Jonas Müller

baritone

Interview

Where do I come from?

I come from Osterhofen in Bavaria.

Why do I sing?

There is nothing better than when everything is just right on stage; the feeling you get in such a special moment is just one of the reasons why I sing.

And what do I like apart from singing?

I love to do sports, to eat and carpentry.

My own personal musical highlight?

A Lied recital with Gerold Huber stepping in for Anna Lucia Richter at the Danish festival Hindsgavl.

My motto?

Don’t postpone the happiness to tomorrow.

Biography

The baritone Jonas Müller is a prizewinner of the 2024 International Competition for Art Song, organized by the Internationale Hugo Wolf Akademie (IHWA).

In 2024, he debuts at „Winter in Schwetzingen,“ where he performs the role of „Adonis“ in J. S. Kusser’s opera of the same name under the direction of Jörg Halubeck. In 2022, he portrayed Count Almaviva from Mozart’s Le nozze di Figaro at the Cuvilliés Theater in Munich with the Kammeroper München and appeared that same year with the Hofkapelle München as Lubano in „Der Stein der Weisen.“ The recording of this predecessor to „Die Zauberflöte“ was released in summer 2024 by Sony Classics.

As an internationally sought-after concert singer, Jonas will perform in December 2024 at the Kölner Philharmonie, where he will sing Bach’s „Weihnachtsoratorium“ with the WDR and Simon Halsey. Recently, he has collaborated with conductors such as Frieder Bernius, Christoph Poppen, Jos van Immerseel, Hans-Christoph Rademann, Hansjörg Albrecht, and Roberto González-Monjas. With various solo parts in major oratorios, he has performed at venues including the Berliner Philharmonie, the Munich Isarphilharmonie, and the Herkulessaal, as well as the Hong Kong City Hall, the Pavarotti-Freni Theater Modena, and the Laeiszhalle in Hamburg, sharing the stage with singers like Ian Bostridge, Simon Keenlyside, Michael Schade, and Daniel Behle.

Lieder singing holds a significant place for the young baritone. At the 2024 Heidelberger Frühling, he performed folk songs by Johannes Brahms. In October 2024, Jonas and his duo partner Anna Gebhardt gave a recital at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. A close collaboration with the pianist Gerold Huber recently took him to the Danish festivals „Hindsgavl“ and „HICSUM.“ Together with the internationally active guitar duo Tomasi-Musso, Jonas developed a new version of Schubert’s „Winterreise“, which has already been performed in Rome, Turin, and several German cities. In the summer of 2024, the three recorded this unique arrangement at the Konzerthaus Blaibach.

Through masterclasses with Brigitte Fassbaender, Thomas Hampson, Christoph Prégardien, and Ian Bostridge, he further refined his interpretative skills. Since 2022, he has also been attending the Lied class of Prof. Christian Gerhaher. Jonas is part of the program „Lied the Future,“ supported by the Associació Franz Schubert Barcelona and funded by the Fundación Banco Sabadell. This organization arranged for him to perform at the Schubertiada Vilabertran and Musica en Segura, and facilitated a collaboration with the pianist Julius Drake in Cáceres.

Born in 1999 in Deggendorf, he spent his childhood in nearby Osterhofen and completed his high school diploma in 2017 at the music-focused St. Gotthard-Gymnasium in Niederalteich, where he received extensive training in classical piano and, in 2024, founded a chamber music and song festival, the „Ohefest.“ From 2017 to 2019, he studied under Prof. Daniela Sindram in the Pre-College program at the Hochschule für Musik Würzburg. In October 2019, he began his Bachelor of Music with Prof. Lars Woldt at the HMT Munich, and since 2023 he has been pursuing a Master’s in concert singing with KS Prof. Christiane Iven.

Choral singing has been an essential part of his musical identity from an early age, laying the foundation for his development. During his school years, he sang in the boys‘ choir of the Benedictine Abbey Niederalteich, the „Pueri Cantores Altahensis.“ Later, he gained experience as a singer in the „Kammerchor Stuttgart,“ the „Lauschwerk“ ensemble, and the „Audi Youth Choir Academy.“

Jonas Müller won first prize in the young category of the „Louis-Spohr-Wettbewerb“ in 2018 and the „Dan-Canto Prize“ in 2019. In 2020, he received the „Förderpreis der Konzertgesellschaft München e.V.“ and the Culture Sponsorship Prize awarded by his hometown Osterhofen. Since 2021, Jonas has been a scholarship recipient of „Yehudi Menuhin Live Music Now München e.V.“ and the „Fritz-Wunderlich-Gesellschaft e.V.“; in the same year, he received support from the „Hans und Eugenia Jütting-Stiftung Stendal.“ In 2022/23, he was awarded a scholarship by the „Thomas Gotthold Greinwald Stiftung,“ and in May 2023, he and his duo partner Anna Gebhardt won the competition for the „Musikpreis des Kulturkreises Gasteig“ in the Lied duo category. In 2024, Jonas received the Cultural Prize of the Deggendorf District in the field of music.

Media

Jonas Müller – baritone
Mizuko Uchida – piano

17.10.24