The award-winning Australian composer–violist was a member of the famed orchestra for 14 years until 1999
Australian composer–violist Brett Dean has been appointed the Berlin Philharmonic’s composer in residence for the 2026/27 season. Works of his that will be performed across the season include And once I played Ophelia, Beggars and Angels, Phantoms, Locket, his violin concerto The Lost Art of Letter Writing, Imaginary Ballet (in which Dean will play viola) and Epitaphs.
Dean will conduct the opening concert of the orchestra’s 2026/27 season, which will feature several of his works as well as the premiere of his new piece Conversations with Schumann.
The orchestra said in a statement:
’The season features inventive works that extend the expressive possibilities of orchestral instruments, combining intricate construction with a bold sense of colour. Both muscular and sensual, his scores are shaped by his experience with the Berliner Philharmoniker.’
Dean said: ’The sound of this orchestra is still inside me when I compose.’
Dean was a violist in the Berlin Philharmonic for 14 years before leaving the orchestra in 1999 to compose full-time. His music has been championed by leading conductors including Sir Simon Rattle, Vladimir Jurowski, Simone Young, Daniel Harding, Andris Nelsons, Marin Alsop and Sakari Oramo.
Other composer residencies include at the London Philharmonic Orchestra from 2019–2023 and at the Wigmore Hall for its 2023/24 season. In 2023, he won the Ivor Novello Award for Orchestral Composition for his Cello Concerto, written for Alban Gerhardt.
As a violist, Dean has performed with leading ensembles including the Doric Quartet, Scharoun Ensemble, Australian Chamber Orchestra, Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich, Finnish Radio Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Melbourne Symphony Orchestra, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Gothenburg Symphony, Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Swedish Chamber Orchestra. He regularly performs, and has recorded, his own Viola Concerto.
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