Lars Vogt (born 8 September 1970, in Düren, Germany) is a German concert pianist. Lars Vogt studied at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover with Karl-Heinz Kämmerling. He rose to prominence after winning second prize at the 1990 Leeds International Piano Competition and has since gone on to give major concerto and recital performances. In the 2003/04 season he made his debut with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra under conductor Lorin Maazel. He is especially interested in chamber music, founding the festival „Spannungen“ in Heimbach (Eifel) in 1998. He has a close association with the Berlin Philharmonic.[citation needed] In 2004 he was awarded both the Brahmspreis and the Echo Klassik. He also won the "Großer Kulturpreis der rheinischen Sparkassen" in 2006.