The pianist, artistic director, and filmmaker Robert Kolinsky was born in 1970 in Solothurn, Switzerland. He studied piano at the music academies in Basel and Prague with Laszlo Gyimesi, Peter Efler, and Jan Panenka of the Suk-Trio, obtained his diploma as a soloist and was awarded several first prizes. While engaging in further training with György Kurtag and Witold Lutosławski, he studied fortepiano at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis with Jean Goverts and took masterclasses in conducting with Otto-Werner Mueller in Canada.

Robert Kolinsky has performed as soloist under conductors like Vladimir Ashkenazy and Gustavo Dudamel, participated in duo evenings with Josef Suk, Veronika Hagen, Alison Balsom, and Antonio Meneses. As part of chamber concerts, he performed with percussionist Peter Sadlo, oboist Heinz Holliger, and the Kremerata Baltica. He has appeared at international festivals such as Les Muséiques under Gidon Kremer and the Menuhin Festival in Gstaad.

For Swiss Radio SRF 2, he has produced various piano concertos and chamber music works ranging from Bach to Henze. In cooperation with Swiss Television and EuroArts, a chamber music film was made with Heinz Holliger, the Keller Quartet, and himself. He recorded a CD for the label Ondine of two Bohuslav Martinů piano concertos with Vladimir Ashkenazy as conductor.

Robert Kolinsky is the initiator and artistic director of the Martinů Festtage in Basel. In honor of the 125th anniversary of Martinů, Robert Kolinsky produced an award-nominated audio-picture-book Who is the Mightiest in the World. As an author and director, he made an award-winning documentary about the actor, director, and Academy Award winner Jiří Menzel.