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 Street 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 Professor of Collaborative Piano at the Guildhall School of Music in London and he is regularly invited to give masterclasses worldwide.
Julius Drake’s many recordings include a widely acclaimed series with Gerald Finley for Hyperion Records of which Songs 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. Julius Drake’s recording 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.
He made his debut at the Gran Teatre del Liceu on the 2005/06 season with Recital Ian Bostridge and has returned with recitals by Simon Keenlyside (2006/07), Ian Bostridge (2008/09), Bejun Mehta (2009/10) and the Victoria de los Angeles Centenary Gala (2023/24).