Biography
“Lazić plays with palpable heart, with genuine spirit that derives entirely from the music itself, with dexterity, subtlety and insight that make this recital thoroughly compelling.” (The Telegraph)
Dejan Lazić’s fresh interpretations of the piano repertoire have established him as one of the most unique and unusual soloists of his generation. The Spiegel magazine noted of his Liszt recording for Onyx Classics: “Grandiose technique, dedicated and witty, whilst full-bodied and thoughtful: this longitudinal section through Liszt’s oeuvre is a gift, both for beginners and connoisseurs.”
Lazić appears with orchestras such as Atlanta Symphony, Bergen Philharmonic, Boston Symphony, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Chicago Symphony, City of Birmingham Symphony, Danish National Symphony, Helsinki Philharmonic, Hong Kong Philharmonic, Indianapolis Symphony, London Philharmonic, NDR Elbphilharmonie, Netherlands Philharmonic, NHK Symphony, Rotterdam Philharmonic, Royal Concertgebouw, Seoul Philharmonic, Swedish Radio Symphony, Tokyo Symphony, Yomiuri Nippon, and the Australian Chamber and Basel Chamber orchestras. He has a significant following in the Far East touring China with Budapest Festival Orchestra and Iván Fischer, in addition to appearances with orchestras in Hong Kong, Seoul, and Tokyo. Dejan Lazić has built close collaborations with conductors including Marc Albrecht, Giovanni Antonini, Jan Willem de Vriend, Iván Fischer, Michael Francis, Hartmut Haenchen, Tianyi Lu, Jun Märkl, Andris Nelsons, Markus Poschner, Daniel Rasikin, Thomas Søndergård, Robert Spano, John Storgårds, Krzysztof Urbański, Kazuki Yamada and Simone Young.
Chamber concerts and recitals take him to venues such as Teatro Colón (Buenos Aires), Lincoln Center (New York), Melbourne Recital Centre, Forbidden City Recital Hall (Peking) and to festivals such as the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg and the Gstaad Menuhin Festival with chamber music partners such as Joshua Bell, Sol Gabetta, Andreas Ottensamer and Benjamin Schmid. He is the designated Artistic Director of the Toujours Mozart Festival in Munich.
Dejan Lazić is also active as a composer and has been under contract with Sikorski Music Publishers since 2015. His compositions receive increased recognition, most recently “Piano Concerto in Istrian Style”, Op. 18 and “Alterations on the Istrian Folk Anthem”, Op. 29 recorded 2023 with the Münchner Rundfunkorchester under Ivan Repušić for the BR Klassik label under the title “Istrian Rhapsody” which was on the Opus Klassik 2024 Shortlist in two categories: Composer of the Year and Concert Recording of the Year.
Other recent works include two new compositions for violin: “Chinese Fantasy” for violin and orchestra Op. 22 and Variations on a Kanding Love Song for violin solo. His “S.C.H.E.rzo” for Orchestra, Op. 25, commissioned by the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra was premiered with Krzysztof Urbański in 2020. Lazić’s Mozart adaptation, “Rondo Concertante” for piano and orchestra (after the 3rd movement from Mozart’s Piano Sonata in B-flat major, K. 333) was premiered in 2018 at the “Mainly Mozart” Festival in San Diego, USA. His first major orchestral work, a tone poem entitled “Mozart and Salieri” (after Alexander Pushkin), Op. 21, was commissioned and premiered by Indianapolis Symphony and Krzysztof Urbański in 2017. Lazić has performed his “Piano Concerto in Istrian Style”, Op. 18, many times since its premiere at the Aspen Music Festival in 2014. His arrangement of Brahms’ Violin Concerto as a piano concerto was premiered with Atlanta Symphony Orchestra and Robert Spano in 2009.
Recent releases include a cycle of Mozart Piano Concertos with Jan Willem de Vriend and the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra for Challenge Records and a Gstaad Recital Live Recording for Onyx. His recording with Mozart´s chamber music, released by Onyx in 2020 was awarded the Opus Klassik 2021 in the category Chamber Music Recording. In autumn 2017 he performed on tour and recorded Beethoven’s own arrangement of his Violin Concerto as Piano Concerto in D major, Op. 61a, with Netherlands Chamber Orchestra and Gordan Nikolić. This CD was released in May 2018 by Onyx Classics. A recording of the Beethoven Triple Concerto was released for Sony Music in 2015. His live recording of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with London Philharmonic Orchestra and Kirill Petrenko received the German Echo Klassik Award 2009. Dejan Lazić has previously released many recordings with Channel Classics, including a critically acclaimed Liaisons series; the latest of which couples together C. P. E. Bach and Britten.
In the 2024/25 season he will release two new recordings: Mozart Piano Concertos Nos 20 & 12 (Jan Willem de Vriend/ Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra – Challenge Records) and Gstaad Recital Live Recording (Onyx). His recording with Mozart´s chamber music, released by Onyx in 2020 was awarded the Opus Klassik 2021 in the category Chamber Music Recording. In autumn 2017 he performed on tour and recorded Beethoven’s own arrangement of his Violin Concerto as Piano Concerto in D major, Op. 61a, with Netherlands Chamber Orchestra and Gordan Nikolić. This CD was released in May 2018 by Onyx Classics. A recording of the Beethoven Triple Concerto was released for Sony Music in 2015. His live recording of Rachmaninov’s Piano Concerto No. 2 with London Philharmonic Orchestra and Kirill Petrenko received the German Echo Klassik Award 2009. Dejan Lazić has previously released many recordings with Channel Classics, including a critically acclaimed Liaisons series; the latest of which couples together C. P. E. Bach and Britten.
Dejan Lazić was born in Zagreb, Croatia, into a family of musicians. He grew up in Salzburg, where he studied at the Mozarteum (clarinet, piano and composition). The early encounter with Zoltán Kocsis and Imre Rohmann at the Bartók Festival in Hungary was decisive for his artistic career, as well as the significant influence from Peter Eötvös. Dejan Lazić lives in Amsterdam.
2025/2026
This biography is to be reproduced without any changes, omissions or additions, unless expressly authorised by artist management.
