16-year-old German pianist Justus Eichhorn tops classical chart, wants to collab with BTS and BLACKPINK
Justus Eichhorn, 16, a pianist from Weimar, hit No. 1 on Germany's classical chart with debut album 'The Source' and has 800K+ SNS followers.
A 16-year-old at the top of Germany's classical chart
Justus Eichhorn reached the top of the German classical music chart with his debut album The Source. He's 16, a pianist and composer from Weimar, born to violinist parents. Over 800,000 SNS followers came from three years of posting practice videos and orchestra collaboration footage filmed in his living room.
"At first, I simply filmed myself playing piano on my phone," he said. "My followers grew rapidly thanks to many people wanting to follow along with my musical journey."
What's on The Source
The album pulls together works by composers tied to Weimar. Bach, Liszt, Mendelssohn, Hindemith. Three original compositions by Eichhorn sit alongside them. Silent Fields, one of those originals, was inspired by a windswept field. He also recorded a Czerny étude in both its original form and his own arranged version, with the left-hand rhythm altered and the tempo pulled back slightly.
"Czerny was Beethoven's student and Liszt's teacher," Eichhorn explained. "When I changed the left-hand rhythm of Czerny's etude, interesting music came out, so I recorded my own arranged version."
The album title carries weight. "I wanted to take the audience to my starting point and foundation," he said.
Seoul on the wishlist — and so are BTS and BLACKPINK
Eichhorn has visited Korea three times, including a 2023 performance at the Seoul Arts Center. "The response from Korean audiences was different from other places, and it was good to communicate directly through music," he said. He wants to return.
His long-term venue goals: Carnegie Hall in New York and Lotte Concert Hall in Seoul. On the K-pop side (yes, he went there): "If there's an opportunity, it would be fun to collaborate with BTS or BLACKPINK."
A classical chart-topper who grew his fanbase one phone-filmed practice clip at a time. Now eyeing a K-pop crossover.
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