Benjamin Appl

Benjamin Appl concluded his studies as the final pupil of the eminent baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, establishing parallel reputations in lieder, opera, and concert repertoire while moving comfortably between contemporary and historically informed approaches.

Born in 1982 in Regensburg, Bavaria—then part of West Germany—he launched his vocal journey with the Regensburger Domspatzen, the renowned boys’ cathedral choir. He pursued further training at the Munich University of Music and Theater under Helmut Deutsch, simultaneously completing a business degree in the same city, before advancing to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where he worked with Edith Wiens and Rudolf Piernay and maintained private lessons with Fischer-Dieskau until the elder singer’s death in 2012.

Appl’s operatic engagements range from mid-Baroque works such as Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas to modern pieces including Péter Eötvös’ Tri Sestri. While devoted to the core lieder canon, he has also premiered vocal compositions written expressly for him by composers as diverse as György Kurtág, Nico Muhly, and Susan Oswell. In 2012 he performed for Pope Benedict XVI at Castel Gandolfo. Among his honors are the 2012 Schubert Prize and the 2016 Gramophone Award for New Artist of the Year. His first recording, the 2016 recital Stunden, Tage, Ewigkeiten, appeared on the Champs Hill label.

That same year he joined Sony Classical, releasing several well-received albums, among them The Secret Fauré III in 2020. He has collaborated with major orchestras including the NHK Symphony Orchestra, NDR Radiophilharmonie, and Philadelphia Orchestra, and maintains an active presence with period-instrument groups such as the Akademie für alte Musik, Concerto Köln, and the Stuttgart Bach Collegium. He also contributed to Hyperion’s complete Brahms song series, Volume 7, alongside Graham Johnson. In 2022 Appl transferred to the Alpha label, issuing a recording of Schubert’s Die Winterreise, D. 911, and appeared on orchestral-song collections by Hugo Wolf (CPO) and Hans Sommer (PentaTone Classics). The following year he released the recital Forbidden Fruit on Alpha.