Biography
Julien Brocal is a French pianist, composer and improviser whose poetic, contemporary and engaged approach sets him apart on the international music scene. He was named BBC Music Magazine Newcomer of the Year in 2018.
A student of Éric Berchot — the emblematic pianist who accompanied Charles Aznavour and Michel Legrand in Claude Lelouch's films — Julien developed early on a playing style rich in depth and narrative. He refined his pianism with Réna Shereshevskaya, the renowned pedagogue whose teaching has carried the exceptional careers of Lucas Debargue and Alexandre Kantorow.
In 2013, a decisive encounter with the legendary pianist Maria João Pires profoundly shaped his path. She invited him to her side at the Warsaw Chopin Festival in 2015, then on an American tour in 2016, passing on a sensitive, humanistic vision of musical interpretation.
His recordings devoted to Chopin — Les états d'âme, Choc de Classica 2017 — and to Ravel and Mompou met with great acclaim from the international press, which praised the delicacy, depth and originality of his interpretations. Critic Patrick Rucker wrote in Gramophone: “I implore you not to miss the opportunity to hear this singular talent.” In chamber music, he also recorded Journeyers (2019) alongside cellist Lidy Blijdorp and violinist Rosanne Philippens.
Julien extends his artistic horizons through arranging and composition — notably bringing his subtle, contemporary touch to the musical arrangement of the celebrated song “Jane B” for Jane Birkin. His music also accompanies Memory of Darkness, Light and Ice, a powerful documentary on the melting of Greenland's ice broadcast on Arte and in the United States — awarded an Emmy in July 2026.
With cellist Camille Thomas he forms a long-standing duo: The Chopin Project on Deutsche Grammophon (2023), then Rendez-vous, recorded amid the open landscapes of Tippet Rise and released in April 2026 in the wake of an American tour. The duo continues its journey: a return to the United States at Tippet Rise (Montana) to open the 2026-27 season, followed by a major tour of China in the autumn.
January 2027 will see the release of Out of the Blue, a new album composed with violist Neil Leiter (Echo Collective) — nine pieces for piano and viola, the first chapter of a living collection published on the Jardin Musical label.
With HERE, a book-and-album co-written with Ilios Kotsou, Thierry Janssen, Pablo Servigne, Pascale Seys, Satish Kumar and Raphaël Stevens, Julien offers a musical and literary meditation on our bond with the world, inviting an intimate and universal reflection on intuition.
Founder of the Jardin Musical in Brussels, Julien Brocal has created an innovative and inspiring venue where music enters into dialogue with other art forms and nurtures emerging talent through audio-visual artist residencies.
Through his poetic, contemporary and deeply engaged approach, Julien Brocal embodies a generation of artists passionately and sensitively reinventing the musician's role in today's world.