Lars Vogt

Lars Vogt (born 8 September 1970, in Düren, West Germany) is a German concert pianist and conductor. Vogt studied at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover with Karl-Heinz Kämmerling. He rose to prominence after winning second prize at the 1990 Leeds International Piano Competition and has since gone on to give major concerto and recital performances. He founded the festival 'Spannungen' in Heimbach (Eifel) in 1998. In May 2014 the Royal Northern Sinfonia announced the appointment of Vogt as its next music director, effective September 2015. Vogt served as music director designate for the 2014-2015 season, in his first formal orchestral post. Vogt has recorded commercially for such labels as EMI. In 2004 Vogt was awarded both the Brahms-Preis and the Echo Klassik. He also won the "Großer Kulturpreis der rheinischen Sparkassen" in 2006.