DIRK MAASSEN

EDEN is a four-part musical exploration of purity, beauty, and the inevitable loss of paradise. Each of the four EPs – Awakening, Serenity, The Rift, and Exile – serves as a chapter in a sonic journey through what can be understood as the original, untouched state of the human spirit.

This project seeks to capture the essence of creation, innocence, and inner peace, while simultaneously embracing the transformation that is inherent to the human experience. The compositions reflect a sense of wonder and purity, yet they also carry echoes of loss, disillusionment, and the enduring hope for return or renewal.

AWAKENING opens the cycle with a sense of emergence and curiosity. It marks the first breath, the first glimpse of an untouched world, fragile and full of light. SERENITY follows as a quiet reflection – a moment of stillness and harmony where innocence seems close enough to touch. The music flows gently, evoking a sense of balance and inner clarity.
THE RIFT introduces dissonance and disruption. It represents the breaking point, the moment where paradise begins to slip away. The compositions here are more raw, searching, and emotionally charged.
EXILE concludes the journey in a place of absence and longing – yet also of resilience. It is the sound of solitude, but also of remembrance, and the quiet hope that something lost might be found again in a new form.

EDEN is not just an album – it’s an introspective space. A musical reflection on the fragile beauty of what once was, and the transformative path we walk as humans, constantly shifting between light and shadow.

*****
Dirk Maassen is one of the most successful German neoclassical composers. He is internationally acclaimed for his moving, gentle and stylistically unique soundscapes. He is also one of the most streamed German pianists worldwide – over a million people stream his music on various platforms every month. Dirk Maassen also wows his audiences live every time.

His fans are happy to travel over 1,000 kilometres to see him live. With unique feeling and ingenious timing, he performs his works, which magically reach the subconscious and open doors that previously remained undiscovered. Experience perhaps the most moving pianist of Germany live, playing a moving selection of his more than 200 compositions full of passion.

As a special guest this evening, Munich-born composer, pianist, and violinist Maria Anastasia joins with her ensemble to unveil Dirk Maassen’s music in a new dimension, enriched by her own string arrangements and brought to the stage for the first time.

dirkmaassen.com

Special Guest Maria Anastasia & Ensemble

Educated at the Richard Strauss Conservatory and the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich, Maria Anastasia bridges classical tradition with a contemporary, cinematic language, with a particular focus on composing for strings and piano. She has performed with the Munich Symphony Orchestra, the Munich Chamber Orchestra and appeared at major venues including the Isarphilharmonie, as well as by personal invitation of Herman van Veen at his Arts Center in the Netherlands. In 2025 she released her album ETHYA, featuring original music for violin, piano and string ensemble.

maria-anastasia.com

*****

“The music of Dirk Maassen is carried by the artist, who not only composes great pieces of music but also plays with his whole soul. Absolutely recommendable …”

“I never thought it was possible to immerse myself in music like this, my world has been given a new space and has become a little more colourful. Thank you from the bottom of my heart”

“The wonderful compositions in combination with the authentic, likeable and modest performance of the artist give the audience the feeling of being a guest at an intimate private concert. This is not only unrivalled in neoclassical music”

“A thoroughly successful evening, with sensitively penetrating piano music that makes the hours of the evening seem like minutes. Thank you very much!”