Julian Riem

  • Piano/Arrangements

General management

© Gregor_Hohenberg

He sculpts Debussy's final completed cycle with effortlessness, brilliance and a subtle touch, eliciting captivating nuances from this music which is as virtuosic as it is melodiously florid. (...) Highly complex pianistically, pushing tonal limits at times, Riem takes the unique idiosyncrasies of this fascinating music to extremes. Without fail, he perfectly nails the pieces, most of which are only a minute or so in length – a brilliant addition to Debussy's far better known cycle. (Etudes by Debussy and Szimanowski, Tyx-Art) Klassik Heute

Julian Riem is one of the most versatile pianists in the classical world today. As a soloist, chamber musician and Lied accompanist, he performs on a regular basis in Europe, Asia and America. Even at an early age, he was considered by his mentors – none other than Michel Béroff, Michael Schäfer and Rudolf Buchbinder – to be one of the “most promising pianists of his generation”.

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His exceptional musicality is reflected in his open mind for all things new, his love of arrangements for piano, chamber music and orchestra, and his affinity for contemporary works.

Julian Riem makes regular guest appearances at international festivals, including the Munich Opera Festival, the Festspiele Mecklenburg Vorpommern, the Rheingau-, the Schleswig-Holstein- and the Mosel-Musikfestival, Musica mundi in Brüssel, Les Muséiques in Basel, the  Tucson Friends of Chambermusic, Arizona, Barge Music New York, Tongyeong International Music Festival, Korea, and the International Music Festival Marvão, Portugal, in addition to performing in major concert halls such as the Konzerthaus Vienna, Het Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Konzerthaus Berlin, Tonhalle Maag Zurich, Bunkakaikan Tokyo and Munich's Herkulessaal.

He has won prizes at international piano competitions in Modena, Madrid and Premio Gui in Florence, was a scholarship holder of the German Music Competition and has received numerous awards for his numerous CD recordings, including an Echo Klassik, an Opus Klassik, the German Record Critics' Award and a Diapason d'Or. He won the Grand Prize at the 2022 International Petrichor Music Competition for his piano trio arrangement of the Scherzo from Mendelssohn's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

He and cellist Raphaela Gromes form an established duo whose six CD recordings to date with Sony Classical have each climbed the official German classical music charts. These CDs include world premiere recordings and numerous arrangements by Julian Riem.

In addition to the classical concert repertoire, Riem is an advocate of modern and contemporary composers; in addition to Messiaen, Ligeti, Stockhausen, Henze, Boulez, Xenakis, Schnittke, and Hartmann, his programs frequently include works and premieres by Liebermann, Stahmer, Bourbodakis, Illes, Koch, Cowell, and Ranjbaran.

He has collaborated musically with artists such as Christoph Poppen, Julian Rachlin, Albrecht Menzel, Markus Wolf, Wen-Sinn Yang, Reinhard Latzko, Isabelle van Keulen, Georg Arzberger und Andreas Schablas, sowie Susanne Kelling, Carolina Ulrich und Juliane Banse.

season 2024/2025

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Contacts

Photos

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  • © Gregor_Hohenberg
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  • © Gregor_Hohenberg
  • © Gregor_Hohenberg
  • © Gregor_Hohenberg
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  • (c) Petra Hennemann
  • (c) Petra Hennemann
  • (c) Petra Hennemann
  • (c) Petra Hennemann

News

© Gregor_Hohenberg

Fortissima reaches No. 1 in the German Classical Charts

© Priska Ketterer/Lucerne Festival

Dresdner Festspielorchester & Concerto Köln perform Wagner’s “Siegfried” at the Lucerne Festival

JulianRiem_Dachau

True Masters of Their Craft

(c) Petra Hennemann

A fabulous duo

JulianRiem_©Sammy Hart2

new CD „Fantasie“ with Julian Riem and Georg Arzberger

JulianRiem_©Sammy Hart2

Julian Riem awarded with Grand Prize by Petrichor Records

Femmes album among Weekly Favorites of Süddeutsche Zeitung

Rapahela Gromes_Riem_347©wildundleise.de

Raphaela Gromes at BR-Abendschau

Concerts

Projects

  • Further dates upon request

    Raphaela Gromes (Violoncello) – Julian Riem (Klavier)

    Fortissima

    Details

    Program:

    Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) (Arr. J.Riem)  - Antiphon "O virtus sapientiae"
    Victoria Yagling (1946-2011) - Sonate No. 3 (1980) "Sergei Prokofiev in memoriam"
    Rita Strohl (1865-1941) - Grande Sonate Dramatique "Titus et Bérénice" (1898)
    ---Pause---
    Pauline Viardot-García (1821-1910) -  Bohèmienne, Romance et Tarantelle aus 6 Morceaux VWV 3003
    Amy Beach (1867-1944) - Op. 15/3, Dreaming
    Henriëtte Bosmans (1895-1952) - Sonate in a-Moll(1919)

    Contact:

  • Further dates upon request

    Raphaela Gromes (Violoncello) – Julian Riem (Klavier) - Signum Saxophon Quarett

    "Christmas" - In cooperation with AMC Artists Management Company

    Details

    Program:

    J.S.Bach (1685-1750): Sonata for Violin Solo No.1 in g minor, BWV 1001 (14’)
    For violoncello, saxophone quartet and piano

    Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): 12 Variations for Violoncello and Piano from Haendel's "Judas Maccabaeus", WoO.45 (12’)
    For violoncello, saxophone quartet and piano

    Piotr Ilyich.Tchaikovsky (1840-1893): Nutknacker
    -No. II, March,
    -No. III, Waltz of the Flowers Op.71a (14’)
    For violoncello, saxophone quartet and piano

    ------ Intermission------

    Frederic Chopin (1810-1849): Polonaise in A Major Op.40/1 (6’)
    For violoncello, saxophone quartet and piano

    Florence Price (1887-1953): Song for Snow (2:30’)
    For violoncello, saxophone quartet and piano

    Viet Cuong (1990): Beggar´s lace from "Prized Possessions" (6’)
    For saxophone quartet

    S.Prokofiev (1891-1953): Troika from "Lieutenant Kije“ (2:30’)
    For violoncello, saxophone quartet and piano

    Norah Jones (1979): White Christmas (3’)
    For violoncello, saxophone quartet and piano

    Christina Aguillera (1980): Have yourself a Merry little Christmas (3:30’)
    For violoncello, saxophone quartet and piano

    Michael Bublé (1975):
    -It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas (4')
    -All I want for Christmas is you (3’)
    For violoncello, saxophone quartet and piano

    Arrangements by Julian Riem

    Contact:

  • Further dates upon request

    Raphaela Gromes (Violoncello) – Julian Riem (Klavier)

    Fortissima

    Details

    Program:

    Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) (Arr. J.Riem)  - Antiphon "O virtus sapientiae"
    Victoria Yagling (1946-2011) - Sonate No. 3 (1980) "Sergei Prokofiev in memoriam"
    Rita Strohl (1865-1941) - Grande Sonate Dramatique "Titus et Bérénice" (1898)
    ---Pause---
    Pauline Viardot-García (1821-1910) -  Bohèmienne, Romance et Tarantelle aus 6 Morceaux VWV 3003
    Amy Beach (1867-1944) - Op. 15/3, Dreaming
    Henriëtte Bosmans (1895-1952) - Sonate in a-Moll(1919)

    Contact:

  • Julian Rachlin (Violine) - Sarah McElravy (Viola) - Raphaela Gromes (Violoncello) – Julian Riem (Klavier)

    "Vienna"

    Details

    Program:

    Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Klavierquartett Es-Dur KV 493
    Gustav Mahler - Quartettsatz a-moll
    PAUSE
    Brahms - Klavierquartett A-Dur op. 26

    Contact:

  • Further dates upon request

    Raphaela Gromes (Violoncello) – Julian Riem (Klavier)

    Fortissima

    Details

    Program:

    Hildegard von Bingen (1098-1179) (Arr. J.Riem)  - Antiphon "O virtus sapientiae"
    Victoria Yagling (1946-2011) - Sonate No. 3 (1980) "Sergei Prokofiev in memoriam"
    Rita Strohl (1865-1941) - Grande Sonate Dramatique "Titus et Bérénice" (1898)
    ---Pause---
    Pauline Viardot-García (1821-1910) -  Bohèmienne, Romance et Tarantelle aus 6 Morceaux VWV 3003
    Amy Beach (1867-1944) - Op. 15/3, Dreaming
    Henriëtte Bosmans (1895-1952) - Sonate in a-Moll(1919)

    Contact:

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