Vita

Michael Essl was born in Stuttgart in Germany in 1991 in a family of musicians. After initially training as a classical pianist, he decided to study jazz piano at the music academy in Stuttgart with Hubert Nuss in 2011. In 2014 he received a scholarship for the Berklee College of Music in Boston, where he continued his education with Francesca Tanksley and Laszlo Gardony and at the same time began to study composition with Andrew List. From 2016 he continued his composition studies with Hanspeter Kyburz at the Hochschule für Musik “Hanns Eisler” in Berlin. Besides that he took part in several masterclasses and had composition lessons with Jukka Tiensuu, Jan Jirasek, Ofer Ben-Amots, Tomi Räisänen, Rainer Tempel and Johannes Schöllhorn among others.

Michael Essl is active as a pianist and composer in various fields. His compositional oeuvre includes orchestral works, chamber music, choral music and solo pieces, as well as works for jazz ensembles and music for silent films. His music is characterized by strong contrasts and a richness of associations. His experience as a pianist and improviser also enables him to combine complex formal structures with playful spontaneity. He acts without aesthetic constraints and combines different musical elements and especially influences from jazz to his own language.

He has received several awards for his works, including first prizes at international composition competitions such as the Alba Rosa Viëtor Competition and the Joseph Dorfman Competition. His pieces have been performed in Germany, USA, Finland, Belgium, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands by professional musicians and ensembles such as Christian Segmehl, Wolfgang Zerer, Avanti! Chamber Orchestra, Ensemble Garage, Freiburger Kammerchor, MDR-Sinfonieorchester and the Orchestra of the Komische Oper Berlin. In addition, several of his works have been released on CD. He has been sponsored by Edition Peters, “Klassik um Eins”, Deutscher Bühnenverein and Internationale Hanns Eisler Gesellschaft with scholarships. In 2022-2023 he is composer in residence at Junge Oper Dortmund.

Michael Essl lives and works in Berlin.