Artist Biographies

Eckart Sellheim and Dian Baker have combined their many years of artistic experiences into the perfect medium—the piano duo. Since 1998 they have concertized—"four hands, two hearts, one piano"—in the United States and in Europe, and feel equally at home with the mainstream repertoire as well as with the lesser-known contemporary works for piano four-hands. The Duo has performed the complete four-hand works of Schubert on a variety of pianos and fortepianos; these pieces, along with integral works by Mozart, Schumann, Brahms and Debussy, form the core of their extensive repertoire. In 2007, the Duo was invited to perform a recital on Clara Schumann's 1827 fortepiano at the Schumannhaus in Zwickau, Germany. This concert featuring works by Schubert, Schumann, and Friedrich Wieck was broadcasted and recorded by Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk on the Figaro label. In spring 2011, they released a highly acclaimed co-production Westdeutscher Rundfunk/ARS Label with works of Carl Reinecke.

Eckart Sellheim

Eckart Sellheim received his musical training in Germany and Switzerland; Adolf Drescher and Jakob Gimpel were among his teachers. He was appointed to the faculty of the two major conservatories in Cologne and continued his academic career as an Associate Professor of Piano and Chamber Music at the University of Michigan. From 1989 until 2008 he was Professor and Director of Collaborative Piano at Arizona State University. He also served as Guest Lecturer of Fortepiano and Performance Practice at the Musikhochschule in Trossingen, as well as at various music academies in Germany, and has taught numerous master classes in the United States and in several European countries.

Mr. Sellheim maintains an active performance schedule, having made concert tours in the USA, Latin America and the Caribbean, the Middle East, Africa, and throughout Europe. He appears regularly on radio programs in Germany and in the USA and has made more than 20 recordings as piano and fortepiano soloist and collaborative pianist, a number of them on the CBS-Sony label with his late brother, renowned German cellist Friedrich-Jürgen Sellheim.

Dian Baker

Internationally acclaimed pianist Dian Baker has toured both as soloist and chamber music collaborator in 30 countries on four continents and has served, together with cellist Roger Drinkall, as Artistic Ambassador for the United States in more than 900 concerts worldwide. She has performed extensively (eight concert tours) in South America and in the United States. Her concert appearances have been broadcasted on radio and television in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, China, Germany, Czech Republic, The Netherlands, India, and Pakistan. Dr. Baker has recorded on the Pyramid, Klavier, Sanctus, Tantara, and Wilson Audiophone labels; numerous works by American composers have been commissioned and premiered by her.

Dr. Baker received the "Outstanding Woman of the Year" award from Brigham Young University, where she directed the Collaborative Piano area for ten years as a Senior Lecturer. She served on the faculty of the Mesa Community College in Arizona, and has served as Principal Pianist for the Phoenix Boys Choir, with whom she toured regularly in the United States, Europe, and Japan.