© Giorgia Bertazzi

Born in the German town of Düren in 1970, Lars Vogt came to public attention when he won second prize at the 1990 Leeds International Piano Competition and since then enjoyed a varied career. His versatility as an artist ranged from the core classical repertoire of Mozart, Beethoven, Schumann and Brahms to the romantics Grieg, Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov through to the dazzling Lutoslawski concerto. During his late years Lars Vogt was increasingly working with orchestras both as conductor and directing from the keyboard. His appointment as Music Director of the Royal Northern Sinfonia at the Sage, Gateshead and Orchestre de chambre de Paris reflected this new development in his career.

Lars Vogt performed with many of the world's great orchestras including the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, London Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, NHK Symphony and Orchestre de Paris. He collaborated with some of the world's most prestigious conductors including Sir Simon Rattle, Mariss Jansons, Claudio Abbado and Andris Nelsons. His special relationship with the Berlin Philharmonic continued with regular collaborations following his appointment as their first ever "pianist in Residence" in 2003/4.

Lars Vogt also enjoyed a high profile as a chamber musician and in June 1998 he founded his own chamber festival in the village of Heimbach near Cologne. In 2005 he established a major educational programme "Rhapsody in School" which brought his colleagues to schools across Germany and Austria. He also was an accomplished and enthusiastic teacher and in 2013 was appointed Professor of Piano at the Hannover Conservatory of Music.

Lars Vogt was diagnosed with cancer and passed away in 2022.