BIOGRAPHY
Sophie Herzog is a rising star in the international classical music scene. Born in 1998, she is currently enrolled at the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna (MUK), studying with Prof. Grzegorz Stopa. In June 2024 she finished the first year of her Master Studies as an Erasmus student at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris under the guidance of Prof. Vincent Lhermet.
Sophie has already showcased her musical and artistic versatility at the Berlin Philharmonic, the "Anhaltische Kammermusiktage”, and with her concert series "UNGEHÖRT" at the 2024 edition of the festival "Kultursommer Wien" in Vienna, Austria.
Very much her own person, Sophie Herzog is nothing you would expect from a classical accordionist. She is a force of nature, joyful and extroverted. Yet as a performer her deliverance goes from passionate to gentle, from heart wrenching to delicate and introspective, from reverent to contemplative. She doesn’t shy away to put her all in the instrument, with a masterful touch and a sound quality that brings out the absolute depths of the instrument.
Recipient of numerous awards and scholarships, Sophie has won more than 40 national and international competitions, including the 'International Accordion Competition Klingenthal,' one of the two most prestigious accordion competitions in the world. Most recently the young artist has been awarded the "Maria Ladenburger Award for Music", whose 2024 competition theme was "Virtuosity and Ambition".
Sophie Herzog has a truly wonderful playing temperament. This great temperament is not only audible; visually, it also makes every performance a complete work of art. It is never merely an affectation for its own sake. Rather, it stems from what Charles Gounod calls the “feu sacré,” the “sacred fire.” Gounod wrote to an organ student that if this fire does not burn in the musician’s heart, then all musical brilliance is useless and empty. In Sophie Herzog, this sacred fire burns warmly and brightly, igniting the lights along the path [….].“¨
– Prof. Dr. Jakob Koch in his laudatory speech praising Sophie Herzog at the Maria Ladenburger Music Award ceremony (2024)
The “Maria Ladenburger Award for Music” honors outstanding musical talents. The award winners' concert took place on June 28, 2024, at the Beethoven House in Bonn, Germany, and was recorded by WDR. The concert, along with a personal interview, will be broadcast on WDR 3 Konzert on October 15, 2024, at 8:04 PM.
In addition to receiving the special prize from the Rotary Club in 2013, Sophie has been a scholarship holder with "Live Music Now Vienna" since 2021 and with the Cusanuswerk Foundation for gifted students since 2022. Most recently, in 2023, she earned the Merit Scholarship from the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna.
Her wish and intention is to broaden the horizon of what can and has been played on the accordion, to bring out the full dynamic range of this instrument and reveal its stunning palette of colors. She manages to do so by combining a masterful technique and control of the instrument with a deep emotional expressiveness that is ingrained in her personality.
In her upcoming tours and albums she explores the endless musical and artistic possibilities of the classical accordion, whilst always respecting and adhering to its roots and hereby takes the listener on an emotionally and intellectually challenging journey that stays with them far beyond the singular performance.
Sophie studies in Vienna and resides in Paris.