Julius Asal

In the organizer's words:

"Julius Asal's piano playing immediately amazed me. It is a mystery to me how he was able to achieve his uniquely sonorous sound. The instrument seemed to tell him a secret."

(Menahem Pressler)

It is no exaggeration to say that the pianist and composer Julius Asal has already enjoyed a remarkable career at his young age since he was announced as Deutsche Grammophon's new exclusive artist in October 2023.

He was subsequently selected by BBC Radio 3 for a two-year collaboration as a New Generation Artist in 2024 and named Rising Star 2024 by Classic FM. He has performed at internationally renowned venues such as the Wigmore Hall in London, the Ruhr Piano Festival, the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, the Oxford Piano Festival, the Rheingau Music Festival, the Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad, the Davos Festival, the Vienna Musikverein and the Suntory Hall in Tokyo. In March 2025, he also received the prestigious Terence Judd-Hallé Award. Also in 2025, he made his debut as a soloist with the BBC Concert Orchestra and the BBC Symphony Orchestra, among others.

In spring 2022, Julius Asal released his debut album with works by Sergei Prokofiev including his own transcriptions of the ballet "Romeo and Juliet" on the Spanish label IBS Classical, which has already received international acclaim.

His first album for Deutsche Grammophon, "Scriabin-Scarlatti", was then released in May 2024. At the same time, he was involved in the US campaign for World Sleep Day, for which he recorded an improvisation. On the occasion of World Piano Day 2024, Deutsche Grammophon released Gustav Holst's "Mars" in a version by Julius Asal, for which he modified the composer's piano duo version and added a third piano part.

His improvisation and almost native-speaker approach to the piano is also evident in his concerts, such as his debut at the Seoul Arts Center in 2024 and at the Yellow Lounge in October 2023, where Asal stepped in at short notice with a concept of classical works combined with improvisations.

The French newspaper Le Monde described his interpretations and the composition of his programs as "captivating strangeness" and ran the headline "The secret and subtle alliances of Julius Asal".

In August 2025, Julius Asal's latest album will be released by Deutsche Grammophon: Siena Tapes. In addition to works by Ravel and Christian Badzura, it also features Julius Asal's own interpretations.

He will be bringing this album - among others - to the Kleines Saal of the Elbphilharomonie on February 22, where he will be performing again almost exactly one year after his first guest appearance.

Price information:

25,00 - 55,00 €