Mertol Demirelli, Piyanist

Fascinated since childhood by the black and white touches in his hometown in Ankara Turkey, an inspiring blend of the classical richness of the West and the spiritual richness of the East, Mertol Demirelli begins his career at a very young age, playing at Carnegie Hall (NY) thanks to the prize he won in the IBLA competition at the age of 7. He continues his steps already in an adult world while opening the 35th Istanbul Music Festival with Idil Biret, and continuing with concerts in Moscow with Vladimir Spivakov's project. Furthermore, in addition to his projects with several orchestras, the concert he gives with the Turkish Youth Orchestra in Munich while performing F. Liszt's First Piano Concerto, is diffused by Bavarian Radio (ARD) in 2011. Same year he has a memorable opportunity to play the double concerto by F.Mendelssohn-Bartholdy with Liya Petrova, accompanied by Sinfonia Varsovia and conducted by Jean-Claude Casadesus in Istanbul.

To begin his studies, he enters in Bilkent Music College with Oya Unler and from 2010 he has continued his academic career in abroad, previously in Belgium then in Switzerland. He has had the opportunity to work and collaborate with great pedagogues such as Abdel Rachman El Bacha, Dmitri Bashkirov and Maria João Pires. After his academic paths in the prominent institut Chapelle Musicale Reine Elizabeth and a special degree of master called « Master Soliste » in Haute Ecole de Musique de Lausanne, and then degree of piano pedagogics in Haute Ecole de Musique in Geneva. He studied with the famous pianist and conductor Ricardo Castro all these years. Not only renowned by his career but beside with his social project NEOJIBA, Mister Castro gave him opportunity to participate and play with them on 2018 and 2020. Mertol gives a significance to become a complete musician and in this ambition, he has realised a diploma in Scuola Musica di Fiesole for conducting from the keyboard studies, while playing and conducting Beethoven 4th piano concerto. In a similar approach, he gives a big attention to the chamber music, consequently with his piano trio Trio Kapital which they formed with Emile Abeille (violin) and Léonardo Capezzali (cello), they interpreted the trios of Brahms, Turina, De Falla, Arensky, Mendelsshon, Beethoven, Haydn and Shostakovich at events including festivals such as Musique et Vie between 2021-23. The wind quinted Ensemble Astera, first prize winner of the 2023 Carl Nielsen Chamber Music Competition, is expanding its horizons by exploring the rich repertoire for piano sextet in late 2024. Sharing the stage with Demirelli feels like a natural extension of their journey, having developed a close friendship during their studies in Switzerland. With the addition of the piano, the ensemble gains not only a fuller, more layered sound but also access to a wide-ranging repertoire, spanning from the timeless works of Mozart and Beethoven to the vibrant compositions of Poulenc and beyond. This formation opens up a wealth of possibilities for flexible wind and piano configurations, such as trios and sonatas. He is currently continuing his perfection studies in l'École normale de musique de Paris with the famous pianist Jean-Philippe Collard and also actively teaching in Annemasse Conservatoire in France.

Lauréat of the International Piano Competition of Vigo in April 2023, he has won distinctive prizes as well as a second prize at the Ile de France International Piano Competition and a first prize at the Yamaha Switzerland Competition. In July 2025, he won the Hélène de Montgeroult Prize in the XVI. Lyon Piano Competition. He has performed in major European cities such as Paris, Rome, Barcelona, Brussels, Munich and Istanbul. In October 2020, he has played W.A.Mozart's 20th concerto for his master soloist exam with the student orchestra of the Haute Ecole de Musique de Lausanne in collaboration with the Orchestre Chambre de Lausanne. In April 2023, he realises the season opening of the Société Genevoise de F.Chopin. In his artistic career, Mertol has corperated with orchestras such as Sinfonia Varsovia, Borusan Philharmonic of Istanbul, Bilkent Symphony Orchestra, l’Orchestre Chambre de Wallonie, Kaunas Symphony, NEOJIBA and Galilei Orchestra of Firenze with conductors such as Augustin Dumay, Burak Tüzün, Can Okan, Cem Mansur, Ender Sakpınar, Edoardo Rosadini, Gürer Aykal, Işın Metin, Jean-Claude Casadesus, Kevin Griffiths, Modestas Pitrenas, Nicolas Chalvin, Oğuzhan Kavruk, Rengim Gökmen, Ricardo Castro and Roberto Gianola. He has taken part in masterclasses with Fazıl Say, Gulsin Onay, Huseyin Sermet, Idil Biret, Edna Golandsky, Jean-Claude Vanden Eynden, Pietro De Maria, Stephen Kovacevich, Charles Richard Hamelin, Philippe Cassard, Nelson Goerner, Momo Kodama.

Contact: m.erkandemirelli(at)gmail.com                       this page was last updated on 16.01.2026
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