Marcus Kretzer

Kretzer's programmatic focuses lie on the works of Johann Sebastian Bach, also in the orchestral extended versions of Busoni, on the sonatas by Domenico Scarlatti, the sonatas and piano concertos of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven, on the oeuvres of Frédéric Chopin, Franz Liszt, Isaac Albéniz, Claude Debussy and Sergei Rachmaninoff. His involvement with contemporary music is reflected in his recording of the dodecaphonic piano works of the eastern German composer Rudolf Halaczinsky (1922-1999).

Marcus Kretzer (born May 9, 1965 in Hilden, Germany) is a German pianist and music teacher. Since 1979 he regularly gives recitals and concerts with famous orchestras and conductors worldwide. His art of piano playing is described as "new and unheard. A deep sensibility, attended by resolute authority. A musical genius, combined with an extraordinary technical virtuosity. His play is ingenious, intelligent and erudite as well as subtle and touching, steeped in almost unreal tenderness. The play of a True Master of the piano.". As piano pedagogue Kretzer acts in Germany and abroad in which his comprehensive teaching method lastingly influences the future generation of pianists.

Kretzer spent his childhood and youth in Solingen. He grew up in a musical home. Encouraged by his mother playing the piano, he got his first piano lessons of his own volition at the age of seven years and decided soon thereafter to become concert pianist. The Czech pianist and piano pedagogue Drahomir Toman, a grandson pupil of Liszt and fellow student of Friedrich Gulda, had great influence on Kretzer's further musical development to 1986 - from this school also the pianists Ivan Klánský and Wolfgang Manz originate. After school Kretzer studied until 1988 at the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln with Aloys Kontarsky. From 1988 he continued his studies at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg, graduated in 1993 the additional cultural management studies with Diplom and completed his musical studies in 1996 with concert exam, interpreting Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto No. 3 in Laeiszhalle in Hamburg which caused a strong sensation.

As a profound expert in Roman Antiquity too he studied Roman History from 1996 to 1998 at the University of Hamburg and Science of music at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hamburg at the same time. With his holistic understanding of art, which makes him deal with the Visual and Performing Arts, with literature, history, archeology and architecture, he is a late representative of the universally highly educated, "romantic" artist Typus, also herein Claudio Arrau not unlike, which in turn inspired other artists: thus the composers Franck Adrian Holzkamp and Ulrich Skubella dedicated works to him, the poet Raymond Mair wrote a sonnet, the synaesthetic painter Lieselotte Leier created a painting after they had heard Kretzer play.

During his studies in Cologne Kretzer taught at the Youth Music and Art School of the city of Remscheid, where he also led the department of piano. While studying at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hamburg he was initially employed as tutor of a major class and from 1998 to 2001 as professor. Since 1989, Kretzer gave master classes both at home and abroad, including at the Schleswig-Holstein Music Festival, the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana/Cuba, the Edna Manley College of Visual and Performing Arts in Kingston/Jamaica, the Conservatorio de los tres Mundos, Granada, Nicaragua, the Colegio San Agustin in David, Panama, the Conservatorio Nacional de Música in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. His students were multiple winners at prestigious piano competitions. With his piano playing and teaching method he is certified "to have great influence on the future graduates of high schools and their development to an international level". Among his most important students are Natasha Garcia-Guinot, Francisco Paredes-Llanes, Nora Maria Lastre or Madarys Morgan Verdecia.

Following the romantic tradition, Kretzer created sophisticated and effective paraphrases on Argentine Tangos and transcriptions of classical orchestral works for one, two and four pianos - the latter he performed in 2008 during a tour of Germany with the ensemble "Kla4" (Piano4te).

As an active member of Lions Club International he periodically gives charity concerts, whose revenues help to support the various charitable activities of this largest non-governmental organisation – the only service club that officially belongs to the United Nations.