Since winning the International Hans von Bulow Competition 2015 in the category Conducting from the Piano, Aris Alexander Blettenberg has made a name for himself as a “rare double talent” (Süddeutsche Zeitung).
The young musician with Greek roots was born in 1994 in Mülheim an der Ruhr. He received his education at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich and at the Mozarteum in Salzburg under professors Antti Siirala (piano) and Bruno Weil (conducting). He is currently studying in the solo class of Prof. Lars Vogt in Hannover. Blettenberg also appears occasionally as a composer and arranger. He is a recipient of the Ruhr Prize for Art and Science, the Steinway Award and, since 2015, a scholarship holder of the Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes. Aris Alexander Blettenberg has already given concerts in concert halls such as the Wigmore Hall London, the Konzerthaus Berlin, the National Concert Hall Dublin, the Muziekgebouw Amsterdam and performed at renowned festivals, e.g. the Heidelberger Frühling, Kissinger Sommer and the Festspiele Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Among the musicians Blettenberg has worked with are Julia Fischer, Arabella Steinbacher, Maximilian Hornung and Julian Rachlin. Other orchestras he has worked with include the Bavarian Radio Chamber Orchestra, the Duisburg Philharmonic and the Meininger Hofkapelle. Blettenberg also received further impulses through master classes with Rudolf Buchbinder, Cyprien Katsaris, Gerhard Oppitz and Vladimir Jurowski.