Elizabeth Sombart

Born in Strasbourg, Elizabeth Sombart studied the piano from the age of seven. She entered the Strasbourg Conservatoire, and after gaining the National Piano and Chamber Music first prize, she left France for Buenos Aires to develop her art further with Bruno-Leonardo Gelber. She then continued her training with great masters such as Peter Feuchtwanger in London, with Hilde Langer-Rühl in Vienna and finally Sergiu Celibidache at the University of Mayence.
Throughout her life, Elizabeth Sombart has sought to share classical music with the widest possible audiences and with people from disadvantaged backgrounds. In 1998, she created the Fondation Résonnance, bringing classical music to outreach venues. ( hospitals, orphanages, prisons).
A further aim of the Fondation Résonnance has been to establish piano schools open to all without any restrictions on age, based upon the principles of free teaching, with no exams or competitions.
Elizabeth Sombart has recorded an important discography and videography. In past few years she produced two recordings with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra directed by Pierre Vallet. Previously, she recorded J.S. Bach "L’Art de la Fugue" played with Jean-Christophe Geiser in a piano and organ duo, and a recent recording of all Chopin’s Nocturnes.
Confidences pour piano de Bach à Bártok, a series of 50 programmes was produced by Peter Knapp and broadcast on France 3 TV and also recorded and released by BMG.
Elizabeth Sombart received the rank of Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite in 2006 for her lifetime achievement, and in 2008 was awarded the rank of Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres for her artistic career.