Biography
uSusanna Braun, winner of the 10th International Piano Competition for Young Musicians, was born in The Hague in 1999 to Swiss parents and began her professional piano training at the age of 9 with Danilo Manto in Milan. After studying with Helen Krizos at the Chetham’s School of Music and Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM) in Manchester, she completed her Bachelor of Music with “First-Class Honours”. She was further awarded the “Diplôme Superiore” with unanimous highest mention» from the Schola Cantorum de Paris, in the class of Maurizio Moretti.
Presently she is studying at the Imola International Academy Foundation “Incontri con il Maestro” in the class of Boris Petrushansky. Simultaneously, she is preparing for her Master of Music at the Hochschule für Musik FRANZ LISZT Weimar, where she works with Grigory Gruzman. In addition, she receives guidance from Helen Krizos.
Susanna has been invited to participate in the 16th Concours Géza Anda 2024, which will take place in Zurich at the end of May. In August 2024, Susanna will make her debut at the Tonhalle Zurich with W.A. Mozart’s Piano Concerto KV 466.
In autumn 2023 she has performed L.v. Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No. 4 in Munich and 48 hours later S. Prokofiev’s Concerto No. 2 in Hamburg. Some highlights of her first concert tour in Holland in 2022 included a solo recital in the Spiegelzaal of the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam followed by an interview, both recorded live on Radio 4. Other highlights were solo recitals at Castle Huis Bergh in Achterhoek and at Theater De Kappen in Haaksbergen. O.a. she has also performed in venues such as Town Hall in Birmingham, St. James Piccadilly Church and St Mary’s Perivale in London, Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, Teatro Comunale in Ferrara, Lanserhaus in Eppan during the Piano Academy Eppan 2019, Palazzo Arese Borromeo in Cesano Maderno during Piano City Milano, Martinskirche and Elisabethenkirche in Basel, “Zum Gelben Haus” in Schaffhausen, ETH Zurich und Universitaetsspital Zurich (USZ), Chiesa Evangelica in Lugano, Palais Ehrbar in Vienna, and Weimarhalle in Weimar.
Appearances with orchestra have been made with the Jena Philharmonie, Norddeutsche Philharmonie Rostock, the Orchestra d’archi Ferruccio Bevenuto Busoni and the Orchestra del Conservatorio di Musica Luigi Cherubini, Florence.
Susanna is the founder and the artistic director of the annual chamber music festival “BlenioMusica”, which was realized under her artistic direction for the first time in July 2021 in Valle di Blenio, Switzerland. Since its first edition, the festival has been very well-received – this year it will take place for the fourth time. As BlenioMusica is experiencing rapid growth, it is supported by the association of the same name, which was founded at the end of 2023. For every edition of the festival Susanna was interviewed by RSI (Radiotelevisione Svizzera di lingua Italiana) and by Corriere del Ticino.
Still in her young career, Susanna already received numerous awards. At the 21st International Competition Piano Campus 2023 in Paris, she received the “Brigitte Engerer prize”, which honours the candidate with the greatest career potential as “Jeune espoir” and the partner “Sogel Pontoise prize”. In 2018 she won first prizes at the 10th International Piano Competition for Young Musicians in Enschede and the Ferrara International Piano Festival in Italy. The following year she has received the encouragement prize from the Neues Orchester Basel, and in 2020 the “RNCM Chopin Prize” and “The Marjorie Clementi Memorial Award” from the RNCM. She celebrated further successes at the 7th Andrea Baldi International Piano Competition, International Anton Rubinstein Competition, 8th International Rosario-Marciano Competition, Mazovia XXII International Chopin Festival, 4th International Piano Competition Piano Talents, Euterpe International Music Competition.
In addition to the piano, Susanna is also an accomplished violinist, and is fluent in English, German, and Italian. Susanna is grateful for the support of the charity Talent Unlimited.
Awards
‘Brigitte Engerer Prize’ Piano Campus International Competition (Paris France 2023)
‘Sogel Pontoise Prize’ Piano Campus International Piano Competition (Paris France 2023)
‘The Marjorie Clementi Memorial Award’ RNCM School of Keyboard Studies (winner, Manchester UK 2020)
‘Weidenkam Culture Fonds’ Swiss Association Derecha (winner of full scholarship, Switzerland 2019)
‘NOB-Foerderpreis’ Encouragement prize from ‘Neue Orchester Basel’ (winnter, Basel Switzerland 2019)
‘Swiss Youth Music Competition’ Entrada (1st prize with mention, Switzerland 2019)
‘10th International Piano Competition for Young Musicians’ (Winner, Enschede Holland 2018)
‘Ferrara International Piano Festival’ (Winner, Ferrara Italy 2018)
‘7th Andrea Baldi International Piano Competition’ (1st prize absolute, Bologna Italy 2017)
‘International Anton Rubinstein Competition’ (2nd prize, Düsseldorf Germany 2017)
‘8th International Rosario-Marciano Competition’ (3rd prize, Vienna Austria 2016)
‘RNCM Chopin Prize’ (Winner, Manchester UK 2015)
‘Mazovia XXII International Chopin Festival’ (Winner, Warsaw Poland 2014)
‘4th International Piano Competition Piano Talents’ (Winner of ‘Bach prize’ and 1st prize, Milan Italy 2014)
‘Euterpe International Music Competition’ (1st prize absolute, Corato Italy 2014)
‘International Cesar Franck Piano Competition’ (2nd prize, Belgium 2014)
‘Terzo Musica Valle Bormida’ (2nd prize, Italy 2011)