Pianist Lars Vogt dies age 51

The Philharmonia is deeply saddened to hear of the death of pianist Lars Vogt. Lars died yesterday, at the age of 51, after a long battle against cancer.

Lars has performed with the Philharmonia many times over the years. He made his Philharmonia debut in May 1996, when he performed Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No.3 with conductor Marek Janowski. Since then, he has been the soloist of choice for conductors such as Christian Thielemann, Christoph von Dohnányi, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Sir Charles Mackerras and Paavo Jarvi. We were looking forward to welcoming him back to the Philharmonia this coming November, with our Principal Conductor Santtu-Matias Rouvali, when he was due to perform Brahms’ Piano Concerto No.2.

CEO Thorben Dittes adds ‘Lars was an exceptional musician and human being. I am proud to have been able to call him both a colleague and a friend, and look back on many years of musical collaboration and the unforgettable memories he created for participating musicians and audiences alike.’

Our thoughts are with Lars’ family and friends at this difficult time.