Successful at the 2010 Warsaw International Chopin Competition, Ingolf Wunder showed how excellently he plays works by the great Polish composer. The young Austrian won not only the second prize but also several special prizes and the audience award at the legendary piano competition. The jury’s decision led to an intensive public debate, heightening awareness worldwide.   Born in Klagenfurt in 1985, Ingolf Wunder had his first music lessons at the age of four. He began on the violin and had reached a high level of proficiency when, at the age of 14, his extraordinary talent for the piano was discovered by a teacher who urged him to dedicate himself to the keyboard instrument. Shortly thereafter he made his highly successful debut at the Schubertsaal of the Vienna Konzerthaus. After studying at the conservatories of Klagenfurt and Linz, he graduated from Vienna’s Universität für Musik und Darstellende Kunst. He is currently continuing his studies in Vienna under the guidance of the 1955 Warsaw Competition winner Adam Harasiewicz.   Ingolf Wunder, who had previously won the top prize at several other competitions – among them Turin (European Music), Hamburg (Steinway), Feldkirch (“Prima la musica”), Asti (Concours Musical de France), Casarza (“VI Trofeo Internazionale”) and Budapest (Liszt) – has already performed throughout the world, including Argentina, Austria, Belgium, China, Cyprus, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Switzerland and the USA.   Ingolf Wunder began 2011, along with the other 2010 Warsaw Competition prize-winners, with a highly successful tour of Japan with the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra under Antoni Wit – followed by Chopin recitals in St. Petersburg, Barboursville (Virginia) and Vancouver. This year’s further plans include appearances in the most important Polish concert halls like Warsaw, Kraków and Gdansk and in Tel Aviv, Vienna (Konzerthaus), Düsseldorf (Ruhr Piano Festival), Eisenstadt (Esterházy Palace), Hamburg, Berlin, Oslo, Ankara, Zurich and Basel.   In January 2011, Ingolf Wunder became an exclusive Deutsche Grammophon artist. His first recording under the new contract is a solo Chopin recital, planned for release this summer.   5/2011