BIO
Based in Vienna, Austria, Christopher Devine (1982) is a composer, conductor and pianist, and was born and raised in the Netherlands, from a German mother and a Scottish father. He studied in Amsterdam,The Hague and Vienna with Marcel Baudet, Jan Wijn and Stefan Vladar (piano), Theo Loevendie (composition) and Georg Mark (conducting). His musical development was further enriched by regular masterclasses with Leslie Howard, Janina Fialkowska, Elisso Virsaladze en Maria João Pires.
As a pianist, Christopher Devine has been active worldwide for over two decades. He is a winner of several international competitions, which helped him earn performances in prominent halls like the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Palau de la Musica in Barcelona, Carnegie Hall in New York, Rakhmaninov Hall in Moscow and the Musikverein in Vienna. He has played as a soloist with orchestras like the Residence Orchestra of The Hague, The Orchestra of Gelderland and ‘l´Orquestra Simfònica del Vallès’ in Spain. Since 2008 he is a member of the Gustav Mahler Piano Quartet. Recently, Christopher Devine’s growing discography comprises the complete works for piano solo by Debussy, issued in a 5 CD box set by Piano Classics, which Gramophone described as ‘full of subtle thoughts, finely etched and very polished’.
Since 2017, Christopher Devine is principal conductor at the ‘Stadtchor und Philharmonie Klosterneuburg’ (Austria). Besides the standard repertoire of, for example, Requiems by Mozart, Verdi and Brahms, they have also performed world premieres by Sir Karl Jenkins and Franz J. Mach in the past three seasons. This April, Haydn’s ‘Creation’ is on the programme.
Apart from being an interpreter Christopher Devine is also known for his work as a composer. In 2001 his work ‘Mirkwood Music’ was performed in the ‘Beurs van Berlage’ (Amsterdam) by the Dutch Chamber Orchestra, with Ernst van Tiel conducting. In 2011, he wrote and conducted the music to the Viennese film by Robert Herzl: “der verlorene Atem”, which was premiered in January 2013. He also regularly performs his works for solo piano.
Christopher Devine also holds a post as Senior Lecturer at the University for Music and performing Arts Graz since 2013. He is married to pianist Mehrdokht Manavi, and they have a daughter together, Aryana.
