»an admirable musician and pianist - patrician, elegant, sensitive…« (The Boston Globe)
Originating in the Bergische Land near Cologne, Eric Schneider studied piano and mathematics. At 22 he passed his piano solo concert examination in Cologne with distinction. After first competition prizes and piano solo performances he discovered enthusiasm for Lied and Chamber Music. He pursued studies in Lied accompaniment with Hartmut Höll. He received seminal impulses from Paul Badura-Skoda, Alfred Brendel and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. Particular gratitude he expresses to Elisabeth Legge-Schwarzkopf for her profound education of musical style. In the 90s he studied orchestral direction under Rolf Reuter in Berlin.
Eric Schneider has established longtime collaborations with singers as Christiane Oelze, Christine Schäfer, Anna Prohaska and Matthias Goerne. He performs all over the world in prestigious concert venues. His CD releases in the last years have been – amongst numerous others – 'Winterreise' and 'Apparition' with Christine Schäfer, 'Die schöne Müllerin' and 'Wanderers Nachtlied' with Matthias Goerne as well as 'Sirènes' and 'Behind the Lines 1914-2014' with Anna Prohaska.
As solo pianist Eric Schneider has performed impressive recitals at the Festspielhaus Baden-Baden, Kissinger Sommer, Beethovenfest Bonn and the Piano Festival Ruhr. His current CD contains Works by Leoš Janáček, Ludwig van Beethoven and Robert Schumann. A video with Beethoven's sonata op.106 is found on Youtube. Eric Schneider lives in Berlin and teaches Lied repertoire at the UdK.