Julius Drake

The pianist Julius Drake lives in London and enjoys an international reputation as one of the finest instrumentalists in his field, collaborating with many of the world’s leading artists, both in recital and on disc. His passionate interest in song has led to invitations to devise song series for Wigmore Hall, London; The Concertgebouw, Amsterdam; 92nd St Y, New York; and the Pierre Boulez Saal, Berlin. He curates an annual series of song recitals – Julius Drake and Friends – in the historic Middle Temple Hall in London. Julius Drake is a Professor of Collaborative Piano at the Guildhall School of Music in London, and he is regularly invited to give masterclasses worldwide. 

Julius’ engagements in 2025/26 season include recitals at Konzerthaus Dortmund, Wigmore Hall and Carnegie Hall, New York with Günther Groissböck, performances of Winterreise at Théâtre de l'Athénée in Paris with Ian Bostridge (directed by Deborah Warner), a USA tour with Axelle Fanyo, and returns to the Boulez Saal Berlin, Oxford International Song Festival, Leeds Lieder festival and the Hungarian State Opera in Budapest.

Recent concerts include a recital at La Scala, Milan with Ludovic Tézier; return visits to the Boulez Saal Berlin for the series ‘Lied und Lyrik’; a recital tour in the USA with Ian Bostridge; the complete Mahler songs in five recitals in the Mahler Festival at the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam; return visits to the Chamber Music Festivals of Santa Fe, Leeds and Oxford; concerts in Berlin and the Aldeburgh Festival with Andrè Schuen; piano duet recitals with Elisabeth Leonskaja including at the Schubertiade Festival; recitals in the USA and Europe with Fleur Barron, Mercedes Gancedo, Christoph Prégardien, Julia Kleiter, Roderick Williams. 

Julius’ many recordings include a widely acclaimed series with Gerald Finley for Hyperion Records, of which ‘Song by Samuel Barber’, ‘Schumann: Dichterliebe & other Heine Settings’ and ‘Britten: Songs & Proverbs of William Blake’ won the 2007, 2009 and 2011 Gramophone Awards; recordings with Ian Bostridge and Alice Coote for EMI; with Joyce DiDonato, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson and Matthew Polenzani for Wigmore Live; and with Anna Prohaska for Alpha. His recordings of Janáček’s ‘The Diary of One Who Disappeared’, with tenor Nicky Spence and mezzo soprano Václava Housková for Hyperion Records, won both the Gramophone and the BBC Music Magazine Awards in 2020, and he won the 2025 BBC Music Magazine Chamber Award for his recording of works by Robert and Clara Schumann for Chandos, with oboist Nicholas Daniel.

Updated September 2025