes:

 “ Internationally Acclaimed Erasmus Trio performed during the Opening Event of the concert series “Stunde der Musik” flawlessly,  proving their star- status and was a perfect witness to their artistic musical talent…”

(Mitteldeutsche Zeitung)

 “…Brilliant trio performance, beautiful solo passages, varying moods and a sizzling dynamic finale has attested to the (well- deserved) reputation of the Erasmus Trio, demanding an extensive applause”…

(Delftsche Courant)

For more than 25 years, he has formed a “masterly duo” (as the the Rheinische Post has described it) with violinist Vera Laporeva, performing many duo and trio concerts together with her. In recent years he has also given many 4-mains concerts with his colleague pianist Lars Keitel, and has performed together with the well-known cellist Aleksandr Khramouchin many times.

Thomas Herrmann has been employed at the Royal Conservatory in the Hague (Netherlands) since 2018.

Quotes from the press:

“Seldom has Mozart been performed by a young Musician with such a characteristic Mozart sound”
(Franfurter Allgemeine Zeitung)
„The varied performance of the young pianist Thomas Herrmann won… Impressive successions of compact ascending lines in the Allegro, the melody always floated wondrously above the Accompanying Voice.“
(Rheinische Post)
“Top-Notch performance”
(La nouvelle Gazette)
“Delicate, sparkling piano performance”
(Delftsche Courant)
„The Conclusion of the Musical Afternoon: Fascinating!“
(Neue Westfälische)