Semion Skigin

Semion Skigin was born in Leningrad (now again St. Petersburg). He studied at the Leningrad State conservatory. In 1972 he appeared as soloist with the (then) Leningrad Philharmonic, and three years later he won first prize in the international competition for piano accompanists in Rio de Janeiro. His expertise as a song accompanist is documented on countless CDs, of which the series Great Edition of Russian Songs (with all the songs by Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, and Glinka) is particularly noteworthy. This series was awarded the Gramophone Award 1995 and the Cannes Award 1996.

Semion Skigin's activity as a teacher led to his appointrnent as guest professor from 1978 to 1981 at the Carl Maria von Weber Musikhochschule in Dresden. Since 1990 he has been Professor of Song Accompaniment at the Musikhochschule "Hanns Eisler" in Berlin. In addition he regularly gives master classes at leading conservatories in Germany, Holland, and the U.S.A.

Semion Skigin is nowadays one of the most sought-after song accompanists, and appears in all the great concert halls of the world, accompanying prominent singers, such as Olaf Bär, Cheryl Studer,Robert Holl, Olga Borodina, and Sergei Leiferkus.

Professor Skigin is Artistic Director of the music festival at Theaterkahn in Dresden, as well as Vice President and Artistic Director of the Berlin Salon.