Biography
Johannes von Ballestrem is a multi-faceted composer and musician who impresses with his stylistic diversity and wide range of activities. His music is characterized by a mature language and a deep sense for musical details.
The Berlin pianist has already worked with numerous renowned musicians and can be heard regularly on international stages. His activities range from solo concerts with a broad repertoire, to work with larger bands in the field of jazz or Brazilian music, to performances with classical musicians and orchestras.
He studied at the music academies in Weimar, Berlin, and Leipzig, with teachers including Michael Wollny and Kurt Rosenwinkel. His first major tours, including trips to Croatia, Lithuania, and West Africa, took place from 2011 to 2013 as a member of the German National Youth Jazz Orchestra. In Benin, von Ballestrem opened the German Cultural Week with a solo concert in 2014, gave workshops, and played with Beninese musicians.
Driven by a constant desire to expand his musical horizons, he delved intensively into the early styles of jazz starting in 2016. A highlight of this period was a six-week stay in New Orleans, made possible by a research grant from the Berlin Senate.
Since 2017, von Ballestrem has collaborated with Brazilian flutist Mariana Zwarg. With her international "Sexteto Universal," he has toured extensively throughout Europe and Brazil since 2017. Their first joint album "Nascentes" (2020), which featured revered Brazilian music maestro Hermeto Pascoal and his longtime bassist Itiberê Zwarg as guests, received enthusiastic media acclaim.
In 2020, von Ballestrem and Zwarg also began working as a duo and composing repertoire for this setup. Their debut CD "tightrope dancer" was released in 2023 and was presented on an extensive tour in numerous countries across Europe and Brazil. A special feature of the duo is that Zwarg and von Ballestrem increasingly compose their repertoire together, creating a sensitively attuned musical language.
In addition to his own projects, von Ballestrem often acts as a sought-after sideman, for example in the bands of Defne Şahin, Natalie Greffel, Judy Niemack, and Markus Ehrlich. Collaborations have also brought him to the stage and studio with established jazz musicians such as Greg Cohen, Jim Black, Nils Landgren, Norma Winstone, and Kurt Rosenwinkel, singer-songwriter icons Joan Baez and Patti Smith, Berlin bands of Friede Merz, Fabiana Striffler, Attila Muehl, and numerous others.
Now highly experienced in festivals, he has performed with various ensembles in recent years at Jazzfest Berlin, Elbjazz, XJAZZ, Nišville Jazz (Serbia), Pori Jazz (Finland), St. Louis Jazz (Senegal), and Jazz in Marciac (France).
His 2020 collaboration with classical violinist Daniel Hope brought him as a soloist with the Zurich Chamber Orchestra to concert halls such as the Konzerthaus Berlin, the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, and the Alte Oper in Frankfurt in 2022.
In addition to giving workshops at home and abroad, he has taught at the Jazz Institute Berlin and the Berlin Academy of Music.
Since 2022, he has been collaborating with the Berlin piano manufacturer Bechstein.
Highlights
AlteOperFrankfurt,CosmoJazz(FR),Elbjazz,Elbphilharmonie,Fêtedel’Huma(FR),HaapavesiFolkFestival(FIN),JazzinMarciac(FR),JazzfestBerlin,JazzfestBonn,jazzahead,KonzerthausBerlin,NisvilleJazz(SRB),PhilharmonieBerlin,PoriJazz(FIN),SchlossElmau,SESCInstrumental(BR),St.LouisJazz(SN),TonhalleZürich(CH),XJAZZFestival
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