Stephan Schmidt

About Stephan Schmidt

Stephan Schmidt studied in Trossingen, Paris, and New York. Between 1987 and 1988, he won several first prizes in international competitions, crowned by the 1st prize in the XXX Concours International de Guitare de Radio France in Paris in 1988. His artistic path was influenced by the composer Maurice Ohana and the discovery of the latter's music for ten-string guitar in 1981. Schmidt’s concert repertoire is based on the performance of masterpieces by great composers such as J. S. Bach, Helmut Lachenmann, Brian Ferneyhough, Chaya Czernowin, and Bruno Maderna, as well as collaborations with other artists from very different aesthetic worlds. He has performed in many countries around the world. Since 2012, he has been Director of the Basel Music Academy in the Northwestern University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Switzerland (which includes the Hochschule for Music, the Basel Schola Cantorum, the Basel Music School, and the Basic Music Courses).