Jan Liebermann

The young organist Jan Liebermann (born 2005) combines technical brilliance with a musical maturity that is exceptional for his age. His ability to play from memory is far more than just a remarkable feat of virtuosity: it enables him to concentrate fully on the musical interpretation and to bring the organ to life with great confidence and immediacy. His interpretations are as thoughtful as they are gripping. At the same time, Jan Liebermann knows how to bring the organ to the fore beyond the concert hall. Generating a huge response on social media, he sparks the curiosity of a young audience and opens up new horizons for the instrument.

He received his first piano lessons at the age of seven and began playing the organ at the age of twelve. He was a junior student under Prof. Gerhard Gnann at the Mainz University of Music and under Prof. Carsten Wiebusch at the Frankfurt University of Music and Performing Arts. At the same time, he took piano lessons in the masterclass of Prof. Dr Lev Natochenny. He is currently studying at the Munich University of Music and Performing Arts under Prof. Martin Sander.

In the spring of 2024, Jan Liebermann caused a sensation in the organ world when he performed all six trio sonatas by Johann Sebastian Bach from memory at several public concerts. In recognition of his artistic achievements and his commitment, he was subsequently awarded the 2024 Cultural Promotion Prize by the Rotary Club of Mainz. Just one year later, he turned his attention to performing Marcel Dupré’s Trois Préludes et Fugues, which he also presented from memory on several occasions at public concerts.

In 2025, he appeared on several occasions at the Berlin Philharmonie. To mark the 60th anniversary of the Schuke organ there, he made his acclaimed solo debut and performed in a further concert with the Berlin Philharmonic’s principal flautist, Emmanuel Pahud. He also gave three evening concerts with the Berlin Philharmonic under the baton of Andris Nelsons. His concert career has already taken him to other major concert halls and cathedrals across Europe, including Müpa Budapest, the Essen Philharmonie, Pisa Cathedral, Freiberg Cathedral, Limburg Cathedral, Freiburg Minster and St Michael’s in Hamburg. International concert tours have also taken him to England, where he has performed at venues including York Minster, Westminster Abbey, Liverpool Anglican Cathedral and Southwark Cathedral in London. He has also been a guest at numerous renowned organ festivals.

‘Refreshing’, ‘breathtaking’, ‘rich and sophisticated’, ‘magnificent’ – his debut album, released in 2026 on the Regent Records label, received an enthusiastic review from Gramophone magazine and was included in the Editor’s Choice section of the June 2026 issue. On the album Sonority, Jan Liebermann presents a varied programme featuring major works from the core organ repertoire by Hollins, Dupré, Bach (arrangement by Karg-Elert), Eben and Duruflé. The works were recorded on the Father Willis organ at Salisbury Cathedral.

Jan Liebermann was the first-prize winner of the 2024 Northern Ireland International Organ Competition, the first national prize winner in the solo organ category at the 2021 ‘Jugend musiziert’ competition with the highest score, second prize winner at the 2023 Wuppertal International Organ Competition, and a prize-winner at the 2020 International Young Organist Competition in Moscow, the first Deidesheim International Organ Competition in 2020, and the 2023 Concours International d’Orgue de Dudelange. Furthermore, Jan is a recipient of a special prize from the Deutsche Stiftung Musikleben and was awarded a scholarship by the Jürgen-Ponto-Stiftung Berlin in 2021. In autumn 2025, he became the first organist since the prize was introduced in 1998 to receive the Deutschlandfunk Encouragement Prize, which was presented to him as part of the Musikfest Bremen.