Jan Jiracek von Arnim

A dazzling performance. (NEW YORK TIMES)
A forceful, mature personality with a formidable technique and playing of emotional depth. (BBC Music Magazine, “Who is Who in Music”)
“The marvelous Jan Jiracek von Arnim thrilled the world so greatly when we first heard him and he is continuing his brilliant career both in the United States and abroad.” (Van Cliburn)

Born into a family of musicians, pianist Jan Gottlieb Jiracek von Arnim was described by BBC Music Magazine as one of the leading pianists of his generation.
At the age of ten, he won first prize at the Steinway Competition in Hamburg and made his formal debut the following year in his home town of Hannover (Germany) with a piano concerto by Mozart. As a graduate of the Berlin University of the Arts, he studied with Hans Leygraf and Alfred Brendel, among others.
A top prize winner at the Busoni Competition (Italy) and Maria Canals Competition (Spain), he received special honors and awards for his interpretations of the music of Ludwig van Beethoven and Olivier Messiaen.
Jan Jiracek von Arnim was one of the winners of the Tenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition (USA), which marked the beginning of his international career. Jan Jiracek von Arnim has since performed throughout Europe, including recitals at the Herkulessaal Munich, the Philharmonie Berlin, Salle Cortot Paris, Palau de la musica Barcelona, the Tonhalle Zurich, the Musikverein Vienna, the Musikhalle Hamburg and the Gewandhaus Leipzig, as well as with orchestras such as the Berlin and St. Petersburg Philharmonics Orchestras.
In 2001, he was appointed Professor of Piano Performance at the mdw – University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, Austria, making him the youngest tenured professor in the history of this university.
His students are first prize winners at major international piano competitions, such as the “Géza Anda” (Switzerland), “Unisa” (South Africa), “Top of the World” (Norway), “Maria Canals” (Spain), among others.
Jan Jiracek von Arnim is currently a guest professor at the Elisabeth University of Music in Hiroshima (Japan) and at Kunitachi College of Music (Japan). He has been a visiting professor at several prestigious European Universites of Music such as the Hannover “Hochschule für Musik und Theater”, as well as the Yale School of Music from 2022 – 2023.
He regularly gives master classes in North America, Asia and Europe, most recently at PianoTexas (Fort Worth) in 2025, Valencia International Performing Arts Summer Academy 2025, Theo Lieven Stiftung 2025 in Vienna, Piano Academy Eppan 2025, and the Salzburg Mozarteum Summer Academy 2026.
From 2017 – 2023, as successor to the legendary pianist Wilhelm Kempff, he taught the annual “Beethovenkurs” at the “Casa Orfeo” in Positano, Italy, where selected international piano talents are taught in the German and Austrian tradition of Beethoven interpretation.
Mr. Jiracek von Arnim is frequently invited as a juror to international piano competitions, e.g. the Hamamatsu International Piano Competition in Japan, the Busoni International Piano Competition in Italy, the Tchaikovsky International Piano Competition for young musicians, and most recently the 2025 Paderewski International Piano Competition in Poland and the 2026 Franz Liszt International Piano Competition in Hungary.
Since 2011, he is the Artistic Director and Chairman of the International Beethoven Piano Competition Vienna, one of the most prestigious piano competitions in the world.
His biography of Franz Liszt, published by Residenz Verlag in Austria, was described by the renowned Austrian newspaper DIE PRESSE as "the very best Liszt biography to date."
Jan Jiracek von Arnim is a scholarship holder of renowned foundations such as the “Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes”. In 2020, he was named a “Paul Harris Fellow” of Rotary Foundation. He is also an honorary citizen of Fredericksburg, Texas (USA).
Jan Jiracek von Arnim stammt aus einer deutsch-böhmischen Musikerfamilie und wurde in Hannover geboren.
Im Alter von zehn Jahren gewann er den ersten Preis beim Steinway-Wettbewerb in Hamburg und gab im folgenden Jahr in seiner Heimatstadt Hannover sein offizielles Debüt mit einem Mozart-Klavierkonzert. Als Absolvent der Universität der Künste Berlin studierte er unter anderem bei Hans Leygraf und Alfred Brendel.
Er ist Gewinner zahlreicher internationaler Klavierwettbewerbe, u.a. Busoni (Bozen) und Maria Canals (Barcelona). Für seine Interpretationen von Werken von Ludwig van Beethoven und Olivier Messiaen bekam er besondere Preise und Auszeichnungen.
Jan Jiracek von Arnim war einer der Preisträger des 10. Internationalen Van-Cliburn-Klavierwettbewerbs in den Vereinigten Staaten, was den Beginn seiner internationalen Karriere markierte. Seither ist er in ganz Europa aufgetreten, unter anderem mit Solokonzerten im Herkulessaal in München, in der Philharmonie in Berlin, in der Salle Cortot in Paris, im Palau de la Música in Barcelona, in der Tonhalle in Zürich, im Musikverein in Wien, in der Musikhalle in Hamburg und im Gewandhaus in Leipzig. Er trat zudem mit Orchestern wie den Berliner Philharmonikern und dem St. Petersburger Philharmonischen Orchester auf.
Im Jahr 2001 wurde er zum bisher jüngsten Professor für das Hauptfach Klavier in der Geschichte der mdw – Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien ernannt.
Seine Studierenden haben erste Preise bei bedeutenden internationalen Klavierwettbewerben gewonnen, darunter „Géza Anda“ in der Schweiz, „Unisa“ in Südafrika, „Top of the World“ in Norwegen und „Maria Canals“ in Spanien.
Jan Jiracek von Arnim ist derzeit Gastprofessor an der Elisabeth-Musikuniversität in Hiroshima und am Kunitachi College of Music, beide in Japan. Er war zudem Gastprofessor an mehreren renommierten europäischen Musikhochschulen, darunter an der Hochschule für Musik und Theater Hannover sowie von 2022 bis 2023 an der Yale School of Music.
Er gibt regelmäßig Meisterkurse in Nordamerika, Asien und Europa, zuletzt 2025 bei PianoTexas (Fort Worth), der Valencia International Performing Arts Summer Academy 2025, der Piano Academy Eppan 2025 und der Sommerakademie des Mozarteums in Salzburg 2026.
Von 2017 bis 2023 leitete er als Nachfolger des legendären Pianisten Wilhelm Kempff den jährlichen „Beethovenkurs“ in der „Casa Orfeo“ in Positano, Italien, wo er ausgewählte internationale Klaviertalente in der deutschen und österreichischen Tradition der Beethoven-Interpretation unterrichtet hat.
Jan Jiracek von Arnim wird häufig als Jurymitglied zu internationalen Klavierwettbewerben eingeladen, z. B. zum Internationalen Klavierwettbewerb Hamamatsu in Japan, zum Internationalen Busoni-Klavierwettbewerb in Italien, zum Internationalen Tschaikowski-Klavierwettbewerb für junge Musiker, zuletzt zum Internationalen Klavierwettbewerb Takamatsu 2026 in Japan und zum Internationalen Franz-Liszt-Klavierwettbewerb 2026 in Ungarn.
Seit 2011 ist er künstlerischer Leiter und Vorsitzender der Jury des Internationalen Beethoven Klavierwettbewerbs Wien, dem ältesten Musikwettbewerbs Österreichs.
Seine Biografie über Franz Liszt, erschienen im Residenz Verlag in Österreich, wurde von der renommierten österreichischen Zeitung DIE PRESSE als „die bisher beste Liszt-Biografie“ bezeichnet.
Jan Jiracek von Arnim ist Stipendiat renommierter Stiftungen wie der „Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes“. Im Jahr 2020 wurde er zum „Paul Harris Fellow“ der Rotary Foundation ernannt. Er ist außerdem Ehrenbürger von Fredericksburg, Texas (USA).

