»With a sense of sound and intellect, remarkable musical intelligence« is how critics describe the versatile young artist, who has won multiple first prizes at festivals and competitions in Europe and the USA. He has also received awards such as the Bach Prize and the Schubert Prize for his interpretations. Maximilian Schairer has received scholarships from the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben, the ZEIT Foundation Ebelin and Gerd Bucerius in cooperation with the Carl-Heinz Illies Fund, the DAAD, the Deutschlandstipendium, the Hans and Eugenia Jütting Foundation, the Kurt Redel Foundation, the Musica Foundation, the Baden-Württemberg Stiftung, and the Eva Mayr-Stihl Foundation in cooperation with SWR.
From 2015 to 2025, he held the title “Steinway Artist,” awarded by Steinway & Sons.
As early as 2011, critics wrote: “The name Maximilian Schairer is one to remember.”He is considered one of the most intriguing musicians of his generation, captivating audiences with his exceptional artistic maturity and spellbindinginterpretations, rich in color and refined down to the finest nuances.
Concert invitations have taken him to festivals in Europe, Indonesia, and the USA, such as the ATTACCA Festival for Contemporary Music, the Braunschweig Classix Festival, the Festival International de Musique de Dinard, MUSIKFEST STUTTGART, the Ludwigsburger Schlossfestspiele, LUCERNE FESTIVAL, the Salzburg Festival, and the US International Romantic Festival. He has performed in concert halls such as Carnegie Hall in New York, the Opéra Bastille in Paris, the Wiener Saal and the Solitär in Salzburg, the Ehrbar Saal in Vienna, the Toni-Areal in Zurich, the Philharmonie Košice, the Stadthalle Braunschweig, the Gasteig in Munich, the Meistersingerhalle in Nuremberg, the Allerheiligen-Hofkirche in the Munich Residenz, the Wilhelma-Theater, the Theaterhaus, the Schauspielhaus, and the Liederhalle in Stuttgart.
He made his orchestral debut with the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra at the age of 12. In May 2019, Schairer made his debut with the Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Jan Willem de Vriend in the sold-out Liederhalle Stuttgart. In October 2019, he enchanted audiences with his “heart, multi-faceted wit, great tonal color, and personality” in Haydn’s Piano Concerto in D major when he stepped in at short notice at the request of chief conductor Dan Ettinger. He has also appeared with other chamber and symphony orchestras in debut and return engagements. As a chamber music partner, he performs with various ensembles, including members of the Stuttgart State Orchestra and the Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra, the Alinde Quartet, and in art song duos, and appears as a guest pianist with the Beethoven Trio Bonn. He has given musical readings with actress Katharina Thalbach and mountaineer Reinhold Messner, among others.
He has initiated creative concert formats and commissioned new works, which he premiered. Equally important to him is his social engagement, including charity concerts and workshops that inspire young audiences to appreciate classical music. He is in demand as a lecturer for courses and talks on piano performance, artist branding, and social media, among other topics.
His debut album “Clair de Lune” with violinist Philipp Jonas was released in 2021 on the bella musica/THOROFON label and was broadcast on BR-Klassik, SWR2, and rbbKultur. Their recording of “Clair de Lune for violin and piano: Andante très expressif” has been streamed 200,000 times on Spotify. In 2023, his solo album “Gloaming,” co-produced by BR-Klassik and hänssler CLASSIC, received international recognition from press and radio, including SRF, and was added to Lufthansa’s in-flight entertainment program in 2024. In 2025, he released the album “AURORA – Northern Lights” with Philipp Jonas. His work is documented in numerous studio and radio recordings as well as TV appearances, including for BR-Klassik and SWR. He regularly shares his activities with his followers on social media.
He received artistic inspiration from Ya-Fei Chuang, Menno van Delft, Jörg Halubek, Martin Helmchen, Robert Levin, Murray Perahia, and Sir András Schiff, among others. Maximilian Schairer studied piano and historical keyboard instruments in Stuttgart, Leipzig, and Munich, and most recently completed his Konzertexamen with distinction under Prof. Michael Hauber.
