Paul Cibis (Germany)

Guest Jury

Starting his career in Germany and the UK, pianist Paul Cibis has performed on five continents, establishing an international presence.Paul is the co-creater of the PIANO BATTLE concert brand with its long-lasting success of over 400 performances worldwide. He has played solo & duo recitals across Europe and Asia, and has been featured on CD recordings in Germany, Ireland, Taiwan and New Zealand.Being equally passionate about education, Paul also gives workshops and masterclasses, mentoring selected talents internationally. He is also a founding member and current chairman of the international Peter Feuchtwanger Society e.V., a non-profit organisation dedicated to education & research on piano technique and pianists' health, and the host of a yearly piano symposium in Germany.Paul has appeared in TV and radio broadcasts around the world, including the BBC, WDR, 3Sat, ORB, HR, RTHK and CCTV.

PIANO BATTLE was born out of the interest to present classical music in a more unique and innovative way. Together with fellow pianist Andreas Kern, he created and developed this project to intermational acclaim, with their shows being performed at major venues and festivals in Germany, Italy, Bulgaria, China, Taiwan, South Korea, Canada, the US and Australia, including the Beethovenfest Bonn, Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival, Klavierfestival Ruhr, Rheingau Musik Festival, the Prinzregententheater Munich, Berlin Philharmonie, Melbourne Recital Hall, Seoul Arts Center and the National Concert Hall Taipei.As a passionate Lieder & Art Song enthusiast, Paul Cibis has performed together with various singers around the globe, among them British baritone Roderick Williams, German soprano Barbara Senator, and in over 100 recitals with the literary chanson singer Eva Meier.His CD recordings include an album of French mélodies and piano works by Berlioz, Fauré and Debussy, with German mezzo-soprano Barbara Senator, and a solo album featuring the Taiwanese composer Kai-nan Huang. 2025 saw the release of "Zweisamkeit" / "Togetherness", an album with Irish soprano Helen Hancock, released by Navona Records.

Paul Cibis regularly conducts solo piano and Lieder workshops at universities and academies in the US, Hong Kong (HKAPA), Taiwan, China, South Korea and Singapore (NAFA). For over a decade he was a resident pianist and coach at the Oxford Cello School summer festival and is the co-director of the annual Philomel Music Academy summer course. Paul is also a founding member and current chairman of the international Peter Feuchtwanger Society.Paul was involved in various film projects. He penned the music scores for several short films, and was the initiator as well as music supervisor of the international award-winning documentary PIANOMANIA.Paul Cibis studied piano with Karl-Heinz Kämmerling (HMTM Hanover), Peter Feuchtwanger (London), Eugene Asti and Graham Johnson (GSMD). Furthermore he read musicology and philosophy in Berlin and at the Royal Holloway, University of London. From 2005 to 2009, Paul taught at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music & Dance.