News

— July 2, 2025

Summer greetings

This past season was filled with inspiring musical encounters: I had the honor of opening the Dvořák Festival in Prague with the Bamberg Symphony and Jakub Hrůša, and made my debut with the wonderful Royal Stockholm Philharmonic and Ruth Reinhardt. Other highlights included the Walton Cello Concerto with Tianyi Lu in Leipzig, tours with the Rheinische Philharmonie and Staatsorchester Halle, numerous chamber music concerts including as my own sweet festival in Füssen at the Austrian Bavarian border – and, as a grand finale before the summer break, Strauss’ Don Quixote with the Sapporo Symphony Orchestra under Elias Grandi in Japan.

I’m now especially looking forward to the upcoming season: debuts and returns with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony  and Tabita Berglund performing Shostakovich, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra with Ana Maria Patiño-Osorio and the Tonkünstler Orchestra Vienna with Tomas Netopil (both with Dvořák), and a debut with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra under Karl-Heinz Steffens. I’m also excited to return to the Québec Symphony with Clemens Schuldt – this time performing Friedrich Gulda’s witty, funky, very Austrian cello concerto – and to a special project: performing all Bach Suites multiple times in Shanghai and Beijing.

But first, one last round before the holidays: the wonderful chamber music festival Fließen, with Martin Helmchen, Marie-Elisabeth Hecker, Vilde Frang, Timothy Ridout, Antje Weithaas and many other fantastic people.

About Julian Steckel

“As an interpreter, I’ve started trusting my inner life more and letting the audience in. It’s a kind of vulnerability that makes you stronger.”

Written music is potential energy that a performer must unleash. Audiences can tell if a musician really feels that energy, or if their expression is second-hand. When Julian plays, he is sharing something fragile and alive.

Upcoming concerts