Julius Drake

Specializing in vocal and instrumental accompaniment along with chamber music, pianist Julius Drake has distinguished himself through an exceptionally broad array of artistic partnerships rather than the narrower circles typical of most accompanists. Born in London on April 5, 1959, he began piano studies at age seven and received training at the Purcell School before continuing at the Royal Academy of Music, where he made his first public appearance at the Purcell Room in 1981. Schumann’s music formed the core of his early focus.

Extensive recording activity began in the late 1990s. A prominent early project paired him in 2002 with soprano Katarina Karnéus on the Hyperion label for songs by Jean Sibelius. Drake’s command of less familiar vocal repertoire is evident in collaborations such as the Haydn Canzonettas with Christoph Genz, African American spirituals with Ruby Philogene, and songs by Ivor Gurney with Paul Agnew. Although tenor Ian Bostridge has been his most regular vocal partner, he has also worked with Matthias Goerne, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Victoria de los Angeles, and other stylistically distinctive singers. Instrumental partnerships have included clarinetist Emma Johnson and hornist Richard Watkins, the latter featured on the 2019 Signum Classics release The Romantic Horn. The same year, Drake supported tenor Nicky Spence in a recording of Janáček’s rarely heard The Diary of One Who Disappeared and Nursery Rhymes.

At the time, he was engaged in recording the complete songs of Liszt. In 2020 he joined Anna Prohaska for the recital Paradise Lost, devoted to songs concerning the biblical Eve. In 2022 he accompanied Alice Coote on the album Schubert: 21 Songs and once more partnered bass-baritone Gerald Finley on a Hyperion recording of Schubert’s song cycle Die schöne Müllerin, D. 795. By then his catalog had reached approximately 40 releases. Drake has served as director of the Perth International Chamber Music Festival in Australia and the Machynlleth Festival in Wales. He has also created song series for Wigmore Hall in London, the BBC, and the Royal Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. At the Graz University for Music and Performing Arts in Austria he teaches song accompaniment and conducts frequent masterclasses.