Clips

NEW YORK TIMES

Just as the quadrennial Van Cliburn International Piano Competition was heading into its final weekend in Fort Worth, a star of the 1997 Cliburn, Jan Jiracek, turned up at Alice Tully Hall to give a dazzling performance of the Liszt E flat major Concerto with the Riverside Symphony. Mr. Jiracek was a favorite among critics and other music professionals as well as with the audience in 1997, and he was the clear winner in an informal press room poll, but the jury apparently thought otherwise. That he was not awarded one of the top three prizes seemed proof that the mechanisms for selecting the most original and exciting players in competitions are fatally flawed. Mr. Jiracek seems none the worse for the experience. His fresh, buoyant account of the Liszt on Thursday evening created the illusion that this showpiece is a greater work than it is. That isn't to say that he ignored the showiness. In the opening bars he produced as grand a sound as one could want and showed that the flair for dramatic phrasing that was his hallmark in 1997 remains a central part of his arsenal. Nor did he skimp on the fireworks in the finale. But there was more than that. Mr. Jiracek knows when and how to let drama melt into lyricism, or to transform a solid wall of piano sound into a texture of crystalline clarity. And his reading of the Allegro vivace was crisp, spirited and enlivened by a subtle humor.

LOS ANGELES TIMES

Jiracek von Arnim possesses a muscular, broad, colorful technique, makes music with great spontaneity and communicates strongly with his listeners. His program showed his strenghts, his impeccable taste and his love of music.

BBC MUSIC MAGAZINE

A forceful, mature personality with a formidable technique and playing of emotional depth.

(“WHO IS WHO IN MUSIC”)

DIE WELT (GERMANY)

A Young Majesty at the Piano
Germany’s man at the piano, Jiracek von Arnim joins the ranks of a new generation of pianists who do not need to fear comparison with pianists of the past.

THE HERALD (SOUTH AFRICA)

A captivating performance. Right from the opening bars Jiracek von Arnim captivated his audience by exemplary clarity, dynamic restraint and equal attention given to both thematic lines and accompaniment figures. Even more important, however, was an interpretation that convincingly elucidated the compositional logic and coherence of the work. A truly sensational concert.