Knut Hanßen

Knut Hanßen, born in Cologne in 1992, won the Carl Bechstein Foundation’s special prize of 2,000 euros at the 2021 German Music Competition. He received his studies with Sheila Arnold, graduating with the “Konzertexamen” degree, as well as with Wolfram Schmitt-Leonardy in the advanced master class certificate program. Furthermore he learned orchestral conducting with Marcus Bosch, Alexander Liebreich and Bruno Weil.

In addition to regular concerts at the Beethovenfest, in the series “Best of NRW”, with the Munich Symphony Orchestra or the Royal Liverpool Orchestra, among others, he was awarded numerous prizes, e.g. at the Jeunesses International Piano Competition Dinu Lipatti Bucharest 2016, at the James Mottram International Piano Competition Manchester 2018 or with the “Tastensurfer” audience prize of the Klaviertage Unterelbe 2020.

Together with his partner Séverine Kim, he forms the piano duo Kim & Hanßen, which has been supported by the Werner Richard – Dr. Carl Dörken Foundation since 2020. He is also a scholarship holder of the Villa Musica Rhineland-Palatinate since September 2021. He has received funding from the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, the German National Academic Foundation, Yehudi Menuhin Live Music Now Cologne, and the Cologne Richard Wagner Association.

Knut Hanßen is artistic director of the Celle Summer Concerts and is involved in the Rhapsody in School project of pianist Lars Vogt.

photo © Sihoo-Kim