Composer and pianist Max Richter, celebrated for redefining classical music by blending electronic sounds with contemporary techniques, is set to make his highly anticipated debut in Istanbul.

The British maestro has shattered traditional boundaries by fusing the timeless elegance of classical music with electronic elements, creating a revolutionary new style that blends neo-classical and post-minimalist influences. His groundbreaking album The Blue Notebooks led him to the forefront of modern composition, merging the best of classical music with innovative, boundary-pushing sounds, securing his place as one of the most influential composers of our time.

Richter’s works, much like his music, are deeply inspired by a wide range of sources and themes. The Blue Notebooks was a protest against the Iraq War. Exiles reflected on the refugee crisis triggered by the Syrian Civil War, while Voices was a compelling musical interpretation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. His ambient masterpiece Sleep (2015), created in collaboration with neuroscientist David Eagleman, became an iconic manifesto for ‘a slower pace of life,’ and achieved the unprecedented honour of becoming the most-streamed classical album in history. In 2021, Richter presented a stunning reimagining of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, which took the classical world by storm.

Richter’s compositions have also enriched cinema and television, with evocative scores for films such as Shutter Island and Arrival, as well as TV shows like The Last of Us, The Leftovers, and Black Mirror. His latest album, In A Landscape, strikes a delicate balance between electronic and acoustic elements, human and nature, and life’s profound questions with an otherworldly sense of tranquility. What began as protest in The Blue Notebooks has evolved into serenity with In A Landscape.

Now, Max Richter is poised to captivate Turkish audiences for the first time at the 32nd Istanbul Jazz Festival, performing a repertoire from these two iconic albums.