Critics have hailed Michael Schneider as “a pianist with exceptional insight” and a “performer with great panache” in
performances across the states and overseas to Poland and France. Recently championing the music of Franz Liszt,
Michael was awarded the ‘Demonic Liszt’ Prize at the Competition Internationale held in Sante Fe, New Mexico and
won six awards at the Los Angeles International Liszt Competition, including first prize in the Concerto Division and first
prize in the Longer Work Category (Dante Sonata). In 2005, he was a top prize winner in the 3rd International Franz
Liszt Competition held in Wroçlaw, Poland.
Mr. Schneider has performed in such venues as the legendary château of George Sand in Nohant, France, performing an
all-Chopin recital as a guest artist in the International Chopin Festival, and Carnegie’s Weill Recital Hall as a prizewinner
of the Frinna Awerbuch International Piano Competition, also winning the prize for the best performance of a work by
an American composer. Recently he was a featured guest artist at the Music Festival of the Hamptons, directed by Lukas
Foss. Appearances with orchestras include the Bydgoszcz and Wroçlaw Philharmonics in Poland, the Elgin Symphony
Orchestra (IL), the Richardson Symphony Orchestra (TX), the Bartlesville Symphony Orchestra (OK), the Big Spring
Symphony (TX), and the San Angelo Symphony (TX).
Mr. Schneider is a laureate of many international piano competitions, including the 10th Pacific Piano Competition in
Vancouver, the 7th San Antonio International Piano Competition, the 4th International Paderewski Piano Competition
held in Poland, the Kosciuszko Foundation Chopin Piano Competition in New York, the Texas Steinway Society Career
Development Award, and the Grace Welsh Prize for Piano in Chicago.
Mr. Schneider’s love for unusual works takes shape in many forms. In 2004, he brought the little-known Piano Concerto
by Jules Massenet to Oklahoma as a guest artist of the Bartlesville Symphony Orchestra, home of the summer OK
Mozart Festival. As a devotee of the music of Ignaz Jan Paderewski, Mr. Schneider brings this music to a variety of
venues. At the 8th Annual Paderewski Festival in California, his performance of the grueling Paderewski Sonata
prompted three standing ovations and three encores. Recent projects include performances with violinist Iryna
Krechkovsky of the Corigliano Violin Sonata and performing solo piano works written by Jonathan Sheffer, New York-
based conductor and composer, and Cleveland-based composer Klaus George Roy.
The fall of 2004 marked the inauguration of the San Angelo Piano Festival (SAPF), a new festival in West Texas created
and directed by Michael Schneider. Annual events include several guest artist recitals, impromptu musicales, a
composition contest, and a young artist program that includes a master class and a showcase recital. One of the missions
of the festival is to help bridge the gap between classical music and youth by offering outreach programs to schools in the
community. Michael firmly believes in the power of audience participation and involvement. He frequently introduces
his programs with a historical perspective and many times shares his own personal and sometimes witty experiences with
the music. The third San Angelo Piano Festival took place January 19-21, 2007 where Michael collaborated in a
performance with renown violinist Jun Iwasaki. The 4th Festival will take place in January 2008.
Mr. Schneider was an audience favorite at Pianofest in the Hamptons, an eight-week festival that he attended for seven
summers. In the Hamptons, he has played for renowned teachers Arie Vardi, Veda Kaplinsky, Paul Schenly, and Van
Cliburn silver-medalist Antonio Pompa-Baldi. In 2004, Mr. Schneider was a Master Class Fellow in the Irving S. Gilmore
International Keyboard Festival, where he performed for Piotr Anderszewski and Angela Hewitt. He has also performed
in master classes for Maria Curcio, Claude Frank, and Peter Frankl. Mr. Schneider spent two years as adjunct Professor
of Piano at Youngstown State University* in Ohio, and is now currently in the Doctorate of Musical Arts program at the
University of Texas in Austin where he studies with Dr. Anton Nel.
*To learn more about Youngstown State University, please visit their web site.
Biography
