Michel Xie

Michel Xie is a Dutch classical pianist who has established himself as a chamber musician and collaborative pianist. He is the founder and artistic director of Rhinegold Festival, a chamber music festival in Wageningen (NL). Recently he performed in a.o. Wigmore Hall, recorded a CD with violist Julie Park under Linn Records and received the Hodgson Fellowship from the Royal Academy of Music in London. From 2021 he has been teaching as a collaborative pianist at the Conservatory of Amsterdam, where he mainly works with the violin- and clarinet class.

He graduated from the Conservatory of Amsterdam with a Bachelor of Music and a Master of Music under the tutelage of Frank van de Laar and Frank Peters. He continued his studies at the Royal Academy of Music where he specialised in ‘Collaborative Piano’. He learned with a.o. Michael Dussek and James Baillieu and obtained a Master of Arts (DipRAM) and Advanced Diploma. During his studies he won the 2nd prize at the Schumann Lieder Competition, the Harold Craxton Prize for chamber music and the Regency Award for distinguished studentship and contribution to the Royal Academy of Music.

His studies were fully funded by Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds, VSBfonds, Hendrik Mullerfonds, Stichting Niemeijer Fonds, Jacques Vonk Fonds, Stichting Bekker la Bastide Fonds, Muziekfonds Stringendo and the Royal Academy of Music.

In the Netherlands he won prizes at competitions such as Prinses Christina Concours, Stichting Jong Muziektalent and Vrienden Cultuurprijs. This has led to national and international concerts with a.o. Het Gelders Orkest and Orkest van het Oosten (now Phion).

Michel is also passionate about enthusing the younger generation for classical music. He is presenting interactive children concerts in the ‘Classic Express’: a mobile concert hall in the Netherlands, an initiative by the Prinses Christina Concours. He was also a jury member of ‘De Muziekwedstrijd’: an online music competition for young children.

With the help of Stichting Eigen Muziekinstrument, he was granted the ability to purchase his own grand piano. With support of Ars Donandi, Willem Mengelbergfonds and Heij-Konijnfonds, he was able to enrich his pianistic and musical skills in masterclasses with eminent professors such as Paul Badura-Skoda, Pascal Devoyon, Christopher Elton, Andrei Gavrilov, Matti Raekallio and Jan Wijn.