Wolfgang Emanuel Schmidt is one of the most preeminent cellists of his generation. Early on during his studies with David Geringas and Aldo Parisot, he made his mark at international competitions including the Grand Prix de la Ville de Paris and the Prize for Contemporary Music at the Rostropovich Competition. He then went on to win the German Music Competition in Bonn and the International Australian Cello Competition in New Zealand. He is a prize winner of the esteemed International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow and International Leonard Rose Cello Competition in the U.S. Schmidt has performed as a soloist throughout Europe, Russia, and the U.S. with renowned ensembles such as the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin, Deutsches Symphonie-Orchester Berlin, Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, Radiophilharmonie des NDR, Sinfonia Varsovia, Baltimore and Houston Symphony Orchestras, and the Philharmonia Prague.