Yuri Demetz is an Italian composer and pianist currently living in Leipzig, Germany. 

His approach is characterised by his aim to write music that is visceral and direct, often embracing humorous or even grotesque elements. He is interested in the expressive power of musical clichés within experimental contexts, using them to create different layers of emotional impact on the listener. In this spirit, he frequently incorporates toy instruments and objects that enhance the immediacy and physical presence of his music while maintaining a refined, complex, and colourful approach to instrumentation and orchestration.

In recent years, Yuri has written for and collaborated with numerous ensembles and orchestras throughout Europe, such as Ensemble Recherche, the Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto (with conductor Brad Lubman), Ensemble Fractales, Concrète [Lab] Ensemble, ATEM Ensemble, Ensemble Suono Giallo, and the MDR-Sinfonieorchester.

In 2023, Yuri was one of the winners of the International Remus Georgescu Composition Competition. In 2025, his orchestral work All-encompassing Snapshots was selected for the ISCM World New Music Days and nominated for the ISCM Young Composer Award. In 2026, he was selected for a commission as one of the winners of the Kompositionswettbewerb der Winfried Böhler Kultur Stiftung ad libitum. 

Yuri completed his Master’s degree in composition at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater Leipzig under the guidance of Prof. Dr. Fabien Lévy. Previously, he studied piano performance with Deniz Gelenbe at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London, where he also studied composition with Douglas Finch and Amir Konjani.

In addition, Yuri’s development as a composer has been shaped by exchanges with composers such as Mauro Lanza, Beat Furrer, Pierluigi Billone, Sivan Eldar, Franck Bedrossian, Francesca Verunelli, Claus-Steffen Mahnkopf, and Ondrej Adamek, among others.