German born pianist and curator Constanze Beckman is a passionate advocate for cultural exchange and tolerance through the arts. The legendary conductor Kurt Sanderling praised her as “a musician with extraordinary musical taste and great potential as a performer.” As a soloist, Ms. Beckmannhas performed throughout Europe, Canada, Israel, and the United States, including at the Berliner Philharmonie, the Konzerthaus Berlin, the Freie Akademie der Künste in Hamburg, the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre at the Canadian Opera Company, Koerner Hall in Toronto, and Merkin Hall in New York City.
Working with musicians from the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Ms. Beckmann was acknowledged by Claudio Abbado as “a sensitive and gifted chamber musician.” A sought after collaborator for singers and string players, Ms. Beckmann regularly plays with musicians from the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and the Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig, among others.
Ms. Beckmann has originated and performed in numerous projects as a pianist and curator, including recitals as part of Holocaust Education Week since 2010, in which she has featured works composed by Holocaust survivors. These were followed by exhibits and lectures in collaboration with well known artists, including Samuel Bak. At the request of the German Embassy in Ottawa, Ms. Beckmann created and performed a musical program in remembrance of the 80th Reichskristallnacht, with concerts in Toronto and Ottawa.
In 2019, the German Embassy in Ottawa initiated and sponsored a project in memory of the late George Brady, and the victims of Terezín. With the ongoing support of The Embassy, Ms. Beckmann curated a musical program that included “The Ethics” (2015), for violin, piano, percussion, and chorus, composed by the Israeli-American violinist Ittai Shapira. The performances featured the Schulich Singers under the baton of Maestro Jean- Sébastien Vallée, in Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal. In addition, Ms. Beckmann commissioned a chamber version of “The Ethics” with soprano, alto, tenor, and bass soloists, which premiered in Toronto at the Richard Bradshaw Amphitheatre – Canadian Opera Company in November 2019.
The winner of several first prizes and special awards in competitions, including the International Steinway Competition and “Jugend Musiziert”, Ms. Beckmannhas performed with renowned orchestras including the Berlin Symphonic Orchestra, the Kammerakademie Potsdam, and the Erzgebirgisches Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Beckmann received her Performance Diploma in Piano from the The Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto under the tutelage of John Perry. She also holds a Bachelor of Music and Economics from the Thompson Rivers University in BC. She has participated in master classes for some of the world’s finest musicians, including Leon Fleisher, Arie Vardi, and Dmitri Bashkirov. Further mentors include Robert Levin, Elena Richter and Ilana Vered. She received her M.M.at the Manhattan School of Music under the tutelage of Phillip Kawin.
Ms. Beckmann received an O1 visa in December 2020 and not long ago became a permanent resident of the United States of America. In 2021, Constanze Beckmann and Canadian baritone Samuel Chan formed a Lieder – duo and have been performing together ever since.
Ms. Beckmann has all 27 Mozart concertos in her repertoire and has performed numerous concertos with orchestras such as the Berlin Symphony Orchestra and the Kammerakademie Potsdam. In 2022, she completed writing her own cadenzas in the style of Mozart for the concertos for which Mozart did not write cadenzas, and she has performed several of them for renowned artists, including John Perry, Ilana Vered, Robert Levin, and Leon Fleisher.
In 2023, Ms. Beckmann successfully produced her own documentary film “Songs and Suppression – A Musical Journey out of Exile.” The film is about two forgotten composers of Jewish heritage, Walter Braunfels and Hanns Eisler, whose music was banned and suppressed by the Nazis. Ms.Beckmann and Samuel Chan paired the film with a song recital which explores topics of xenophobia, racism, exile, and personal/artistic suppression through the contrasting musical styles of the late Romanticism of Walter Braunfels with the serialism, atonalism, and jazz influences of Hanns Eisler’s “Hollywood Songbook.” The recital and film world premiere took place at the Canadian Opera Company in Toronto in collaboration with the German Consulate as part of Holocaust Education Week on November 7, 2023. The U.S. premiere was at the New School in New York City on November 8, 2023. Further film and recital performances took place at the Academy of Art in Hamburg, Germany and Share Recital Hall at Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University in New Jersey.
Constanze is currently a doctorate assistant at Mason Gross School of the Arts – Rutgers University where she is pursuing a Doctorate degree of Musical Arts.
Ms. Beckmann has over 10 years of teaching experience, spanning all age groups, and is a passionate and innovative teacher who strives to create engaging and inclusive learning environments.