Sebastian Benda

Sebastian Benda

Switzerland

He studied at the Music Conservatory in Geneva. A student of Edwin Fisher in Lucerne for seven years. He was awarded the “Prix de Virtuosité in Geneva and the Bach Medal in London. He has played in forty different countries of Europe, America and Asia. His partners were orchestras from Zurich, Geneva, Bucharest, Sofia, Hamburg. Frankfurt, Japan. Mr. Benda made the first recording of Frank Martin’s “Ballad for Piano and Orchestra on Vox (USA) and Jecklin (Switzerland), with the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne under the composer’s direction. On Pantheon (New York) and FSM (Germany) several CD’s came out on which he recorded together with his cham- ber music ensemble “The Benda Musicians, portraits of Brahms and Schumann, as well as a CD with works of his famous 18th-century ancestors from Bohemia, Jin Antonin Frantisek and Jan Jiri Benda. Apart from his activities as a soloist and cham- ber musician, Mr. Benda is a jury member at international competitions (Vienna, Geneva, Bucarest, Prague, France). He initiated the International Competition “Franz Schubert and 20°-Century Music in Graz and was a chairman of the National Austrian Instrumental Competition “Jugend Musiziert in 1989, 1991 and 1993. As a teacher he taught a plano class at the Hochschule für Music und darstellende Kunst in Graz from 1981 untill 1994 and served as a vice-chancellor of this institution from 1987 to 1991. He taught master classes at numerous great music academies and universities. among others in London. Paris. Bruxelles. Basle, Freiburg, Karlsruhe, Cologne. Würzburg, Lausanne, Girona (Spain), Jerusalem. Honolulu, Tokyo, and at several South American universities.